Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Memories of Mighty Mouse

The shape this country is in means even he can't save the day.

"Mind-control study gives mouse false memory" by Carolyn Y. Johnson |  Globe Staff, July 25, 2013

In a mind-control experiment that demonstrates the astonishing power of new neuroscience tools, Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers planted a false memory in the mind of a mouse using genetic techniques that allow them to trigger specific brain cells with light. The scientists were able to make the mouse recall something that had never occurred....

Like being abducted by aliens!

Scientists hope the implanting false memories.... 

Like some sort of Manchurian candidate!

False memories have been notorious in the courtroom, with eyewitness accounts sending the wrong people to prison. They also infect our everyday lives; even vivid “flashbulb memories,” such as people’s recollections of the moment they learned about the attacks of 9/11, are less consistent over time than people believe, studies have found.

Mine are crystal clear: I was working on a paper about George Orwell and euphemisms when my mother called and told me to put the TV on the news, the world trade center had been hit. I worked on the paper all day while listening and watching what was being reported. When WTC 7 dropped about half-after five I remember saying to myself "what a mess down there today," thinking nothing of controlled demolitions or anything. 

I must admit, readers, it has been a long, strange trip since.

Scientists won’t start planting false memories in people, but....

It's on the drawing board, meaning they may well be doing it now.

--more--"

RelatedCan’t get these memories out of my mind

I didn't hear that:

"The deaf mice were far from cured; the improvement in hearing was much less than could be achieved by an existing technology, called a cochlear implant. But.... 

Let's f*** with the mice anyway.

--more--"