Those of you who have seen the Oscar-winning film starring Jim Carrey and wished there was actually a company that could erase memories, then be patient, because science fiction is very close to becoming a reality.
Specifically, researchers from the University of California managed to "tease" the brains of experimental animals, creating false memories for them, or deleting some of the old ones.
The researchers, led by Professor Robert Malinow, implanted an optical fiber into the brains of experimental animals, giving them small electric shocks and shining beams of light on them. After a while, the electric shocks stopped, but when a beam of light was shone on the mice, they felt fear.
Then, after creating this specific memory, they managed to identify in the mice's brains the neural synapses that linked the feeling of fear to the visual stimulus, weakened them, and the mice stopped feeling fear of the light.
The research is still in its very early stages, but according to the researchers, in the future it may significantly help in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
Source: iefimerida.gr
