Turning memories on and off with the flick of a switch sounds like the stuff of science-fiction.
But researchers using a brain implant that duplicates the neural signals associated with memory have managed to do just that.
They replicated the brain function in rats associated with long-term learned behaviour, even when the rats had been drugged to forget.
Researchers using a brain implant that duplicates the neural signals associated with memory have managed to turn memories on and off with the flick of a switch
Lost memory function was restored and a strengthen recall of new information observed, suggesting the implant could be of huge benefit to people suffering from Alzheimer's and other brain diseases.
Lead researcher Theodore Berger, of the University of Southern California, said: 'Flip the switch on, and the rats remember. Flip it off, and the rats forget.'
His team's research builds on recent advances in our understanding of the brain area known as the hippocampus and its role in learning.
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