--- In [email protected], TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In [email protected], "hugheshugo" > <richardhughes103@> wrote: > > > > Seriously though. Apparently some drugs have been developed which > > prevent the formation of bad memories by stopping the synapses > > from holding strong negative experiences and thus is a cure for > > post traumatic stress disorder. They have to be taken immediately > > after the traumatic event though.
There are two types being researched, one that is given immediately after the event and another that seems to work on long-term memories. They appear to work on the principle that traumatic memories are stored in the brain differently than ordinary memories; the process involves different chemicals. The drugs, they think, block the trauma-memory chemicals that create memories that evoke PTSD. > > Could be the Dalai Lama is closer than he thinks. > > Unless there have been new developments, I kinda > doubt this is true, These are new developments: http://tinyurl.com/da36v at least not the way you said > it. There are drugs that, if taken shortly after > an event, can erase *all* memories. They are > remarkably "timeable," meaning that they can be > used to erase all memories starting an hour earlier, > or a day earlier, or even a couple of days earlier. > But *all* memories go, not just the "negative" ones. Actually the type of drug you go on to describe is very commonly used for minor surgical procedures in which the patient does not require general anesthesia. It apparently works not by "erasing" memories but by preventing them from being formed, or preventing them from passing into long-term memory, while the procedure is taking place. I've had it several times for oral surgery. There's no "timing" involved, but it can cause amnesia for a short period before it begins to be administered. (It doesn't for me, but it's highly individual.) > I had a subjective experience of these drugs without > my consent when I had a minor surgical procedure a > few years ago. Well, not the kind you describe above, since it was given to you *before* the surgery, not after it. During the procedure, during which > I had to be awake, they inserted a tube with a TV > camera on it down my throat and took pictures. I > am perverse enough that I was actually looking > forward to seeing what my innards looked like, real- > time. But the last thing I remember about the whole > procedure was the doctor saying, "I'm going to start > this IV drip right now...it contains a mild anti- > anxiety drug and an amnesiac." > > Bam! The next thing I remember is "coming to" in a > waiting room an hour later, remembering nothing. I > was awake during the entire operation, but can > remember nothing of it. An entire hour of my life > was surgically removed from my memories. > > Fascinating experience, but the doctor should really > have told me he wanted to give me this drug and > allowed me to make the decision about whether I > wanted him to. He did not. He should have told you about any drugs he was administering to you, but you might not have had a choice about taking this one if you wanted to have the procedure done. The surgeon can't take the chance that you'll freak if you're alert. It's not just a question of whether you think it would be fun to see your innards, it's a question of whether you might start to thrash around with a camera *and* surgical instruments in your innards, which could cause very serious damage. If only your short-term memory is working, so that there's no continuity to the pain perception, that's much less likely to happen. The alternative would be general anesthesia so you wouldn't feel any pain, but as you say, that wasn't an option in this situation. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Join modern day disciples reach the disfigured and poor with hope and healing http://us.click.yahoo.com/lMct6A/Vp3LAA/i1hLAA/UlWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
