Perfect visual memory

[WobWob]

From http://io9.com/5306489/a-drug-that-could-give-you-perfect-visual-memory

Imagine if you could look at something once and remember it forever. You would never have to ask for directions again. Now a group of scientists has isolated a protein that mega-boosts your ability to remember what you see.

A group of Spanish researchers reported today in Science that they may have stumbled upon a substance that could become the ultimate memory-enhancer. The group was studying a poorly-understood region of the visual cortex. They found that if they boosted production of a protein called RGS-14 (pictured) in that area of the visual cortex in mice, it dramatically affected the animals' ability to remember objects they had seen.

Mice with the RGS-14 boost could remember objects they had seen for up to two months. Ordinarily the same mice would only be able to remember these objects for about an hour.

The researchers concluded that this region of the visual cortex, known as layer six of region V2, is responsible for creating visual memories. When the region is removed, mice can no longer remember any object they see.

If this protein boosts visual memory in humans, the implications are staggering. In their paper, the researchers say that it could be used as a memory-enhancer, which seems like an understatement. What's particularly intriguing is the fact that this protein works on visual memory only. So as I mentioned earlier, it would be perfect for mapping. It would also be useful for engineers and architects who need to hold a lot of visual images in their minds at once. And it would also be a great drug for detectives and spies.

Could it also be a way to gain photographic memory? For example, if I look at a page of text will I remember the words perfectly? Or will I simply remember how the page looked?

I can't see much of a downside for this potential drug, unless the act of not forgetting what you see causes problems or trauma.

via Science

What has been seen, cannot be unseen :shock:

 

[Einstein's_Advocate]

This should be quite interesting, honestly. What we really need is to have better reasoning and creativity faculties, however. But, I a little more memory never hurts.

 

[e2iPi]

Nope, not me. I've seen way too many things in my life that I'm much better off forgetting.

Of course, the idea of wandering through the bookstore, flipping through a few interesting books and then reading them later in my head is rather appealing. So I guess I would be on board for turning my head into a Kindle

Gotta find a way to make it selective.

-1

 

[Demojen]

The moment this drugs hits the shelves, I'll be all over it!

Time to get into the drug trials!!

 

[Ozymandyus]

Not me... if having a better memory was simply a matter of having more of a protein, biology would have taken care of it a long time ago. There MUST be drawbacks to this of which we are as of yet unaware, perhaps affecting other types of memory or causing other problems. The selection pressure for having a better visual memory is very strong, and making more or less of a protein is one of the easiest mutations.

I'm sure there is something there worth using but I certainly don't want to be the first in line.

 

[Deleted member 619]

Gimme, gimme, gimme. I'd love to have an eidetic memory.

 

[AndromedasWake]

Crikey!

It'd certainly be useful to have a visual memory of every page of the bible, and every page of some rather more edifying books I can think of.

 

[Zylstra]

Not me... if having a better memory was simply a matter of having more of a protein, biology would have taken care of it a long time ago.

Why? That's not tree. If it hasn't occurred yet and/o there's been no pressure to select for it, then there's no reason we should it is .

There MUST be drawbacks to this of which we are as of yet unaware, perhaps affecting other types of memory or causing other problems.

That's not a logically sound assertion

The selection pressure for having a better visual memory is very strong,

Not really, past a certain pint. Especially not in recent human history.

 

[Counterpoint]

I saw this article about a month ago. It was quite interesting.

And I dont believe it makes you have a perfect visual memory, it just increases it exponentially.

 

[Marcus]

Not really, past a certain pint. Especially not in recent human history.

Yeah, my memory is always poor past a certain pint. Usually the seventh or eighth.

Seriously, though, I tend to concur. We don't need to have a precise visual memory of things seen once or twice, and we already have a relatively good generalised visual memory for similar things seen a number of times (this fruit is edible, this berry is poisonous, that bear will eat you) or the same thing seen numerous times (the way home is to the left of that tree, that's my friend). The ability to remember something seen once with any degree of precision for longer than a couple of hours simply hasn't been of any use to humans for enough time to have made any kind of difference due to selection pressure.

 

[bruhaha2]

Of course, the idea of wandering through the bookstore, flipping through a few interesting books and then reading them later in my head is rather appealing. So I guess I would be on board for turning my head into a Kindle

I think you would still have to visually comprehend what you wish to recall later.

 

[The Apathetic Despot]

I just want to chime in that as exciting as this potentially is, it's also very risky and using this kind of technology recklessly could have some very serious consequences. Praustian memory unquestionably exists, but it's very much non-standard, it isn't really what memory is designed to do and it isn't a simple matter of "remembering better" either. I havn't personally done much research into this form of memory, but if I had to guess I would predict that remembering "snapshots" accurately in their details would be achieved by dramatically under-integrating it with other relevant information. Always doing that would be detrimental to learning, which is an analytic and exploratory process. That's speculation on my part but I think it's reasonably well-founded speculation.

 

[Demojen]

Memory does not increase understanding.
I still remember E=MC2, but I'll be damned if I could apply it.

As far as I can see this booster being used, it's likely to become the drug of choice for college students and professors looking to increase their academia.

As a college student myself, I'm always interested in drugs!

 

[Demojen]

The subject of a perfect visual memory certain opens up the doorway into the question whether or not there is a quantitative measurement of memory in the human brain.

 

[Spase]

The things that I can think of that this would be incredible for...

Chemistry - specific structures of compounds and specifics of reactions mechanisms. Knowing all these off the top of your head would be hot...

Languages - My first thought was programming. Being able to remember the precise syntax for what you want to do regardless of the language you happen to be using would be amazing. My second thought was why not all languages?

The sciences in general... If it was possible to remember everything you read perfectly you could spend a lot more time practicing applying concepts and a lot less working simple problems until the basic mechanisms sunk in. At least that's my feeling...

 

[G-Smo]

To be honest, I find it weird, everyone responds so selfishly. I immediately thought about helping people with Alzheimer, and how they seem to forget both faces and other visual experiences they had with these people.

A downside, as I understand it, would be that the drug only starts to help after it's been taken, it doesn't improve memories that are already lost. So it should be given to any people who start to show signs or which are hereditary enhanced to be affected by the disease. It seems (even if it can be pefected) it can't be used as a cure, rather than a therapy.

 

[Zetetic]

Memory does not increase understanding.
I still remember E=MC2, but I'll be damned if I could apply it.

Of course, if you could remember a huge index of mathematics heuristics and equations, you could potentially be one bad ass applied mathematician (assuming you have a solid intuition ) because there are always models of processes that could be adjusted to be applied to other processes in other areas of research. If you had an incredibly extensive knowledge of previous work it could certainly inspire future work in this way.

 

[JustBusiness17]

Here's a segment from a documentary on savants that seems rather fitting:



It looks like there are plenty of other videos about Stephen Wiltshire on youtube if you dislike this one.

 

[e2iPi]

Of course, if you could remember a huge index of mathematics heuristics and equations, you could potentially be one bad ass applied mathematician (assuming you have a solid intuition ) because there are always models of processes that could be adjusted to be applied to other processes in other areas of research. If you had an incredibly extensive knowledge of previous work it could certainly inspire future work in this way.

Sounds like the guy from Numb3rs :lol: (not a bad show, btw)

-1

 

[Niocan]

Oh hey that's nice, now we can all remember whatever BS is peddled on the TV for longer periods of time Yay!
/Sarcasm