Memory erasing pills..Your opinion on them?

[CoolWaterz]

Science is coming closer and closer to understanding fully the mysteries of memory formation and how to intervene in the process.
THe movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind may in time become a reality.

I for one would be ALL FOR THIS drug. As an anxiety sufferer, to get rid of this memory that i ever even had it, would cure myself and anyone else who suffers from anxiety disorders such as agorophobia, panic disorder, post tramautic stress disorder..Imagine giving this to soldiers coming back from war who suffer with ptsd..so many just become alcoholics and drug addicts to numb the memories...Give them back the lives they led before the anxiety set in.

I really cant see how this is a negative if used properly and for those who really need it. Noone means forgetting a memory of being dumped by a girl..or falling off your bike. We're talking seriously debilitating memories that when thought about bring about physical symptoms that noone needs to experience.

http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/health/HealthRepublish_929741.htm
http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/neuro/memory_drugs_sd.html

 

[Illuminattile]

As a drug prescribed to those who doctors or psychologists think genuinely need it, it could be a good thing. As an over-the-counter drug that anyone can use whenever they want to forget something, it's a bad thing. There are some things people need to remember, no matter how painful.

 

[Khaled]

^^ agreed, i think your past makes you who you are, and this should only be used for extreme cases.

 

[RFTP]

I'd like to forget some of the womens I've slept with over the years and I'm serious. I wasn't thinking very much, I was drunk and horny. I hope this pill comes out very soon!

 

[Diaz]

I'd like to forget some of the womens I've slept with over the years and I'm serious. I wasn't thinking very much, I was drunk and horny. I hope this pill comes out very soon!

If you dont remember those women you slept with, then you'll go out and make the same mistake again.

 

[_carmi]

in overall i think this is a bad thing. you have to remember what you been true, it makes you who you are. and it prevents you from making the same mistakes again.

i think we have to remember everything so we can be stronger after that. erasing memory pills are just the easy way to get out of things.

 

[CoolWaterz]

in overall i think this is a bad thing. you have to remember what you been true, it makes you who you are. and it prevents you from making the same mistakes again.

i think we have to remember everything so we can be stronger after that. erasing memory pills are just the easy way to get out of things.

i knew someone would respond with this. No, some memories are not who you are. I have memories of getting panic attacks on a bus to work because who the fuck knows why..just the thought of them can bring on horrible physical symptoms. I have gotten so much better, but the memory is always in the back of my mind. I never had any problems with anxiety till 3 years ago, so NO anxiety is not me..it doesnt make me who i am, it didnt make me who i was...It just came on due to personal shit and biology tells you that memories of intense fear are stored much more vividly than normal memories. Imagine a person who suffers panic attacks, all they remember are horrible thoughts and sensations..
To wipe out the memories of anxiety attacks would actually take me BACK to the person that I was.

Anyone whose got a form of it, knows exactly what im talkin about..noone needs to suffer through memories that dont make up the person you are. A veteran coming home from war with ptsd was not an anxiety sufferer before seeing the unnaturalness of war. Its fair to say "the horrors of war make you who you are" ????!!! No. And noone is stronger for "sucking it up" when it comes to disorders..It just diminishes your quality of life and you learn to deal with life. That shouldnt be the way.

Someone said before they want to forget who they slept with..thats exactly who this type of shit would not be prescribed for. Im talking serious circumstances here, id be all for this drug

 

[keco52]

I saw this recently.
I think in certain extreme circumstances it would be a great thing.
Especially to soldiers and anyone who suffers from a phobia or has panic attacks...and even tho I have some memories I'd rather not remember...I wouldn't take it. I'm not sure why...I just wouldn't. But I'm all for it.

 

[Diaz]

It's not like you can just pick a certain memory to erase, so why even consider taking the pill.

 

[_carmi]

i knew someone would respond with this. No, some memories are not who you are. I have memories of getting panic attacks on a bus to work because who the fuck knows why..just the thought of them can bring on horrible physical symptoms. I have gotten so much better, but the memory is always in the back of my mind. I never had any problems with anxiety till 3 years ago, so NO anxiety is not me..it doesnt make me who i am, it didnt make me who i was...It just came on due to personal shit and biology tells you that memories of intense fear are stored much more vividly than normal memories. Imagine a person who suffers panic attacks, all they remember are horrible thoughts and sensations..
To wipe out the memories of anxiety attacks would actually take me BACK to the person that I was.

