Neuroscience
Anyone who's seen the movie, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, has thought about the question. Many may be surprised that a number of neuroscientists and drug developers have been asking the same question. The issue comes up when thinking of the topic of so-called "cosmetic neurology," but also arises when considering very serious acute mental trauma. Today's Washington Post includes an article exploring this question:
[ ... Read the full article ... ]
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- Amnesia At The Movies: Eternal Sunshine, Memento, And Finding Nemo
Wherein the author finds that the fish gets it right and is pleased with the homage to Patient H.M.: Sallie Baxendale. Memories aren't made of this: Amnesia at the movies. British Medical Journal 2004; 329: 1480-1483 (18 December). [doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7480.1480]...
Neuroscience
When is it Good to Forget?
Anyone who's seen the movie, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, has thought about the question. Many may be surprised that a number of neuroscientists and drug developers have been asking the same question. The issue comes up when thinking of the topic of so-called "cosmetic neurology," but also arises when considering very serious acute mental trauma. Today's Washington Post includes an article exploring this question:
Is Every Memory Worth Keeping?
Controversy Over Pills to Reduce Mental Trauma
By Rob Stein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 19, 2004; Page A01
[snip]
Proponents say it could lead to pills that prevent or treat PTSD in soldiers coping with the horrors of battle, torture victims recovering from brutalization, survivors who fled the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, and other victims of severe, psychologically devastating experiences.
"Some memories can be very disruptive. They come back to you when you don't want to have them -- in a daydream or nightmare or flashbacks -- and are usually accompanied by very painful emotions," said Roger K. Pitman, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School who is studying the approach. "This could relieve a lot of that suffering."
Skeptics, however, argue that tinkering with memories treads into dangerous territory because memories are part of the very essence of a person's identity, as well as crucial threads in the fabric of society that help humanity avoid the mistakes of the past.
"All of us can think of traumatic events in our lives that were horrible at the time but made us who we are. I'm not sure we'd want to wipe those memories out," said Rebecca S. Dresser, a medical ethicist at Washington University in St. Louis who serves on the President's Council on Bioethics, which condemned the research last year. "We don't have an omniscient view of what's best for the world."
Some fear anything designed for those severely disabled by psychic damage will eventually end up being used far more casually -- to, perhaps, forget a bad date or a lousy day at work.
"You can easily imagine a scenario of 'I was embarrassed at my boss's party last night, and I want to take something to forget it so I can have more confidence when I go into the office tomorrow,' " said David Magnus, co-director of Stanford University's Center for Biomedical Ethics. "It's not hard to imagine that it will end up being used much more broadly."
[snip]
[ ... Read the full article ... ]
- How Thinking About The Future Can Cause Us To Forget The Past
We routinely envision future events, whether that be fantasising about next month’s beach retreat, or planning whether to hit the gym this afternoon before or after picking up the dry cleaning. New research supports the idea that we are able to conjure...
- Memory: Bdnf And Micrornas
Making memories: How one protein does it The JHU Gazette 12 March 2012 [snip] "Studying tiny bits of genetic material that control protein formation in the brain, Johns Hopkins scientists say that they have new clues to how memories are made and how drugs...
- Narrative: Post-traumatic-brain-injury Recovery
This narrative by a writer for The Miami Herald includes a good description of the resolution of her post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) (also called post-traumatic confusional state) in the recovery from the head injury she sustained. Recovering life, self...
- Medical History: Clinical Trials And Retrolental Fibroplasia
Today's Washington Post has a full feature story from the annals of medical history: Establishing Proof Some Fifty Years Ago a Baby-Blinding Epidemic Confounded Experts -- Until a Pioneering Study Conclusively Tied Cause and Effect, and Enshrined...
- Amnesia At The Movies: Eternal Sunshine, Memento, And Finding Nemo
Wherein the author finds that the fish gets it right and is pleased with the homage to Patient H.M.: Sallie Baxendale. Memories aren't made of this: Amnesia at the movies. British Medical Journal 2004; 329: 1480-1483 (18 December). [doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7480.1480]...