16th February 2009, 10:19 PM
You've probably all seen those sci-fi shows where someone wipes away bad memories, and then some moral about how that's bad follows. Well, it seems there's a much better way to go about it. Instead of deleting a bad memory, just delete the bad part and keep the memory. If you have a scary memory of being stalked, you can keep all the details of being stalked and get rid of the fear you experience recalling it, so it's just bland.
http://scienceblogs.com/notrocketscience...edium=link
Seems they conditioned people to fear images of spiders by shocking them after showing an image of a spider. Then, afterwards they injected this drug, and due to how memories are rebuilt, they remembered the spider image, they remembered that shocks come later, but it didn't scare them any more.
This sounds like a great way to treat post tramatic stress disorder.
http://scienceblogs.com/notrocketscience...edium=link
Seems they conditioned people to fear images of spiders by shocking them after showing an image of a spider. Then, afterwards they injected this drug, and due to how memories are rebuilt, they remembered the spider image, they remembered that shocks come later, but it didn't scare them any more.
This sounds like a great way to treat post tramatic stress disorder.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)