Another study identified a drug, Latrunculin A, that can erase memories days later. The researchers trained rodents to consume methamphetamine in an environment with distinctive visual, tactile, and scent cues such as black walls, gridded floors, and the scent of vanilla or peppermint. Rodents that were injected with Latrunculin A two days later didn’t seek out meth when returned to that environment, but others did.
To make more targeted treatments, researchers will ultimately need to understand how the brain’s neurons encode each memory. Last year, Susumu Tonegawa at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology reported that individual memories in mice leave telltale molecular signatures in the brain’s hippocampus region. In July, his group caused mice to falsely associate an old memory with a new context—essentially creating a false memory.
The idea of scientists manipulating memory does, naturally, sound a bit creepy. But it also points to some possible good: treatment for millions of people tormented by real memories. And that’s something worth remembering.
路边炸弹、童年受虐、惨烈车祸……这些可怕的场景会成为记忆,然后带来一生的阴影。据美国媒体报道,现有研究显示清除甚至改写记忆即将成为可能,这将为医治上瘾和创伤后应激障碍(PTSD)等心理病症提供一种全新的治疗方法。
早在几十年前,科学家就发现记忆是不可靠的。尤其当人们主动唤起某种记忆时,该记忆被迫脱离一种稳定的分子状态,进而变得更加容易调整。去年春天,美国科学家公布了在华盛顿大学进行的一项研究成果。在此研究中,多名成年志愿者就其16岁之前的饮食习惯填写调查问卷。一周后,他们各自收到一份个性化分析报告,其中故意加入他们年少时曾因饮用朗姆酒或者伏特加酒而患病的内容。然而令人意外的是,1/5的志愿者不仅没有察觉到报告中的错误,他们还回想起当时并不存在的糟糕场景。并且,这些志愿者与之前相比,变得对酒水饮料更加没有兴趣。
【美科学家发现新疗法 清除改写记忆或将成真】相关文章:
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