Raptor Posted July 1, 2007 #1 Share Posted July 1, 2007 Scientists find drug to banish bad memories By Richard Gray, Science Correspondent Last Updated: 12:01am BST 01/07/2007 It failed to bring Jim Carrey happiness in the award-winning film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but scientists have now developed a way to block and even delete unwanted memories from people's brains. Researchers have found they can use drugs to wipe away single, specific memories while leaving other memories intact. By injecting an amnesia drug at the right time, when a subject was recalling a particular thought, neuro-scientists discovered they could disrupt the way the memory is stored and even make it disappear. The research has, however, sparked concern among parliamentary advisers who insist that new regulations are now needed to control the use of the drugs to prevent them becoming used by healthy people as a "quick fix". --> Link <-- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piney Posted July 2, 2007 #2 Share Posted July 2, 2007 Nothing good can come from something like this. I can see the New Jersey State Police keeping a few syringes of this stuff in their squad cars........... Lapiche Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mule Posted July 2, 2007 #3 Share Posted July 2, 2007 Yup....total insanity.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lotus Flower Posted July 2, 2007 #4 Share Posted July 2, 2007 I don't believe it can completely scrub any bad memory from the mind completely. It can probably bury it somewhere deep in the subconcious though. I dread to think what happens when the mind tries to "out" the memory again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadetak Posted July 3, 2007 #5 Share Posted July 3, 2007 I don't believe it can completely scrub any bad memory from the mind completely. It can probably bury it somewhere deep in the subconcious though. I dread to think what happens when the mind tries to "out" the memory again Messing with memories turns people into this guy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InnerSpace Posted July 3, 2007 #6 Share Posted July 3, 2007 (edited) This is already practiced in the OR. Sometimes a patient will not be given the correct balance of anaesthesia, which is a combination of two type drugs...one to put them to sleep, the other to paralyze them so that they remain completely still. Sometimes they wake up during the surgery, but still remain paralyzed...feeling pain. If the patient is wired to a brainwave monitor, the Anesthesiologists may become aware of this. The patient is then administered drugs to erase their memory of the traumatic experience. Many are not so fortunate. This occurs around 100 times a day in US hospitals. Edited to add: This article reminds me of a specific lyric in the song "In the Year 2525", by Zager & Evans: "Everything you think, do and say, Is in the pill you took today." Edited July 3, 2007 by Inner Space Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
War Eagle Posted July 3, 2007 #7 Share Posted July 3, 2007 I don't know if i would want a drug to erase my bad memories. I'd rather work through it myself, a sought of no pain no gain for your mind. I'd also like to think i can learn from my mistakes in life, self inflicted or not. ================================ Mass insanity: While physical health has improved in most parts of the world over the past century, mental health is getting worse. The World Health Organization estimates that 500 million people around the world suffer from a psychological disorder. By 2020, depression will likely be the second leading cause of death and lost productivity, right behind cardiovascular disease. Increasing human life spans may actually intensify the problem, because people have more years to experience the loneliness and infirmity of old age. Americans over 65 already are disproportionately likely to commit suicide. Gregory Stock, a biophysicist at the University of California at Los Angeles, believes medical science will soon allow people to live to be 200 or older. If such an extended life span becomes common, it will pose unfathomable social and psychological challenges. Perhaps 200 years of accumulated sensations will overload the human brain, leading to a new kind of insanity or fostering the spread of doomsday cults, determined to reclaim life's endpoint. Perhaps the current trends of depression and suicide among the elderly will continue. One possible solution- promoting a certain kind of mental well-being with psychoactive drugs such as Prozac- heads into uncharted waters. Researchers have no good data on the long-term effects of taking these medicines. By Corey S. Powell (October 2000) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InnerSpace Posted July 5, 2007 #8 Share Posted July 5, 2007 ================================ Mass insanity: While physical health has improved in most parts of the world over the past century, mental health is getting worse. The World Health Organization estimates that 500 million people around the world suffer from a psychological disorder. By 2020, depression will likely be the second leading cause of death and lost productivity, right behind cardiovascular disease. Increasing human life spans may actually intensify the problem, because people have more years to experience the loneliness and infirmity of old age. Americans over 65 already are disproportionately likely to commit suicide. Gregory Stock, a biophysicist at the University of California at Los Angeles, believes medical science will soon allow people to live to be 200 or older. If such an extended life span becomes common, it will pose unfathomable social and psychological challenges. Perhaps 200 years of accumulated sensations will overload the human brain, leading to a new kind of insanity or fostering the spread of doomsday cults, determined to reclaim life's endpoint. Perhaps the current trends of depression and suicide among the elderly will continue. One possible solution- promoting a certain kind of mental well-being with psychoactive drugs such as Prozac- heads into uncharted waters. Researchers have no good data on the long-term effects of taking these medicines. By Corey S. Powell (October 2000) Whoa, those are daunting statistics. Interesting article Rebel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules22871 Posted July 5, 2007 #9 Share Posted July 5, 2007 I want to keep my memories...all of them!!! They are what makes me who I am. I cannot see anything good coming from this discovery. You will end up with a world full of mindless sheep unable to think for themselves without some doctor (government) telling them what to think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
