The Science of Rick and Morty by Matt Brady

Author:Matt Brady
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blink Publishing
Published: 2019-02-11T16:00:00+00:00

CHANGE ‘EM

Memories are, at their most basic, an alteration in the structure of the brain. Altering them isn’t a big deal.

As mentioned earlier, to form a new memory, a new connection must be grown between neurons in the brain. When the memory is recalled, the signal is sent to reinforce the memory, meaning that the proteins that helped to build the connections in the first place are again released. It’s in that timeframe that the memory is vulnerable, and relatively easy to change or modify.

The approach to altering memories in this fashion is called “reconsolidation,” and refers back to the formation of the memory in the first place, as well as the above-mentioned vulnerability – a period of time when the memory itself is unstable and can be modified or have additional information added to it. The new information helps to lower the extreme emotional response to the memory, and as a result, the next time the memory is recalled, the emotional response will be lessened.

Reconsolidation can and has been used to treat people suffering from conditions such as arachnophobia and as extreme as severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In therapy, the patient is asked to recall the situation that causes the emotional response and the memory that is attached to the emotion. Now that it’s been recalled, the memory is pliable. The emotional response that the patient has upon recall can be treated pharmacologically at that point (while the memory is fresh), with drugs that reduce the adrenalin response, or the emotional response can be approached using methods more psychological in nature, such as the visualization of being an observer to the event, rather than a participant.

The goal of this treatment is to reduce the emotional response that’s attached to the memory so that the next time the memory is recalled it doesn’t bring up as much emotion. In best cases, the treatment can permanently modify the emotional response, while leaving the original memory intact. A 2017 study published in the journal Psychotherapy Resources reported that when 65 volunteers suffering from PTSD were treated with reconsolidation therapy, 71% lost the official diagnosis, and of those, 65% of the original group were in complete remission.

So, memories can be tweaked and altered, and the emotion associated with them can be dialed down. In case that’s not good enough though, don’t worry, you can just make up memories altogether…

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