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Neuroscientist managed to plant memory in sleeping mice


RainDreamer

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Full story here: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn27115-new-memories-implanted-in-mice-while-they-sleep.html#.VQAMuPyUdGZ

Benchenane's team used electrodes to monitor the activity of mice's place cells as the animals explored an enclosed arena, and in each mouse they identified a cell that fired only in a certain arena location. Later, when the mice were sleeping, the researchers monitored the animals' brain activity as they replayed the day's experiences. A computer recognised when the specific place cell fired; each time it did, a separate electrode would stimulate brain areas associated with reward.When the mice awoke, they made a beeline for the location represented by the place cell that had been linked to a rewarding feeling in their sleep. A brand new memory - linking a place with reward - had been formed.

Soo, inception soon?

Edited by RainDreamer
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Huhm ... more like a dream commercial ... the mouse already knew the maze, all they did was raise its desire to get there.

So, if your SmartClothes register which neurons fire during a TV ad and stimulate your pleasure zones during the night, they can make you visit junk food joints and buy useless tech gimmicks, hurray future!

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They are actually thinking about that (learning while sleeping). But right now they are just able to hijack the re-compiling information process that goes inside the brain while you sleep and add a new memory based on it. So while you may remember you hate something, if they get into your brain, they might make you actually remember you strangely like it a lot. Kind of a horrifying application.

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