Say Goodbye To Fear!

Scientists at Stanford University have developed a method of sleep-therapy that can remove bad memories. It's only been tested on mice so far, but the results are reportedly encouraging.

Memory-erasure technology is finally starting to follow Eternal Sunshine canon. In the latest breakthrough, Stanford University researchers announced at the Society for Neuroscience meeting that they are manipulating fearful rat memories. Like the University of Puerto Rico study involving injections that cause rats to forget fears, this research is chemical-based, but the magic happens while the rats sleep. The team at Stanford hopes that sleep-based therapies will expand options for treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Source:

www.popsci.com...

Here's where my mind is going with this: in the future, it could be possible that soldiers are specifically treated to ignore certain fear factors in war environments; psychiatric patients are treated for their individual conditions so as to improve their reactions in social situations; and the average citizen is treated so as to reduce thoughts of distrust and suspicion towards certain groups, organizations, and legal enactments.

Essentially, this may be used to control our emotional response to situations or developments that would normally raise a red flag. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but what do you think?

wow if this is breaking news, that means they have been testing it on humans for at least ten years, this is not cool!!

double post

hi op

Fast moving fearless zombie comes to mind..
actually that sounds like the police nowadays lol

Come on. How do you ask a mouse if you've erased his bad memory? That's ridiculous.

Originally posted by PrplHrt
Come on. How do you ask a mouse if you've erased his bad memory? That's ridiculous.

I guess they would have to create the fear first.... electric shocks when a certain action is taken then measure to see if the memory of avoiding the action is retained or not.

Just my best guess...

Of course that wouldn't be a definite indication that the fear was erased, it could have been the memory of the event that was erased.

...which leads us back to thinking it's been tested on humans for the past several years...

reply to post by PrplHrt


That's easy. Measure reactions to a certain factor - water, a ball, a pair of die, socks, etc - and then induce fear by associating pain and stress with that factor. Measure reactions after administering the treatment, and if the reactions associated with fear and distress are significantly reduced beyond what would normally be expected of a rodent's nature, then you have conclusive results.

Honestly, use your imagination! You assume that just because a mouse is assumed to be inferior to human beings, its emotional responses cannot be determined? It's Standford, these guys are paid to be right!

So what kind of chip are they implanting now???

reply to post by nighthawk1954


I'm not sure if it's a chip right now, but I'm certain that should they choose to, they can format it from nano release from a chip in the future. It would be a very efficient means of creating a utopian mentality within society - a happy slave is a useful slave, after all.

This is more disturbing, than encouraging.

Whatever happened to good ole growing beyond your limitations through spiritual self-discovery?

reply to post by dontreally


or just puttin on your big-boy pants and dealing with it!

reply to post by AfterInfinity


I can see this as a positive thing for those who do suffer from PTS such as child abuse victims,rape victims etc being able to be applied to anyone who has become virtually crippled by events that greatly affect their quality of life.

But as per ussual the governments and military would have already been eyeing this off to use for their benefit from the get go.

Interesting topic AfterInfinity

reply to post by PurpleChiten


That too.

I'm somewhat curious how they determine bad memories from good ones.
Is there a certain part or the brain that deals only with bad memories?
I can just imagine going to sleep fearful or traumatized, and waking up not remembering
How to speak or use the restroom

reply to post by gps777


It really would be great for those with PTSD and I hope it opens a lot of doors to making their life a little easier.
Just like others here, I'm also a little apprehensive about other ways that it may be used that aren't quite as ... "good".

reply to post by DeafTone


I believe the treatment would eliminate the chemicular compounds known for causing the sensation of fear, distress, or panic. Therefore, the memories wouldn't be gone, only the negative emotions that they would have triggered.

reply to post by AfterInfinity


That makes sense.
I know someone mentioned zombies, but I think rather than just treating fear related problems,
it would be used to make soldiers less fearful in combat situations rushing headlong into whatever situation they're ordered into.

reply to post by DeafTone


Being fearless isn't like zombies, it just bolsters the idiocy that comes naturally to our species. Besides common sense, fear is the only thing that keeps us from jumping off cliffs as a sport. Not zombies...just a bunch of idiots. I think basically, the whole White House would break loose and infect America with the national application of this treatment.

reply to post by AfterInfinity


I wasn't implying that it would result in zombies, but I agree.
It looks like idiocracy is slowly becoming more than just a funny movie

Gosh... i don't think i like the sound of this. Fear is a natural emotion and it's there for a reason, be it for coping or being aware of danger or what not. Take it away and you take away something we naturally feel. It just doesn't feel right to me. But what do i know ?

I guess if it could help people to cope with things such as Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome or other temporary fear filled mind sets.. it might be useful and a hopeful therapy. But why tamper with these things. Its the minds way of dealing with these types of situations naturally, right? Maybe its no different than using hypnotherapy to help someone to stop smoking and other things. I don't know~

Guess we shall find out one day what the consequences of utilizing such things will be. My thoughts... What else will be manipulated besides their aim at manipulating the fearful memories?

Yikes.