Monday, October 27, 2014

Two Scientists incorporate False Memories into Mouse

          Scientists Steve Ramirez and and colleague Xu Liu of MIT have stumbled upon a breakthrough in the study of Neuroscience. The mouse was placed on top of a small metal box which would cause a shock as soon as a pressure was felt. The mouse instantly jumped back, which is an expected fear response. however, the breakthrough is that the action never happened. The mouse never previously jumped on the metal box to learn the pain of the shock. The scientists added this false memory of pain when stepping on the box. So what does this mean?
                                         Picture from: http://fooyoh.com/geekapolis_gadgets_wishlist/7407700
                                       
            The specific brain cells can actually be manipulated to form a memory that never happened. This groundbreaking research can actually lead to figuring out new treatments for Alzheimer's disease or any other disease. What Ramirez and Liu specifically manipulated is the cluster of neurons known as the engrams. These cluster of neurons are where individual memories are stored. They devised methods to explore living brain actions which lead to the mice experiment and eventually these results. The part of the mice brain, called the hippocampus, was manipulated with a light sensitive protein called channelrhodopsin-2. The proteins in the hippocampus (gyrus proteins) would then be accustomed to the light sensitive protein incorporated in them.
        Next, the false memory was implemented. The results are outstanding. I believe this could lead to huge breakthroughs in the medical field. Also, if removing memories and replacing them is possible, is this a cure for neurological deiseases? maybe a cure for depression? Questions and actions are endless.



Article: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/meet-two-scientists-who-implanted-false-memory-mouse-180953045/?all&no-ist
Related Page: http://neurosciencenews.com/neuroscience-terms/memory-engrams/
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4 comments:

  1. AnonymousOctober 27, 2014 at 5:02 PM

    This is a very interesting concept. To think of the possibility that someone could have memories instilled in them is sort of scary since these memories are things seen in someone else's eyes which could then change the person with Alzheimer's (or depression) perception on things.

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  2. John SokolOctober 29, 2014 at 9:02 PM

    Absolutely astounding. To think that this false memory concept could ignite the spark to cure Alzheimers Disease or other forms of Dementia is an exciting idea to entertain.

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  3. UnknownNovember 9, 2014 at 2:03 PM

    This is a very interesting practice although I am not sure how a certain false memory could be implemented. I understand how the memory was instilled, but how is it known as to what memory was falsified? I find it somewhat invasive although as mentioned, this could be very groundbreaking in treating Alzheimer's Disease, Dementia, and even depression.

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  4. AnonymousNovember 30, 2014 at 1:24 PM

    This is very like the movie inception. Crazy to think that this could potentially be a reality. I just hope that they would use this for good, and try to cure diseases and not try to use it for evil.

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