Anyone whose got a form of it, knows exactly what im talkin about..noone needs to suffer through memories that dont make up the person you are. A veteran coming home from war with ptsd was not an anxiety sufferer before seeing the unnaturalness of war. Its fair to say "the horrors of war make you who you are" ????!!! No. And noone is stronger for "sucking it up" when it comes to disorders..It just diminishes your quality of life and you learn to deal with life. That shouldnt be the way.

Someone said before they want to forget who they slept with..thats exactly who this type of shit would not be prescribed for. Im talking serious circumstances here, id be all for this drug

well yeah for soldiers or panic attacks because this affects a lot your health yeah it's a good thing. because its healthy. but for personal reasons, no.

 

[bigmack]

lol...this is just another money making drug that doesn't work.It was tested on fish and rats.Well we aren't fish or rats.The human tests were stupid and don't prove anything.It most likely was a placebo effect.

plus propranolol is already on the market,and has been for a long time.It's an antidepressant because it blocks the adrenaline beta receptors.This is just a marketing scheme,that's why its "news".

"Experiments indicate propranolol also blocks the effect of adrenaline upon areas of the brain involved in memory formation, including the amygdala. It seems to disconnect emotion from memory."

adrenaline isnt a neurotransmitter "in the brain",so this bullshit adrenaline beta blocker(propranolol) won't do anything for memory.The only thing it does is calm you down if you have anxiety attacks.

 

[RFTP]

If you dont remember those women you slept with, then you'll go out and make the same mistake again.

No I wouldn't, I'm more mature now. I haven't slept with a girl that I've regreted.

btw; Could these pills erase the entire memory? I mean you'd forget who your family is and stuff?

 

[Diaz]

No I wouldn't, I'm more mature now. I haven't slept with a girl that I've regreted.

btw; Could these pills erase the entire memory? I mean you'd forget who your family is and stuff?

You become mature by learning from your mistakes, not just by hitting puberty. If you forget your mistakes, you can't learn from them, so you've learned nothing, so you're not mature.

 

[CoolWaterz]

It's not like you can just pick a certain memory to erase, so why even consider taking the pill.

There seems to be window period where the drug would take effect. For example, a woman who just been raped would be given the drug. The mere experience of a rape is so traumatizing that it is etched in that persons memory much stronger than say waking up in the morning and eating breakfast. The idea here is, give her this pill to in effect take away the emotional trauma from the memory, and you no longer have a catalyst for future anxiety or post traumatic disorders.

 

[CoolWaterz]

lol...this is just another money making drug that doesn't work.It was tested on fish and rats.Well we aren't fish or rats.The human tests were stupid and don't prove anything.It most likely was a placebo effect.

plus propranolol is already on the market,and has been for a long time.It's an antidepressant because it blocks the adrenaline beta receptors.This is just a marketing scheme,that's why its "news".


adrenaline isnt a neurotransmitter "in the brain",so this bullshit adrenaline beta blocker(propranolol) won't do anything for memory.The only thing it does is calm you down if you have anxiety attacks.

That sucks that you might be right about the propranolol. With regards to fish and mice, youre definately right..we obviously have much more sophisticated brains than fish and mice and any drug that would work on their brains would not necessarily do shit for us.

In regards to the adrenaline, the author did not understand what he was writing. Obviously not a bio major..what he meant to say was probably(at least from the few things ive read on the subject) that when large amounts of adrenaline are released in response to a traumatic experience, the amygdala (the fear center of the brain) is working overtime. By having adrenaline flood the system, it leads to all sorts of reactions in the brain and kicks the fight or flight response into high gear. This causes the amygdala to produce all the fear- causing reactions and sensations which include a snapshot of the experience forever etched into the persons brain. It is a type of "Warning system" the brain sets up to always remind the person of the danger, so if the person ever comes in contact with a similiar experience, it recognizes the danger. However, when this is not really necessary and the symptoms are being caused by something not dangerous or physically harmful such as anxiety, your brain is no longer recognizing when and where to apply the danger reaction. Your amygdala is pretty much a quick fuse which can turn on at any time when it shouldnt..the memory becomes further engrained in the brain and it turns into a cycle where the person struggles to remember how it felt to be normal and not anxiety ridden.

