So, I'm sure everyone here has had a painful memory or two; a stupid decision here, a poorly chosen comment there, a missed opportunity in-between. And with experiences like that, it's easy to agonize over them for hours on end (Brain: I'm sorry, did you want to feel good about yourself today? Too bad!).
Well, what if there was a hypothetical pill that could permanently remove that memory? Would you ever consider using it? Even just once? I'm sure it would be pretty tempting.
Now what if that hypothetical pill wasn't so hypothetical?
Basically, scientists are gaining a greater and greater grasp on how exactly our memories work; by taking advantage of the chemical reactions going on, they are beginning to figure out how to remove some altogether. With continued development and refinement, it may only take a single pill to wipe a bad experience.
Now, it's worth noting that there's a serious, practical benefit to this technology. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, is a serious condition that afflicts many veterans (especially in the United States). For sufferers, it can be difficult to readjust back into society, and suicide is all too common. While have therapies designed to help them, their effectiveness leaves a lot to be desired. With this pill, we might finally have a treatment to help these people move past their lingering trauma.
From there, though, it's anyone's guess as to how it will be used, or if it should be used at all. As it advances more and more, we're going to have to take a good, long look at how we define memory, and what it means to us. We're going to have to start asking some pretty tough questions.
Fortunately, though, there is hope. And hey, if we don't like the answers, now we can just forget them.
Well, what if there was a hypothetical pill that could permanently remove that memory? Would you ever consider using it? Even just once? I'm sure it would be pretty tempting.
Now what if that hypothetical pill wasn't so hypothetical?
Source: Wired (It was a bit tough to find a quote that best expressed the content of the article. It's long but, if you're interested in the subject, definitely worth a read).This isn’t Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind-style mindwiping. In some ways it’s potentially even more effective and more precise. Because of the compartmentalization of memory in the brain—the storage of different aspects of a memory in different areas—the careful application of PKMzeta synthesis inhibitors and other chemicals that interfere with reconsolidation should allow scientists to selectively delete aspects of a memory. Right now, researchers have to inject their obliviating potions directly into the rodent brain. Future treatments, however, will involve targeted inhibitors, like an advanced version of ZIP, that become active only in particular parts of the cortex and only at the precise time a memory is being recalled. The end result will be a menu of pills capable of erasing different kinds of memories—the scent of a former lover or the awful heartbreak of a failed relationship. These thoughts and feelings can be made to vanish, even as the rest of the memory remains perfectly intact.
Basically, scientists are gaining a greater and greater grasp on how exactly our memories work; by taking advantage of the chemical reactions going on, they are beginning to figure out how to remove some altogether. With continued development and refinement, it may only take a single pill to wipe a bad experience.
Now, it's worth noting that there's a serious, practical benefit to this technology. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, is a serious condition that afflicts many veterans (especially in the United States). For sufferers, it can be difficult to readjust back into society, and suicide is all too common. While have therapies designed to help them, their effectiveness leaves a lot to be desired. With this pill, we might finally have a treatment to help these people move past their lingering trauma.
From there, though, it's anyone's guess as to how it will be used, or if it should be used at all. As it advances more and more, we're going to have to take a good, long look at how we define memory, and what it means to us. We're going to have to start asking some pretty tough questions.
Fortunately, though, there is hope. And hey, if we don't like the answers, now we can just forget them.