+ Reply to Thread
Results 1 to 4 of 4

Thread: Bad Memories Turned to Happy Ones in Mice Brains

  1. Link to Post #1
    United States Avalon Member Skywizard's Avatar
    Join Date
    25th August 2012
    Location
    Dixieland ~ USA
    Posts
    1,362
    Thanks
    1,575
    Thanked 15,727 times in 1,319 posts

    Default Bad Memories Turned to Happy Ones in Mice Brains


    Image shows a magnified part of a mouse's brain where an optic fiber is inserted to switch neurons on and off.


    Memories are often associated with emotions, and these feelings can change through new experiences and over time. Now, using light, scientists have been able to manipulate mice brain cells and turn the animals' fearful memories into happy ones, according to a new study.

    Memories are encoded in groups of neurons that are activated together or in specific patterns, but it is thought that neurons in different brain regions encode different aspects of a memory of an event. For example, the place where an event occurred and the emotion associated with it may be stored in different places.

    In the new study, researchers examined whether it is possible to selectively change one part of a memory — the emotion attached to it. They made male mice form fearful memories by giving them painful electrical shocks, or form pleasant memories by letting the animals interact with female mice.

    Later, using light to control the activity of neurons (a method called optogenetics), the researchers evoked the fearful memories every time the mice went to a certain corner of their cage, which led the mice to avoid that corner. In mice that had formed pleasant memories, the researchers used those memories to make a certain corner look attractive to the rodents.

    In the last step, to reverse the associations between a place and an emotion, the researchers evoked only the "place" part of the fearful memories, while letting the mice interact with female counterparts. As a result, the mice were no longer afraid of that specific corner of the cage.

    The researchers were also able to do the reverse, and turn positive memories to fearful ones, according to the study published in the journal Nature.




    Read Full Story: http://www.livescience.com/47580-swi...al-memory.html



    ~~ One foot in the Ancient World and the other in the Now ~~

  2. The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to Skywizard For This Post:

    Hazel (28th August 2014), Joanne Shepard (28th August 2014), joeecho (28th August 2014), Selene (28th August 2014)

  3. Link to Post #2
    United States Unsubscribed
    Join Date
    30th March 2014
    Location
    Zero Sum
    Age
    62
    Posts
    2,937
    Thanks
    12,979
    Thanked 15,293 times in 2,822 posts

    Default Re: Bad Memories Turned to Happy Ones in Mice Brains

    It seems, as I read all these scientific discoveries, that nothing will be untouched by the manipulation of science. Nothing will be trusted as the real deal.

    Wait, that is already true now, right?

  4. Link to Post #3
    Avalon Member Flash's Avatar
    Join Date
    26th December 2010
    Location
    Montreal
    Posts
    9,637
    Thanks
    38,027
    Thanked 53,692 times in 8,940 posts

    Default Re: Bad Memories Turned to Happy Ones in Mice Brains

    Quote Posted by Skywizard (here)

    Image shows a magnified part of a mouse's brain where an optic fiber is inserted to switch neurons on and off.


    Memories are often associated with emotions, and these feelings can change through new experiences and over time. Now, using light, scientists have been able to manipulate mice brain cells and turn the animals' fearful memories into happy ones, according to a new study.

    Memories are encoded in groups of neurons that are activated together or in specific patterns, but it is thought that neurons in different brain regions encode different aspects of a memory of an event. For example, the place where an event occurred and the emotion associated with it may be stored in different places.

    In the new study, researchers examined whether it is possible to selectively change one part of a memory — the emotion attached to it. They made male mice form fearful memories by giving them painful electrical shocks, or form pleasant memories by letting the animals interact with female mice.

    Later, using light to control the activity of neurons (a method called optogenetics), the researchers evoked the fearful memories every time the mice went to a certain corner of their cage, which led the mice to avoid that corner. In mice that had formed pleasant memories, the researchers used those memories to make a certain corner look attractive to the rodents.

    In the last step, to reverse the associations between a place and an emotion, the researchers evoked only the "place" part of the fearful memories, while letting the mice interact with female counterparts. As a result, the mice were no longer afraid of that specific corner of the cage.

    The researchers were also able to do the reverse, and turn positive memories to fearful ones, according to the study published in the journal Nature.




    Read Full Story: http://www.livescience.com/47580-swi...al-memory.html



    sound very much like operant conditioning, which has been going around for a century. Except that here the brain is also directly operated on. It always get me nervous when the brain is deirectly operated on, because of all the potential abuse. In the fifties, many people had lobotomies not knowing they would be lobotomised nor their families told before hand, full fledge abuse, and here not talking of MK ultra and the CIA experiments on Canadians for example.

    ANd, are we going to be the happy go mass of people who will not even perceive the bad done to them, not sense it, not remember it? the body will remember though, and the brain will perceive it as a fleeting disagreement. But the soul always knows with precision, as long as access to it is not cut.

  5. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Flash For This Post:

    Hazel (28th August 2014), Joanne Shepard (28th August 2014), joeecho (28th August 2014)

  6. Link to Post #4
    Virgin Islands Avalon Member Selene's Avatar
    Join Date
    11th January 2011
    Location
    Music Of The Spheres
    Posts
    1,164
    Thanks
    9,879
    Thanked 8,225 times in 1,108 posts

    Default Re: Bad Memories Turned to Happy Ones in Mice Brains

    Interesting that the technology involves light. The "Men in Black" film series shows their operatives using a bright light flash to remove memories of recent events from bystanders. And some have suggested that these comedies depict actual technologies/events/ etc. Hmmmmm......



    Cheers,

    Selene

  7. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Selene For This Post:

    joeecho (28th August 2014), Skywizard (28th August 2014)

+ Reply to Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts