MIT discovers the location of memories: Individual neurons

I find this rather interesting and distrubing at the same time. Although these experiments are being conducted with mice and are far from being tried on humans, the success they have had so far is amazing!

Technology is a beautiful thing but it's just a glimpse to what the future holds in terms of controlling the masses (IMHO)!

MIT researchers have shown, for the first time ever, that memories are stored in specific brain cells. By triggering a small cluster of neurons, the researchers were able to force the subject to recall a specific memory. By removing these neurons, the subject would lose that memory.

Source

reply to post by TheEnlightenedOne


Next step, after figuring out the human factor is full brain backup to hard drive or some other storage medium?
That would be cool.
It would kinda open the door for Johnny Mnemonic.

Knowing how the wet ware stores data, could be very cool on the trans/post human front of things.

Of course, before the cool toys, something like this could do lots of good for alzhiemer's and other ails.

reply to post by TheEnlightenedOne


just think of the good it could do as well as the bad. It could help people with experiences that have traumatized them. It could create an awesome memory over a bad one. hell we could implant memories to help people learn all sorts of things if we learn how to manipulate this tech. But somehow i think it will be used to kill and coverup instead of help

Originally posted by digital01anarchy
reply to post by TheEnlightenedOne

 

just think of the good it could do as well as the bad. It could help people with experiences that have traumatized them. It could create an awesome memory over a bad one. hell we could implant memories to help people learn all sorts of things if we learn how to manipulate this tech. But somehow i think it will be used to kill and coverup instead of help

I agree with you fully but you and I both know that there will always be those "evil" agancies trying to manipulate us in one way or another and use it to do exactly that, evil things.

But following what you said, for those individuals with post-drama 'syndromes', this technique will do wonders!

Originally posted by nineix
reply to post by TheEnlightenedOne

 

Next step, after figuring out the human factor is full brain backup to hard drive or some other storage medium?
That would be cool.
It would kinda open the door for Johnny Mnemonic.

Knowing how the wet ware stores data, could be very cool on the trans/post human front of things.

Of course, before the cool toys, something like this could do lots of good for alzhiemer's and other ails.

edit on 24-3-2012 by nineix because: (no reason given)

I feel that if they are able to pinpoint a cell/neuron/memory location now, then it should be a matter of time before they find the DNA trend that is responsible for Alzhiemers! That's just my opinion!

Now get your ass to Mars.

See you at the party Victor.

Baby, you make me wish I had three hands.

Quaid, the reactor make air.

Ahalla ahhallla twoooo weeks, two weeks... Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

this is an amazing step forward but i agree that with any tool comes the possibility for it to be used against us rather than for us.
The day could be getting closer when we can't even protect our memories from tptb.
but until that happens i suppose we can enjoy the benefits of this advancement in many ways.

ps. nothing like a bit of total recal.

reply to post by TheEnlightenedOne


think of what you could do using it as a learning device damn. Imagine knowing every language and having degrees in multiple topics by having them implanted. I bet there is a finite amount of memory we can use. I think this would cause issues with the ability it gave and how much of your real life you are willing to give up. I like the idea of the hard drive lol I hope its solid state ahahah dork humor anyway the trick to that would be in how our brains process the information received by the computer ie incompatible formats until we found the right protocol used for conversion of binary into neurological. Watch "ghost in a shell" the concepts are there about the issue of using devices for memory

No wonder MIT is the most expensive school to go to with headlines like these www.abovetopsecret.com...

Please explain to me, how the memory can exist in the neurons, yet be active when the brain cells are in a death state..?.(no brain scan activity???)
These boys gots a looong way to go yet...............................

"You mean there's a chance we could get our memories wiped without being lobotomized? I've always wanted to be 10 again. Or at least just go all the way back before reading 'Behold A Pale Horse' back in 1990." -- Cypher

And don't they always say something like, "The technology we're seeing hinted at in the mainstream is a conservative 25 years behind what they can actually do behind the scenes?"

Interesting thread, indeed.

Originally posted by stirling
Please explain to me, how the memory can exist in the neurons, yet be active when the brain cells are in a death state..?.(no brain scan activity???)
These boys gots a looong way to go yet...............................

