How to Change a Memory
One Neuroscientist’s Quest to Alter the Past
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
As a graduate student at MIT, Steve Ramirez successfully created false memories in the lab. Now, as a neuroscientist working at the frontiers of brain science, he foresees a future where we can replace our negative memories with positive ones. In How to Change a Memory, Ramirez draws on his own memories of friendship, family, loss and recovery to reveal how memory can be turned on and off like a switch, edited and even constructed from nothing.
A future in which we can change our memories of the past may seem improbable, but in fact, the everyday act of remembering is one of transformation. Intentionally editing memory to improve our lives takes advantage of the brain's natural capacity for change.
Ramirez explores how scientists discovered that memories are fluid - they change over time, can be erased, reactivated and even falsely implanted in the lab. Reflecting on his own path as a scientist, he examines how memory manipulation shapes our imagination and sense of self. If we can erase a deeply traumatic memory, would it change who we are? And what would that change mean anyway? Throughout, Ramirez carefully considers the ethics of artificially controlling memory, exploring how we might use this tool responsibly - for both personal healing and the greater good.
A masterful blend of memoir and cutting-edge science, How to Change a Memory explores how neuroscience has reached a critical juncture, where scientists can see the potential of memory manipulation to help people suffering from the debilitating effects of PTSD, anxiety, Alzheimer's, addiction and a host of other neurological and behavioral disorders.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Can memories be artificially erased, enhanced, reactivated, or—as in the 2010 movie Inception—flat-out falsified? Yes to all, contends neuroscientist Ramirez in his riveting debut, which blends personal narrative and scientific analysis. Research reveals that memory is not as reliable as many believe; memories are naturally malleable, reshaping themselves with each recall such that they eventually become "pastiches of experience" that can easily be imbued with psychological fictions. It was this observation that led Ramirez and his colleague Xu Liu to embark on "Project Inception," a study in which they successfully instilled—and then activated—false fear-provoking memories in mouse brains. Underpinning this and other memory research, Ramirez notes, is a technique called optogenetics, which uses lasers and a photosensitive protein from pond slime to activate memories, and is helping scientists discover more about how memories are formed, stored, and reconfigured, as well as the role they play in identity, creativity, and the ability to make predictions. While the idea of memory manipulation may seem creepy, the potential for good is immense, according to Ramirez, who convincingly posits that these new tools may lead to treatments for PTSD, anxiety disorders, and addiction, and might even be able to reactivate memories lost to dementia. It's an illuminating look at a dynamic area of neuroscientific research.
