Man, how cool is that? Could something like this eventually be used in the justice system, to prove the reliability of eye witness testimony?????
On 10/31/07, Larry Lyons <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > This is a really cool study. Very unique. This has a lot of potential if > it pans out. > > larry > > http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/86499.php > Brain Waves That Distinguish False Memories From Real Ones Pinpointed > 24 Oct 2007 > > For the first time, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania are able > to pinpoint brain waves that distinguish true from false memories, providing > a better understanding of how memory works and creating a new strategy to > help epilepsy patients retain cognitive function. > > The study, the first to show that brain waves predict the veracity of > human memories, is available online in the journal Psychological Science and > in the November 2007 print edition. > > To test whether distinct patterns of electrophysiological activity prior > to a response can distinguish true from false memories, psychologists at > Penn recorded brain activity from 52 neurosurgical patients being treated > for drug-resistant epilepsy. Patients were asked to perform a verbal > free-recall task while researchers used an array of implanted electrodes and > intracranial electroencephalographic recordings to locate where in their > brains the patients' seizures originated. Patients volunteered to study > lists of words which they were then asked to recall at a later time. When > asked to recall the studied words, participants recalled some number of > correct items and also made a small number of errors, recalling words that > had not appeared on the target list. > > While patients performed the memory game, scientists observed electrical > activity in their brains to determine whether specific brain waves were > associated with successfully storing and retrieving memories. Researchers > found that a fast brain wave, known as the gamma rhythm, increased when > participants studied a word that they would later recall. The same gamma > waves, whose voltage rises and fall between 50 and 100 times per second, > also increased in the half-second prior to participant's correctly recalling > an item. > > "These analyses revealed that the same pattern of gamma band oscillatory > activity in the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex and left temporal lobe that > predicts successful memory formation also re-emerged at retrieval, > distinguishing correct from incorrect responses," said Per B. Sederberg, > lead author and former Penn neuroscientist now performing post-doctoral > research at Princeton University. The timing of these oscillatory effects > suggests that self-cued memory retrieval initiates in the hippocampus and > then spreads to the cortex. Thus, retrieval of true as compared with false > memories induces a distinct pattern of gamma oscillations, possibly > reflecting recollection of contextual information associated with past > experience. > > "Gamma waves actually predicted whether or not an item that was about to > be recalled was previously studied," said Michael Kahana, a professor of > psychology in Penn's School of Arts and Sciences and lead investigator. "In > other words, one could see a difference in brain activity just prior to > remembering something that had and had not actually happened." > > In addition to providing a better understanding of how memory works, the > findings may also provide a clearer picture of how to assist those suffering > with epilepsy. In epilepsy's 2.6 million American sufferers, brain > oscillations become so strong that they sweep across the brain, producing > seizures. Although seizures are controlled with medication in two-thirds of > people with epilepsy, the remainder may be candidates for surgery to remove > the brain regions where seizures originate. > > "Identifying the neural signatures of successful memory storage and > retrieval can help neurosurgeons reduce the cognitive deficits that might > result from epilepsy surgery," said Brian Litt, associate professor of > neurology and bioengineering at Penn, and a co-author of the study. > > In addition, these techniques for mapping cognitive networks could give > rise to better ways of mapping functional networks in brain, which may help > in treating a number of neurological disorders, including depression, > schizophrenia, head trauma and affective disorders, Litt said. > > ---------------------------- > Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. > ---------------------------- > > A collaboration of psychologists, neurologists and neurosurgeons from the > University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, the University of Freiburg > and Harvard Medical School participated in this research, which was funded > by the National Institutes of Health, the Swartz Foundation, the > Klingenstein Foundation and the Dana Foundation. > > Source: Jordan Reese > University of Pennsylvania > > Article URL: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/86499.php > > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| ColdFusion 8 - Build next generation apps today, with easy PDF and Ajax features - download now http://download.macromedia.com/pub/labs/coldfusion/cf8_beta_whatsnew_052907.pdf Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/message.cfm/messageid:245501 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
