Memory Reconsolidation: The erasing of memories

March 11, 2012

One of my favorite areas in psychology is cognitive, however when learning the basics I must admit it can be tedious. Cognitive psychology condensed into its simplest form can be depicted by theories such as ‘the working model of memory’ and ‘the multi-store model of memory’ or ‘bottom-up and top-down’ theories. A person must learn the basics before anything else, when delving into world of science it’s easy to get caught up in the hype and a thought pattern of ‘it sound smart so it must be good’. Yes science opens many avenues as to what is possible especially in medical science; some well-known examples of this in the press are stem cell, cloning and designer babies. In psychology however the idea of being able to erase memories is becoming less of a fictional reality and more a very real possibility in the future. The problem being is the fundamental ethical issue it raises, is it okay to do whatever we want? Would its invention be both an amazing tool but also our worst nightmare, consider the invention of nuclear power and with it came the atomic bomb. The question being would the power to erase and manipulate memories be purely used only for the good of humans, especially when it is our memories which make up who we are?

It is around 20 years ago that scientists thought that memories where unmovable and stable, the only way it was thought possible to stop them, was to interrupt the process immediately in the short term memory stages (1). Current research has proved that theory not to be the case, memories are far more flexible. Latest studies on focus on memory reconsolidation; this is where a memory can be retrieved and restored (reconsolidated) as a new memory (2). Research on this area has led to the discovery of a drug that can interfere with the connection between neurons when new memories are being formed i.e. the act of reconsolidation. There are already drugs available to help in the prevention of memory erosion because of the intake of new information, but the act of erasing a memory is where things get complicated. To get rid of a memory a specific area of the brain will have to be targeted and the drugs available at the moment affect the whole brain. The protein PKM Zeta is responsible for the construction of new memories; it doubles the strength of neurons when a new memory is being form. A pill that inhibits the process will cause the protein the come out the cell and prevents a memory from being formed (3). Another inhibiting protein called ZIP can interfere with the chemical process that creates lasting memories, this shows long lasting results because subjects injected still cannot remember the memory after being tested after a period of 2 months. You can still teach the animal the same skill and it will remember clearly, meaning the process of creating memories was not damaged by the drug (4).

This certainly makes me wonder if we really will have a wonder drug in the future that will allow us to forget a painful past. However it does rise a lot of questions about whether it’s such a good idea, memories of a painful event can cause us to reflect and adjust who we are, sometimes a memory of guilt or shame can keep us in line and prevent us from committing bad acts. Memories can be terribly crippling but a lot of the time people find themselves becoming a better person as a result. This is why research into memory is gold dust to clinical psychologists, especially when it can help treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) which previously only had extinction therapy available. Advances have been made by psychologists to dampen memories without the use of drugs; usually memories that cause the most problems are those that are strengthened by emotion (5). In the case of PTSD the emotion is usually fear, and the intense emotions that come with the memory can be dampened by using behavioral manipulation. The problem with the extinction method is the fear would be created in a safe environment until eventually the fear would die out but it would come back after period of time. The research into memory reconsolidation found the trick was to wait 10 minutes for the memory to be relayed, reformed and reinforced. The results have concluded that reconsolidation of the memory is manipulated permanently, what clinical psychologists aim to do now is take the treatment from the lab to the bedside a.k.a. translation (6).

The option to dampen memories seems to be the preferred choice by people in high stress jobs such as the police and army personnel (7). In most cases people don’t want to forget their experience, but rather deal with it better. I think given the choice to take a wonder pill that will take a painful past away, I would refuse. I believe every memory is a vital part of growing as a person, even if it is unpleasant. Psychologists should focus on helping people move on and learn from an experience rather than encouraging the act of ‘sticking ones head in the sand’. If you can’t remember an event it doesn’t mean it never happened and many good things have come out of having awareness to painful situations. Examples of this can be seen when parents who have lost a child set up a charity or remembering the horrors that happened during wars in the past. I would like to share some quotes that reflect how important memories and the lessons they teach us are:

“Tragedy is a tool for the living to gain wisdom, not a guide by which to live.” – Robert Kennedy

“In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” – Abraham Lincoln

References

1. http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/488538?uid=3738032&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=55874516813

