Brain Power Boosted With Electrical Stimulation

Zothecula writes "With the possible exception of those affected by hyperthylmesia — a rare condition where a person has an extraordinary capability to recall events from their past — most of us wouldn't mind having our memory enhanced. That's just what appears to have happened to a group of mice when targeted areas of their brains were electrically stimulated. The treatment triggered an increase in the creation of new cells in the hippocampus, with experiment results suggesting the mice's spatial learning improved. The researchers responsible say the results could have implications for the treatment of memory disorders in humans."

Re:This is a lot more complicated...

[bill_mcgonigle]

Hm, why do you think we haven't evolved with perfect memory? Could there be a good reason?

Unless you believe in intelligent design, there may be no reason at all, except that we're only as far along as we are and we work well enough to reproduce. Same reason most of us have relatively poor hand-eye coordination, can't do without oxygen for more than about 3 minutes, have problems with cancers, have our eyes go out of round, etc. Many species of animals do much better on all these measures.

As my old bio teacher used to intone, "evolution proceeds towards what works, not what's best."

Re:Augmentation

[wealthychef]

You are assuming that intelligence == more selfishness. In my experience, the more people learn and grow in life, the less selfish they become. As we progress as a culture, we are going to grow beyond the current view that men are inherently antisocial and competitive. Evolution has developed us to cooperate. Cooperation is a smart way to live. We'll figure it out. Don"t let all the bullshit fighting on television and newspapers make you think that's the way human beings really are. You know better. Look around. Don't be afraid of progress.