Scientists Are Scary Close To Controlling Our Memories And Brains With Computers

Computers that meddle with our thoughts, memories and brains might not be far off, The New York Times' Nick Bilton reports. There are already thought-controlled gadgets and smart phone apps. But recently, a group of scientists at MIT took brain-computer interactions to a whole new level.

While they weren't able to create memories from scratch, they were able to associate different feelings to neutral memories in mice. In other words, they were able to turn frightening memories into indifference. When successful, the memory-altered mice didn't recognize the location where they had earlier received an electrical shock. They thought the negative memory had been created elsewhere.

Another feat scientists are getting closer to achieving is the ability to "upload" information into our brains. Learning another language, degree, or musical instrument could be as easy as falling asleep. Boston University scientists teamed up with a neuroscience lab in Japan and wrote a paper on "Decoded Neurofeedback." It's the ability to alter brain activity patterns via functional magnetic resonance imaging machine, Bilton writes. Read more >>

Neuroscientists plant false memories in the brain

The phenomenon of false memory has been well-documented: In many court cases, defendants have been found guilty based on testimony from witnesses and victims who were sure of their recollections, but DNA evidence later overturned the conviction.

In a step toward understanding how these faulty memories arise, MIT neuroscientists have shown that they can plant false memories in the brains of mice. They also found that many of the neurological traces of these memories are identical in nature to those of authentic memories.

“Whether it’s a false or genuine memory, the brain’s neural mechanism underlying the recall of the memory is the same,” says Susumu Tonegawa, the Picower Professor of Biology and Neuroscience and senior author of a paper describing the findings in the July 25 edition of Science. Read more >>