2. http://neuro.cjb.net/content/24/20/4787.short

3. http://www.cell.com/neuron/retrieve/pii/S0896627306002807

4. http://www.sciencemag.org/content/313/5790/1141.short

5. http://www.nature.com/nrn/journal/v7/n1/abs/nrn1825.html

6. http://neuro.cjb.net/content/24/42/9269.short

7. http://ukpmc.ac.uk/abstract/MED/16891611/reload=0;jsessionid=Bw7RIgzGpYWjyv2r0eS8.4

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b012lj4m

 

Posted by Jessicaaro
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12 Responses to “Memory Reconsolidation: The erasing of memories”

  1. felley Says:

    March 11, 2012 at 11:53 pm

    A really really interesting point that you have made. I agree that the experiences we’ve had shape the person that we are today. As an example, society nowadays is so wrapped up in regret that in some people it’s almost impossible to move on from painful memories/events that have happened. There have been numerous occasions among talking with friends where the question “Do you regret anything?” or “what is your biggest regret?” has come up. I myself have acted which i’m not proud of but this have allowed me to become the person I am today and with these experiences I really do believe that I am better off because I have gained knowledge from them. I have learnt the error of my ways and if a similar situation were to present itself I believe I would be prepared for it based on past choices. If a person were to take this wonder pill to erase the memory of this regret then disappearing along with it would be the lesson that was learned from the experience. Memory is a very touchy subject to study as it works in conjunction with our emotions. Remembering a memory can induce many feelings and emotions within a person and whether this is negative or positive I really strongly believe it’s something that we should not attempt to erase. Human memory is awe-inspiring and to tamper with it I believe is playing with fire and those who play with fire get burned. I can understand from certain perspectives why somebody would want to erase a certain memory, don’t get me wrong, i’m not saying that those who have been tortured, raped or abused etc should not be given the opportunity if it’s out there but before they decide what to do I just think that they should consider how their experience has affected their life for the better. If it hasn’t then it’s understandable why somebody would want to take the pill; from my own experiences it isn’t fair to dictate whether someone should or shouldn’t want to erase a memory, I just strongly believe that in many cases, the things we go through although may be tough to deal with at the time but in time will always provide insightful information for us.

    Reply
  3. World of Statistics Says:

    March 13, 2012 at 9:38 pm

    What a very interesting and diverse topic you have chosen to discuss. I completely agree with your point in that our experiences does shape our personality and who we become. Experiences from childhood, early adolescence, university e.t.c provides us with significant memories that we can look back on and reflect. Although individuals may choose to erase some parts of their past, as it brings them feeling of unpleasentness, it is important to not regret these experiences and instead learn from them and move on. It is fascinating the power that one memory can have on ourselves.
    In conclusion, i believe that one must not regret what they have done and instead look back and reflect on their experiences. In the words of Adele: ‘Regrets and mistakes, they’re memories made’.

    Reply
  4. Jack Says:

    March 14, 2012 at 2:29 pm

    You must have seen Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. MUST. What an interesting topic and how controversial! In some ways I wonder if we would all be better people if we remembered nothing, battles would be forgot and we would live for the moment would we not? Many of our blogs seem to cover what would be possible but potentially unpopular to do as psychologists or Science as a whole. Perhaps one way to look at our ethical dilemmas is with regard to our past. Only fifty years ago Milgram performed controversial studies, fifty or so years before that Little Albert became petrified of bunnies. Fifty years before that we routinely mistreated and abused the majority of individuals with undesirable mental conditions. Can we really say that we have any idea of what will be acceptable or possible in twenty years? You are completely right regarding memory, it makes us who we are. To remove even a portion of that is to change the way we function. Once memory can be altered, reality becomes changeable, a 1984esque image appears in ones mind and altered-memory becomes a force for the deepest evils of our world. I can’t disagree with your conclusion, I think we are who we are because we have managed to get to where we are in the world and worked through whatever our past is.

    We are product of our past but we don’t have to be prisoners of it. Rick Warren

    Reply
    • Jessicaaro Says:

      March 14, 2012 at 9:45 pm

      One of my biggest worries is science inventing something that can erase what ever memory they chose or even a devise that deletes recent memory. I know this sounds very hollywood-esk but wasn’t the thought of an atomic bomb a fantasy a few hundred years ago. There are somethings that should never exist and this could be one of those drugs, what use is it to people? Therapy should be focusing on enabling people to deal with their past and move on, not help people stick their head in the sand like usual. Memories help us learn and take responsibility, we comfort someone who is sad because we remember what it’s like ourselves. That is a bit reductionist as an example but it gets the point over, no one likes bad things happening but they happen but they happen just like the sun rises every morning. If people start living in ignorance because they are using these wonder drugs, imagine what would happen to society. A example of people using supposed wonder drugs is cases like pregnant woman using thalidomide to cure morning sickness, which caused abnormal growth in the developing fetus. The worry I have is what if something like that happened to our brains after extended use of a memory drug.

