Scientists create "lab memories"

Neuroscientists have recently made lab news by successfully manipulating brain cells to create false memories in mice. The new research has opened up new research potential for study into Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, and post traumatic stress disorder, the researchers say.

Isolating parts of the brain that respond and store certain things has been the work of neuroscientists for some time, and these contemporary developments offer much hope for similar work in the future. The researchers worked with mice in laboratories using mild electrical shocks to induce fear. They then activated artificial memories by reconditioning them to fear electric shocks even when there were none.

The team, led by Susumu Tonegawa from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, highlighted that behavioural response to specific memories can be induced by reactivating cells that were active when the memory was initially made.

The research could lead to future experiments targeting the perception process through drug treatment to deal with certain mental diseases such as schizophrenia and post traumatic stress disorder.

Posted by Ben Evans