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Brain Power Boosted With Electrical Stimulation
Zothecula writes "With the possible exception of those affected by hyperthylmesia — a rare condition where a person has an extraordinary capability to recall events from their past — most of us wouldn't mind having our memory enhanced. That's just what appears to have happened to a group of mice when targeted areas of their brains were electrically stimulated. The treatment triggered an increase in the creation of new cells in the hippocampus, with experiment results suggesting the mice's spatial learning improved. The researchers responsible say the results could have implications for the treatment of memory disorders in humans."
Performance enhancing chips and healing nanobots are coming. Just hang in there!
In addition to treating disorders, I'd be interested in seeing techniques like this used to augment people beyond normal human capability. Of course, then we'd have to listen to self-described bioethics experts blather on about whether or not actually doing that means we're "playing God" or something.
there is no 'l' in the word.
BOOST ALL THE BRAINS!
Seriously. There's elections coming up.
Well, I know that people with really hot tempers usually have bad memories. They'd not be able to live with anyone else, or probably themselves, if they didn't.
I think that what we really want is really selective memory. Like for rapid learning of languages.
If you just want to remember facts, there are some memory tricks that work pretty well. Oops, I've forgotten the links :-)
Bruce Perens.
"Well, don't. A friend of mine tried one their "special offers," nearly got himself lobotomized." "No shit?" "Don't fuck with your brain, pal. It ain't worth it."
Unfortunately, enhancing the mice memory won't help them to forget about their ill-treatments.
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
I could swear that I have seen this news item on slashdot before. Maybe my brain needs a jolt.
And I, for one, welcome our new mouse overlords
.. if I could remember every Chemistry lecture.
you've got a friend in me.
Where did i put that stun gun? Last time I tested that on myself i was a bit tipsy. I wonder if that cancelled out the brain cells i killed that night. If only i could remember.
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I know something else that stimulates cell growth.
Cancer.
I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
Attaching electrodes to the genitals has also been shown to enhance recall in the subject.
I have google and my friends. Its all about the keywords and remembering which friends from which time periods you need to speak to. O and facebook is quite useful nowadays. Obviously IMDB,Wikipedia and ermmmm -- - thingummmy ------ Snopes thats it, are useful too. o look hackaday is calling ;)
On a long enough timeline. The survival rate for everyone drops to zero. Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club, 1996
I can bet the name of the mouse in question is Algernon
"It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
I lost two large patches of hair trying this at home. I used a few 9volts, some alligator clamps, and my gangster friend's gold chains, and although I did feel a little wittier, it just aint worth the new image.
Laws are like sausages. It's better not to see them being made. - Otto von Bismarck
I have always had an amazing memory and can even remember being in the crib. Freaks most people out... specially my mother when I describe the room and such. I've mentioned it to doctors over the years thinking they'd want to investigate it but never had any interest. Alas, as I've gotten older it's faded. I can still remember all the stuff that occurred when I was younger, but things that happened in the past 6-12 months are far less clear to me than most of when I was a toddler.
Crikey the Krell have been doing this for millenia, You guys need to get out more.
I didn't ask for this.
Next they need to work on a cooling solution.
While they are putting the wiring in how about one into the pleasure center -- then we can have a new group of addicts called Wire Heads. Cheap since it only takes a bit of electricity.
Invalid Checksum. Retrying.
I've been sticking forks in electrical outlets for years and I'm not any smartyer.
I know that exercise helps brain function but shocking somebody in the head with an electrical probe isn't a very nice way to motivate someone.
Having to work for a living is the root of all evil.
So that's what Dr. Lizardo was doing.
hasn't anyone seen Requiem For A Dream? this is old news! and that guy's mom was so much better off after the treatment too...
insensitive clod overlords obligatory xkcd car analogy russian reversals whoosh pedant fanbois ftfy in 3...2...1..PROFIT
There are ways to deliberately remove or alter the emotional contexts of memories. You won't forget the memories, but you will not associate the same emotions with them as you originally did.
I first learned this technique from listening to an interview with the mentalist Derren Brown. If you don't know who he is (he's mostly famous in the UK) go watch some Youtube videos. I use this technique regularly, and it works phenomenally well for me. It is wonderful to cleanse one's mind of those hidden historical emotional "land mines". The gist of it is:
1) Put your self in an extremely, exuberantly positive mental state. Imagine something really good happening, an ideal day, winning the lottery, or whatever gets you enthusiastically positive. This needs to be a fairly extreme mental state -- just feeling mildly positive may not do the trick. (Non-extreme emotional states don't tend to modify memories much.)
2) Deliberately recall the target memory that you find upsetting, but JUST A LITTLE, and without letting yourself lose your exuberant happy state. Think that you are "too happy to let that bother you right now."
3) Think about something else for a while. Later (a day later?), see if you can think of the memory without pain. You may find that the memory is no longer painful. If not, repeat the process.
Keeping the extreme happy emotional state while "brushing up against" the painful memory causes it to be tinged with your current happy emotional state, and weakens its connections with the painful emotional state that it was previously associated with.
I have learned to apply this approach after-the-fact as well, so that when I think of an old memory and go "ouch", I immediately try to put myself in an extreme positive state of mind and "erase" the bad emotional connections.
There is also a more involved version of this technique that Derren Brown describes in his book, "Trick of the Mind", which is for dealing with more extreme unpleasant memories or associations (phobias, PTSD, and so forth). This involves imaging a movie theater and the traumatic memory running backwards on the screen in front of you in black and white. That technique is somewhat complicated, so if you think you need that, I recommend finding a copy of the book. (I think there is also a YouTube video of an interview with him somewhere where he describes this.)
Mandatory Look Around You Reference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spF6A2QK31s