Sorry if i confused people.

 

[ARon]

I am going to compare this to suicide, just an easy way out of your problems. By erasing any memory you fail to yourself, you show that you are too weak to deal with what you have been through. This is life, you dont get another chance, I dont care how bad it is, learn from it. Become a stronger person by defeating anything that has happened to you. I would rather see a soldier overcome ptsd by himself, with his own mind, his feeling and thoughts, watch him become stronger through this, not taking some easy way out, lets just erase what I've experienced in life type shit. If you have a horrible memory learn to deal with it, go get help if need be, from a psychologist or soemthing. Why, why would anyone want to erase anything they have experienced. To me this is just plain weakness.

 

[bigmack]

That sucks that you might be right about the propranolol. With regards to fish and mice, youre definately right..we obviously have much more sophisticated brains than fish and mice and any drug that would work on their brains would not necessarily do shit for us.

In regards to the adrenaline, the author did not understand what he was writing. Obviously not a bio major..what he meant to say was probably(at least from the few things ive read on the subject) that when large amounts of adrenaline are released in response to a traumatic experience, the amygdala (the fear center of the brain) is working overtime. By having adrenaline flood the system, it leads to all sorts of reactions in the brain and kicks the fight or flight response into high gear. This causes the amygdala to produce all the fear- causing reactions and sensations which include a snapshot of the experience forever etched into the persons brain.

ok if he meant to say that,then you'd have to take propranolol for the rest of your life,or for as long as you wanted to suppress the memory.The memory still wouldn't be erased.And having low adrenaline levels will make you live such a shitty life.

 

[CoolWaterz]

I am going to compare this to suicide, just an easy way out of your problems. By erasing any memory you fail to yourself, you show that you are too weak to deal with what you have been through. This is life, you dont get another chance, I dont care how bad it is, learn from it. Become a stronger person by defeating anything that has happened to you. I would rather see a soldier overcome ptsd by himself, with his own mind, his feeling and thoughts, watch him become stronger through this, not taking some easy way out, lets just erase what I've experienced in life type shit. If you have a horrible memory learn to deal with it, go get help if need be, from a psychologist or soemthing. Why, why would anyone want to erase anything they have experienced. To me this is just plain weakness.

This train of thinking just means that you yourself have never experienced a traumatizing event. To say "just get over it" is useless to the person suffering. You have no idea what anxiety is like. Im not even bad but i know what it feels like. And yes, you push through it and try your best but it always remains.
If a person breaks their arm, do you not put it in a cast to heal? Why not the same for a damaged mind. For anxiety to become a disorder means that you have fucked up the wiring in your head. Its too bad the human mind and brain biology is still in its infancy..because people who dont experience an anxiety disorder cannot comprehend that the person going through it cannot just "shut it off" or "deal with it"...it has nothing to do with weakness, once its a disorder its a brain chemical problem. Check it, a close family member of mine had OCD.. i used to say just get over it all the time..but you just cant understand that the brain functions completely different than yours in a person suffering from it.

Why do people look down upon things like that? We're not talking about wrong decisions and the person erasing them...were talking peoples lives being compromised..why should it be such a struggle...i got this friend, well hes not my friend more like an aquaintance...most confident outgoing funny kid i ever met. Hes been trapped inside his house for like 5 years now because hes an agorophobe. You cant just tell this kid "push through it" ..he breaks down if he goes outside his barriers..he can no longer function his fear takes over. I doubt any of us could understand how much fear this kid must feel every day. If theres something that could make his quality of life more like what it was when we were in high school, why would you not be all for it?

 

[S O F I]

Aristotle, people that go through traumatizing situations, usually war-related, go cuckoo for coco-puffs. The events they witness don't make them stronger, but insane. Memory pills such as this can help prevent that from happening.

 

[RFTP]

You become mature by learning from your mistakes, not just by hitting puberty. If you forget your mistakes, you can't learn from them, so you've learned nothing, so you're not mature.

I didn't say puberty=maturity. And your post is BS. You don't have to experience everything to know or learn from it. I didn't have to kill somebody to know that it's wrong or that it's something i shouldn't do.