Anyone for a memory boost?
By Jason Major
TechNyou
What if you could enhance all your important memories and delete all the bad or painful memories? Great (for some, I’m sure) if you are suffering from dementia, or on the flip-side post-traumatic stress disorder and want to forget a specific event. But, what, if you simply want to improve for grades at school, or just want to have a permanent fix to a dodgy memory? What if you desire this ability in your unborn children and ask the IVF doctor to tweak those genes in your embryo?
Once more into the ethical breach…
What we know so far
Neuroscientists have found a way to make old memories stronger without getting them all muddled as they are formed or recalled. Key to this is a gene that produces an enzyme (a type of protein) that they believe somehow influences the sensitivity of protein receptors at the nerve junctions in your brain. These receptors receive and attach to the chemical signals involved in memory formation and recall. The research was published in Science
Bring out the rats
Their experiments worked a treat in rats. By using genetic tools the researchers disrupted the gene’s function and also boosted the production of the enzyme in the neocortex, the spot in your brain they believe is the storage unit for long-term memories.
Rats were given sweet, lithium-laced water that made them ill. One week later, one bunch of rats had the production of the enzyme blocked; another bunch had it increased. Rats with loads of the enzyme remembered that sweet water made them ill and didn’t go near it. The bunch that had the enzyme blocked guzzled the water without a pause. The same thing happened with salty lithium-laced water.
Enhancement versus therapy
Human enhancement is still a long way from reality, though that may depend on how you define it. And I have asked the question previously whether we really need to distinguish between therapy and enhancement. I believe that each use of a technology should be assessed on a case-by-case basis. We need to ask if anyone is being harmed from the specific use of the technology, who is benefiting (individual, society, both, neither), is there equal access for all, and is our tight to choose if we want access to the technology impinged upon. It shouldn’t matter whether the use is considered an enhancement or a therapy. For example, is there a difference between taking drugs we use to improve our concentration (caffeine, Ritalin) and tweaking our genes to get the same affect? Is vaccination a therapy or enhancement? Most people I ask this of say it is a therapy, but we are artificially boosting our immune system to fend of disease. What if we could do this genetically in some way? That is, tweak particular genes to boost the ability or our immune system. Will this benefit the individual and society? What is wrong with someone wanting a better memory, or improving any aspect of their cognitive function, eg ability to concentrate for longer periods?
Memories
So, what if we can eventually use this technology to boost our memory recall or eliminate the bad ones? How do we decide which uses are acceptable and which are not, assuming we have eliminated the distinction between therapy and enhancement?
Tis a brave new world and although I am speculating and such research is unlikely to affect my life, it is likely to affect those born today. The research is also being done today, so the discussion needs to happen now about how we use this knowledge.
Further info
Research Reference
Shema, et al, Enhancement of Consolidated Long-Term Memory by Overexpression of Protein Kinase Mζ in the Neocortex. Science 4 March 2011, Vol. 331 no. 6021 pp. 1207-1210. DOI: 10.1126/science.1200215
Image: Kickoff.net.au