How to Change a Memory: One Neuroscientist’s Quest to Alter the Past - Couverture souple

Ramirez, Steve

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 1472141741 ISBN 13 : 9781472141743

Editeur : Robinson, 2025

Synopsis

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2026 ROYAL SOCIETY TRIVEDI SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE

As a graduate student at MIT, Steve Ramirez successfully created false memories in the lab. Now, as a neuroscientist working at the frontiers of brain science, he foresees a future where we can replace our negative memories with positive ones. In How to Change a Memory, Ramirez draws on his own memories of friendship, family, loss and recovery to reveal how memory can be turned on and off like a switch, edited and even constructed from nothing.

A future in which we can change our memories of the past may seem improbable, but in fact, the everyday act of remembering is one of transformation. Intentionally editing memory to improve our lives takes advantage of the brain's natural capacity for change.

Ramirez explores how scientists discovered that memories are fluid - they change over time, can be erased, reactivated and even falsely implanted in the lab. Reflecting on his own path as a scientist, he examines how memory manipulation shapes our imagination and sense of self. If we can erase a deeply traumatic memory, would it change who we are? And what would that change mean anyway? Throughout, Ramirez carefully considers the ethics of artificially controlling memory, exploring how we might use this tool responsibly - for both personal healing and the greater good.

A masterful blend of memoir and cutting-edge science, How to Change a Memory explores how neuroscience has reached a critical juncture, where scientists can see the potential of memory manipulation to help people suffering from the debilitating effects of PTSD, anxiety, Alzheimer's, addiction and a host of other neurological and behavioral disorders.

A propos du livre

À propos de l'auteur

Steve Ramirez has been featured on CNN, NPR and the BBC and in leading publications such as The New York Times, National Geographic, Wired, Forbes, the Guardian, The Economist and Nature. An award-winning neuroscientist who has given TED talks on his groundbreaking work on memory manipulation, he is associate professor of psychological and brain sciences at Boston University.

À propos de la quatrième de couverture

A disarmingly personal account of the new science of memory manipulation by one of today's leading pioneers in the field.

As a graduate student at MIT, Steve Ramirez successfully created false memories in the lab. Now, as a neuroscientist working at the frontiers of brain science, he foresees a future where we can replace our negative memories with positive ones. In How to Change a Memory, Ramirez draws on his own memories of friendship, family, loss and recovery to reveal how memory can be turned on and off like a switch, edited and even constructed from nothing.

Scientists discovered that memories are fluid - they change over time, can be deleted, reactivated and even falsely implanted. But if we can erase a deeply traumatic memory, would it change who we are? Ramirez carefully considers the ethics of artificially controlling memory, exploring how we might use this tool responsibly - for both personal healing and the greater good.

A masterful blend of memoir and cutting-edge science, How to Change a Memory explores how neuroscience has reached a critical juncture, where scientists can see the potential of memory manipulation to help people suffering from the debilitating effects of PTSD, anxiety, Alzheimer's, addiction and a host of other neurological and behavioral disorders.

Steve Ramirez has been featured on CNN, NPR and the BBC and in leading publications such as The New York Times, National Geographic, Wired, Forbes, the Guardian, The Economist and Nature. An award-winning neuroscientist who has given TED talks on his groundbreaking work, he is associate professor of psychological and brain sciences at Boston University.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Robinson
• Date d'édition: 2025
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 1472141741
• ISBN 13: 9781472141743
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 256
• Coordonnées du fabricant: Robinson; biuro@robinson.pl; ; Lajkonika 34; Bielsko-Bia?a; 43-382; Pologne