Have you ever thought to erase your stressful memories out of your brain? Or maybe implanting some knowledge to
your brain in an instant? In not too distant future, you will get what you want. For
the First time ever, MIT researchers have shown 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.
To do this, the researchers
used optogenetics so that they’re sensitive to light. These modified cells are
then triggered using lasers. We should note
that MIT’s subjects in this case are mice, but the function is likely the same
as the human brain. To perform this experiment, MIT had to breed genetically
engineered mice with optogenetic neuron, and we’re a long, long way off
breeding humans with optogenetic brains.
In the experiment, MIT gave
mice an electric shock to create a fear memory in the hippocampus region of the
brain and then activated the neurons where the memory was stored. The mice quickly
entered a defensive, immobile crouch, suggesting the fear memory was being
recalled.
The question now is how memories are actually
encoded. Can we
programmatically create new memories and learn entire subjects by inserting a
laser into our brain? We know that a cluster of neurons firing can trigger the
memory of your first kiss, but why? How can
100 or maybe more neurons, firing
in a specific order, conjure up a beautifully detailed image of an elephant? Hopefully MIT isn’t too far away from finding out.