{"id":104647,"date":"2020-04-02T08:43:23","date_gmt":"2020-04-02T15:43:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/2020\/04\/our-brains-as-hard-drives-could-we-delete-modify-or-add-memories-and-skills"},"modified":"2020-04-02T08:43:23","modified_gmt":"2020-04-02T15:43:23","slug":"our-brains-as-hard-drives-could-we-delete-modify-or-add-memories-and-skills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/2020\/04\/our-brains-as-hard-drives-could-we-delete-modify-or-add-memories-and-skills","title":{"rendered":"Our brains as hard drives \u2013 could we delete, modify or add memories and skills?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<p><iframe style=\"display: block; margin: 0 auto; width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 4\/3; object-fit: contain;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ja0euppwnGc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope;\n   picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Given the rapid development of virtual reality technology, we may very well be moving toward a time when we\u2019re able to manage the brain\u2019s memories.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>Could we develop a similar capability? That may depend heavily upon a handful of ambitious attempts at brain-computer interfacing. But science is moving in baby steps with other tactics in both laboratory animals and humans.<\/p>\n<p>Thus far, there have been some notable achievements in rodent experiments, that haven\u2019t done so well with humans. We don\u2019t have a beam that can go into your mind and give you 60 years worth of new experiences. Nevertheless, the emerging picture is that the physical basis of memory is understandable to the point that we should be able to intervene \u2014 both in producing and eliminating specific memories.<\/p>\n<p>At MIT\u2019s Center for Neural Circuit Genetics, for example, scientists have modified memories in mice using an optogenetic interface. This technology involves genetic modification of tissues, in this case within the brain, to express proteins that respond to light. Triggered by implants that deliver laser beams, <a href=\"https:\/\/geneticliteracyproject.org\/2019\/11\/18\/why-it-may-not-be-screen-time-thats-stunting-development-of-kids-brains\/\">brain<\/a> cells can be triggered to be more or less active. In research that has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/nature\/journal\/v513\/n7518\/full\/nature13725.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow external\">published in the prestigious journal <em>Nature<\/em><\/a>, the MIT team used the approach in specific brain circuits important to memory consolidation. The researchers were able to enhance the development of negative memories \u2014 for instance a shock given to an animal\u2019s leg \u2014 and also to convert those negative memories into positive memories. The latter was achieved by letting male mice enjoy some time with females, while nerve cells that usually deliver the negative impulses associated with the former shock were stimulated through the optogenetic interface.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Given the rapid development of virtual reality technology, we may very well be moving toward a time when we\u2019re able to manage the brain\u2019s memories. Could we develop a similar capability? That may depend heavily upon a handful of ambitious attempts at brain-computer interfacing. But science is moving in baby steps with other tactics in [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":554,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1523,412,47,1879],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-104647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-computing","category-genetics","category-neuroscience","category-virtual-reality"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/554"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104647"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104647\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}