Exactly. Memory cluster information seems to be accessed by way of these neurons, but that doesn't mean that information is "stored" in these neurons. After all, when you take one of those babies all the way down to the sub-atomic level, what you're dealing with is mostly space between stuff that has no capacity to manage or store anything. The "coding" doesn't seem to be very apparent either if you read the article. In fact, they're assuming that the laser trigger is causing the specific memory to be recalled, but the truth is that they don't have a real definition of what memory is for a lab mouse.

A fight/flight reaction, and then the absence of that reaction, (which is what these researcher are basing their findings on) is governed by instinct, not cognition. It's triggered by DNA directives, not memories in the form of unique information clusters. You can develop an association between a general survival response and a new version of survival threat, but you're not really creating a memory. You're training the general response to that specific version of threat into the survival system itself. And, of course, you can cripple the response by damaging the specific brain triggers, but that doesn't mean that you actually got rid of a memory. You simply damaged the mouse's ability to instinctively respond to the laser trigger.

If the careers - and paychecks - of researchers didn't directly depend on their "discovering things", then we wouldn't have so much confusing and contradictory "breakthroughs" all the time. Most of this stuff is based on pretty much nothing whatsoever, and then the science journals and magazines are under pressure to have something to print for the next edition. It's all way too competitive and the only way you can tell if you're winning is if you've got a paper out that's drawing attention. Lots of half-baked extrapolations and outright fraud being presented as cutting edge research. This little bit here is pretty innocuous, but some of it is steering dollars down rat holes and away from more promising (albeit less spectacular) research. It's too bad.

reply to post by NorEaster


LOL if it threatens your concepts of a magical extradementional existance then its all bunk and the scientists are lying for money.

Its so great to see the religious and mystics acting exactly like the biological machines they are.

Originally posted by Wertdagf
reply to post by NorEaster

 

LOL if it threatens your concepts of a magical extradementional existance then its all bunk and the scientists are lying for money.

Its so great to see the religious and mystics acting exactly like the biological machines they are.

Do a post search on me and see what I actually believe before you go off like that. I think you'll be pretty surprised at what you find if you do. I generally get sh*t for being too clinical in my view of reality. There aren't any miracles or extra-dimensional anythings. That's magical thinking and I don't respect that either. No gods, no angels, no demons, and no such thing as holy, enlightened or supernatural. All that exists, exists as physical. That said, traditional wisdom - on both sides of the battlefield - needs to take another look at how the physical realm is actually structured.

reply to post by TheEnlightenedOne


Well thats ok, I want to go to the memory swap, except I um, have nothing but crappy memories, that no one would want.
A trip to Mexico though,, once which was not bad, and a ski trip with a gorgeous Japanese hostess. That one would be worth swapping for except we never did it. The story of my life.

So M.I.T.
I watched that calculator guy on Stan Lee, what a mind blower.

First the Chinese Room Argument and now this.

Well let me know when the helmets are out because I want to hook up and jack in, and go to the memory swap, and see if I can get some better memories.

I would love to be able to view my memory's but i know alot of people that have been through alot of bad things wouldnt want it unless it had a auto delete bad memory thing

Total Recall, anyone?

I wonder how true this is for humans, though. The brain is amazingly plastic. what about hemispherectomy patients, etc.?

Does this study prove that memory is stored in the brain in a physical material sense ? Im confused

The individual neurons, collective groups of neurons, the entire nervous system, the entire body is an antenna system, complete with transmitting and receiving capabilities, in connection with each persons quantum entangled structure. Religions called this a "Soul" or "Book of Life". But in probable reality, it's just a non-religious structure caused by existence in space-time that is the containment structure of your "I am" consciousness without end. Religions offer an escape from that containment structure for some other realm, region, or structure, I'm spectulating.

reply to post by TheEnlightenedOne

But following what you said, for those individuals with post-drama 'syndromes', this technique will do wonders!

Puts me in mind of the movie "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"...

If they can pinpoint specific memory locations then you don't need to jump to "Total Recall" to simply destroy those specific memories. Now implanting memories is another kettle of fish entirely and brings you back to the Gover-nator if you're so inclined...

I personally don't think the actual memory is stored in those neurons. I think the neurons identified probably contain specific routing info/instructions for that specific memory and if destroyed the organism simply can't find or know how to re-construct that memory.

In other words, I don't believe memories are stored like ultra-rich video clips. I think they are *built* by our brains using a very specific set of instructions each time they are needed or called for.

But, your mileage may vary, void where prohibited, insert other standard disclaimer here...

Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind here we come.
That was such a great movie.