Laser light rewrites memories in mice
Nerve cells in the hippocampus help the brain modify recollections
With a burst of light, scientists can change good mouse memories into bad ones, and bad ones into good. The results, published August 27 in Nature, underscore how memories are not written in stone, and bring scientists closer to understanding how nerve cells in the brain create and store memories.
The study provides a “much more precise handle on some of the steps of memory formation than we’ve had before,” says neuroscientist Richard Morris of the University of Edinburgh. One day, such knowledge may lead to treatments for people who struggle with unwanted negative memories.