Kalau anda diberi kesempatan untuk menghapus ingatan-ingatan tertentu dari pikiran anda, akankah anda akan menggunakan kesempatan itu?

Meski masih lama sampai manusia bisa melakukan hal semacam itu tanpa merusak otak atau mengganggu ingatan-ingatan kita yang lain, para neurobiolog dari Georgia College of Medicine telah berhasil melakukannya pada sekelompok tikus percobaan.

Dengan disuntikkan protein tertentu yang terkait dengan pembentukan memori di otak, para ilmuwan berhasil menghilangkan ingatan traumatis para tikus itu terhadap kejutan listrik ringan yang mereka alami sebelumnya.

Jadi, kalau nanti sudah tersedia metode yang aman untuk manusia, ingatan seperti apa yang ingin anda hapus?

clipped from www.dailymail.co.uk Scientists say they are able to erase painful memories, paving the way for new treatments of debilitating phobias and stress disorders. Neurobiologists from the Georgia College of Medicine found they could selectively eliminate memories in mice, without damaging their brains in the process. The technique targets a protein that is crucial in the formation of memories. Making the mice over-produce this ‘memory molecule’, while recalling a disturbing event caused the memory to be eliminated. the researchers said wiping should only be used for traumatic memories. ‘While memories are great teachers and obviously crucial for survival and adaptation, selectively removing incapacitating memories, such as traumatic war memories or an unwanted fear, could help many people live better lives,’ leader researcher Dr Joe Tsien said in the journal Neuron. Despite the exciting breakthrough, Dr Tsien warned it could be years before they honed the technique for humans who have far more complicated brains.

1. Jangan mengorbankan waktu tidur. Sebuah penelitian yang dilakukan pada tikus-tikus lab menunjukkan bahwa ketika mereka tidur, bagian otak yang terkait dengan memori ternyata masih aktif dan mengulang (dalam pikiran) hal-hal yang telah dipelajari sewaktu masih bangun tadi. Jadi sebenarnya anda belajar juga selama tidur itu.

2. Kalau bisa, belajarlah sebelum hari gelap. Ini terkait dengan melatonin, yaitu hormon yang berperan dalam pengaturan jam biologis kita. Dalam percobaan yang dilakukan terhadap ikan zebra, ikan-ikan yang dilatih di siang hari (ketika hormon melatonin sedang rendah) bisa mengingat latihannya dengan lebih baik dibanding ikan yang dilatih di malam hari.

clipped from www.livescience.com Scientists are finding new evidence that a good night’s rest plays a crucial role in cementing memories formed during the day. One new study has identified a brain region involved, along with the hippocampus, in creating memories of the day’s activities during sleep. Another study suggests melatonin, a hormone involved in regulating our day-night cycle, or “circadian rhythm,” acts to suppress the formation of new memories as bedtime nears, perhaps in an effort to give memories made earlier in the day a chance to be prepared for long-term storage. So does that mean learning is best done during the day and not at night? Maybe, Roman said, but he points out that the human memory system is much more complex than that of the zebrafish, and while melatonin should inhibit memory formation at night in us, its effects will be buffered by other hormones and other brain components.