Could the police replay murder victims' memories after they DIE?
Could the police replay murder victims' memories after
they DIE?
Scientists have found that all memories have a unique
genetic signature
By studying the brain, they can tell the type of events a
person has endured
Scientists hope to apply the technology to tackle
forensic cases in reviving the memories of the recently deceased
By Joe Pinkstone For Mailonline 12:09 EDT, 11 April 2018
| UPDATED: 14:02 EDT, 11 April 2018
Our memories leave a clear and unique genetic mark on our
brains.
That's the remarkable discovery of scientists in Israel
who say these genetic markers could be used to unlock memories after people
die.
The technology opens the door to strange scenarios,
similar to those portrayed in the series 'Black Mirror', where investigators
can record and playback the memories of suspected criminals.
It could even lead to a future in which police are able
to read and replay memories of murder victims to help them piece together the
events leading up to their death.
'It's a fascinating proposal,' said Clea Warburton at the
University of Bristol told New Scientist.
'You would have to get in there extremely quickly, as
proteins start to degrade within minutes of death,' says Dr Warburton.
'It probably wouldn't give you more information than a
good forensic scientist could, but I wouldn't be surprised if we end up with a
film about this.'
The discovery was made by researchers from the Hebrew
University in Jerusalem.
They wanted to know how brains store memories in new
connections between neurons.
It's known that brains do this using new proteins, which
are controlled by genes.
The new study found different experiences create
different changes in gene activity in the brains of mice.
To test this, the team subjected laboratory mice to a
variety of positive and negative experiences.
These included making them ill, giving them a treat,
electrocution and giving them a hit of cocaine.
After an hour, the mice were euthanised and the team
looked at which genes were expressed in seven areas of the brain that are known
to be used in memory formation including the hippocampus and the amygdala.
Some events triggered a similar reaction to others and
they had remarkably similiar gene expressions as a result.
Dr Ami Citri at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem was
part of the team of researchers that looked at memory formation in the mice.
Researchers looking at the brains were able to tell which
specimens had been in which test group just by looking at the relative gene
expression.
It was so clear-cut that they were more than 90 per cent
accurate.
HOW DO WE FORM MEMORIES?
Beginning in the 1950s, studies of the famous amnesiac
patient Henry Molaison revealed that the hippocampus is essential for forming
new long-term memories.
Molaison, whose hippocampus was damaged during an
operation meant to help control his epileptic seizures, was no longer able to
store new memories after the operation.
However, he could still access some memories that had
been formed before the surgery.
This suggested that long-term memories of specific events
are stored outside the hippocampus.
Scientists believe these memories are stored in the
neocortex, the part of the brain also responsible for brain functions such as
attention and planning.
It was discovered that animals store good and bad
memories in different ways, but they have general similarities.
These can be used to understand the nature of formative
events in the life of an animal.
'It's very nuanced – we can separate out a wide variety
of different experiences,' Dr Citri told New Scientist.
'Each memory that's being encoded has a unique input in
the brain in terms of the genes switched on to encode it.'
It seems that about an hour after the memory has taken
place is the peak moment for gene activity.
Although this research was successful in the dead mice,
the researchers hope to apply the technique to living animals and, eventually,
humans.
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