      References

      http://www.thalidomideuk.com/
      http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/themes/controversies/thalidomide.aspx

      Reply
  5. Blondie Says:

    March 14, 2012 at 5:03 pm

    Very interesting topic, but can you really erase a memory? Of course it is possible to erase the memory for that person, if it is a thought or dream then quite possibly because that belongs solely to the person who had that – once it’s gone it’s gone. But, what if you wanted to erase an experience or action? Theoretically it is impossible, because it will have had some effect on the environment and therefore leaving an indefinite footprint on your past. For those experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder, finding out about an experience or action they had done but not remembering it (due to these miraculous memory-erasing drugs) could be more distressing than the possible benefits that has been suggested for them taking these drugs. Of course ignorance can be bliss, but what happens once a person who’s memory of an event/ experience/ action has been erased, is told about it? Well, according to Nash and Takarangi (2011), we are likely to seek out further information. Their study investigated the process of reconstructing alcohol-induced memory blackouts, which I would suggest have a similar function to these memory erasing drugs. Participants stated they they asked other people for information, looked at photos and video for answers. All of these would be available for the individual who takes a memory erasing drug, and I believe that knowing they were involved or something happened to them and not being able to remember it will be more distressing than trying to deal with the memory itself.

    Nash, R., and Takarangi, M. (2011). Reconstructing alcohol-induced memory blackouts. memory, 19 (6), 566-573 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2011.590508

    Reply
    • Jessicaaro Says:

      March 14, 2012 at 8:48 pm

      From what I gathered from reading the research is at the moment the drugs are able to stop people from remembering things that happen while under its influence. So you are correct in saying that a memory can not be erased at the moment, however things such as retrograde amnesia (usually caused by disease or an accident) happens naturally that erases memories. Ribot’s law suggests however that the memories closest to the time of the accident are more likely to be erased rather than remote memories. Perhaps this is a good indication for memory therapies that the older the memory the more ingrained it will be and therefor adding onto the difficulty of altering or erasing it. As previously mentioned in my blog there are alternate therapies that simply aim to take away the physical symptoms of emotional memory.This I believe is the best way to treat memories as memories are precious, it is just learning how to deal with them.

      References
      http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/2004-19012-002
      http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.ne.05.030182.001325

      Reply
  7. Hannah Says:

    April 15, 2012 at 6:30 pm

    I think that the topic for your blog is really interesting and is going to be open to a lot of debate.
    Obviously there are advantages and disadvantages to such a controversial thing as deleting memories.
    It is also quite hard to decide if you do actually want a memory deleted because, say at the time of thinking about taking the pill the memory is very upsetting, but what if in the future it is actually something you would have liked to remember? Clearly this would be a potential problem if memory deletion became the next big thing.
    I do agree that it does have it uses in things like PTSD, however, I do think that it is something that should definitely be looked into with caution.

    Reply
    • Jessicaaro Says:

      April 16, 2012 at 12:05 pm

      I think that the methodology should be very precise to reduce experimenter error and external veriables. It is important to be cautious of the placebo effect being partly responsible for the succes of the treatment. The treatment is causing a physical reaction in the brain by preventing the proteins responsible for creating memories but is that one reaction the only thing influencing the memory, the brain has been found to use multiple areas for one function. This could also be the treatment of emotional therapy that uses memory reconsolidation to treat PTSD, it could be the level of trust the patient has in the therapy that influences the success. A well known english pro-verb say that you can lead a horse to water but you can not make it drink describes this occurance perfectly. If you’re not focused on acheiving your goal and beleive you want or need to then you will do well, if you don’t then you will not acheive the desired effect.
      Research into pain perception has found that if you expect someting to be painful, the pain will be exaggerated because your attention hightens your awareness (1). So if you beleive the the memory reconsolidation is going to work then there is a higher chance it will do so (2).

      References

      1.http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/271/20/1609.short

      2. http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/47/3/259

      Reply

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