tzijlstra Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 It is now possible to erase rats' memories with light, a bit like they did in makes you wonder if the researchers used the movie for inspiration! I wonder what the possible applications of this could be... the immediate line of thought goes for therapeutic reasons and so on, but could it also be used in a means to put people in stasis whilst shooting them into space? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackbeard Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 I hope you are not going to claim you have forgotten that £20 you owe me or was it £50? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister M Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 Apparently researchers are hoping that the therapeutic uses are with patients suffering with PTSD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzijlstra Posted June 2, 2014 Author Share Posted June 2, 2014 I hope you are not going to claim you have forgotten that £20 you owe me or was it £50? What was that? I find it remarkable that they can use light, it seems this is the sort of discovery that brings our understanding of the ultimate frontier (the brain) a lot nearer. Very interesting stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flamingjimmy Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 I wonder what the possible applications of this could be. I've always wanted this device. What I'd use it for is to wipe my memory of my favorite books, films, videogames and TV shows so I could experience them all again as if for the first time, as many times as I liked. I could never be bored. Also, I'm a little confused by your space idea, how would having a wiped memory help with long distance space travel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzijlstra Posted June 2, 2014 Author Share Posted June 2, 2014 Also, I'm a little confused by your space idea, how would having a wiped memory help with long distance space travel? It's a sci-fi idea - stasis is the means to bring a body and brain in a full state of rest so that the body can be preserved over the length of a journey that would take many normal life-times (ie. lightyears away). Perhaps this sort of discovery could lead to us achieving this state in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flamingjimmy Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 It's a sci-fi idea - stasis is the means to bring a body and brain in a full state of rest so that the body can be preserved over the length of a journey that would take many normal life-times (ie. lightyears away). Perhaps this sort of discovery could lead to us achieving this state in the future. Yeah I understand the concept of putting people into stasis, I read enough sci-fi for that, and we've all seen Alien! I just don't quite see how having a real life Men in Black memory wiping pen would help with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 It is now possible to erase rats' memories with light, a bit like they did in makes you wonder if the researchers used the movie for inspiration! I wonder what the possible applications of this could be... the immediate line of thought goes for therapeutic reasons and so on, but could it also be used in a means to put people in stasis whilst shooting them into space? Errr, well ,no. that had been genetically modified to respond to light, while shocking the animal's foot at the same time. They had to genetically engineer the rat to have the brain cells respond to light. They didn't shine a light into it's eyes. And it affects a memory of something. What has that got to do with stasis? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzijlstra Posted June 2, 2014 Author Share Posted June 2, 2014 Yeah I understand the concept of putting people into stasis, I read enough sci-fi for that, and we've all seen Alien! I just don't quite see how having a real life Men in Black memory wiping pen would help with that. Errr, well ,no. They had to genetically engineer the rat to have the brain cells respond to light. They didn't shine a light into it's eyes. And it affects a memory of something. What has that got to do with stasis? Apologies, I am jumping around fifty steps ahead without filling in the middle. I see this discovery as a step on the ladder leading to understanding how stasis could be achieved. We (as a species) now incredibly little about how the conscious state works, we do however know that memories play an important part, if we can reach a state where we can 'pause consciousness' as well as bodily functions and restart that effectively we can reach a feasible state of stasis at the end of a long line of research. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 Sedating someone is sufficient to pause consciousness. Even a deep sleep doesn't really leave you with much in terms of lasting memory. There's an interesting article about a new treatment protocol for some traumatic injuries that is being likened to "suspended animation". http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/freezing-stabbing-victims-in-suspended-animation-could-save-lives-as-trials-begin-9435005.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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