She-ra Posted July 7, 2007 #10 Share Posted July 7, 2007 Mass insanity: While physical health has improved in most parts of the world over the past century, mental health is getting worse. The World Health Organization estimates that 500 million people around the world suffer from a psychological disorder. By 2020, depression will likely be the second leading cause of death and lost productivity, right behind cardiovascular disease. Increasing human life spans may actually intensify the problem, because people have more years to experience the loneliness and infirmity of old age. Americans over 65 already are disproportionately likely to commit suicide. Gregory Stock, a biophysicist at the University of California at Los Angeles, believes medical science will soon allow people to live to be 200 or older. If such an extended life span becomes common, it will pose unfathomable social and psychological challenges. Perhaps 200 years of accumulated sensations will overload the human brain, leading to a new kind of insanity or fostering the spread of doomsday cults, determined to reclaim life's endpoint. Perhaps the current trends of depression and suicide among the elderly will continue. One possible solution- promoting a certain kind of mental well-being with psychoactive drugs such as Prozac- heads into uncharted waters. Researchers have no good data on the long-term effects of taking these medicines. By Corey S. Powell (October 2000) Whoa man...that just is depressing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmpressStarXVII Posted July 7, 2007 #11 Share Posted July 7, 2007 This reminds me of that movie Eternal Sunshine starring Jim Cary. I wouldn't like the idea of erasing my bad memories, those bad memories is what keeps me in check to be the good person I am today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
War Eagle Posted July 7, 2007 #12 Share Posted July 7, 2007 (edited) Whoa man...that just is depressing! Yea She-ra, i think that was just an official scientific estimate on pharmaceutical prescription drugs. I'l bet the stats on that would be twice if not more in the next 20 yrs or so from millions addicted to 'dangerous illicit street drugs'... Edited July 7, 2007 by REBEL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
healingtouch Posted July 9, 2007 #13 Share Posted July 9, 2007 I am not going to focus on the pros and cons of this system but in a way this certainly is something to cheer about as bad memories in some persons are everlasting which can also lead them to extreme trauma that can further result into chronic problems so if there is a way to eradicate these woeful memories it would do a lot of good to those who are dealing with the memories of their fond ones who might have lost in the world of death never to return. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atheist God Posted July 10, 2007 #14 Share Posted July 10, 2007 This would be good for people who have experienced traumatic events leading to disorders such as PTS etc. However there is a down side to memory wiping that i won't get into right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Silver Thong Posted July 10, 2007 #15 Share Posted July 10, 2007 I have had something similar to this drug, About 6 years ago I had to go for a spinal tap and the doctor said he would give me something so I wouldn't remeber the procedure. My girlfriend was with me and she said I sceamed and tried to move and swore at them. When me G/F told me about it I couldn't believe it, I didn't remeber a thing but I guess it hurt quit abit. This drug we are talking about here is different, for example: a child gets molested/rapped, this drug can be used to erase that memory so the child can grow up feeling normal. I can see a few good uses for this drug but not many. I see more bad then good with this stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
She-ra Posted July 10, 2007 #16 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Yea She-ra, i think that was just an official scientific estimate on pharmaceutical prescription drugs. I'l bet the stats on that would be twice if not more in the next 20 yrs or so from millions addicted to 'dangerous illicit street drugs'... So true Rebel...so true... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atheist God Posted July 10, 2007 #17 Share Posted July 10, 2007 I have had something similar to this drug, About 6 years ago I had to go for a spinal tap and the doctor said he would give me something so I wouldn't remeber the procedure. My girlfriend was with me and she said I sceamed and tried to move and swore at them. When me G/F told me about it I couldn't believe it, I didn't remeber a thing but I guess it hurt quit abit. A spinal tap isn't that bad and requires only a local... Also you have to stand during the procedure, while it does hurt a little bit it really isn't that bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena22 Posted July 12, 2007 #18 Share Posted July 12, 2007 The Bush administration, the CIA, the police, etc. would love to get their hands on this stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadyinvasion Posted July 15, 2007 #19 Share Posted July 15, 2007 maybe they already have it, erasing memorys of the past.... making us not remember anything...putting new memorys in place,better ones.. could be ahpping right now infact who knows Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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