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?

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            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/