Photographic Memory in a Pill?

Smith, Dan. "Coming Soon: Photographic Memory in a Pill? | Popular Science." Popular Science | New Technology, Science News, The Future Now. 6 July 2009. Web. 09 Nov. 2009. .

A group of scientists from the Spanish University of Malaga believe that they have found the group of proteins that aid in the retention of visual memories. These proteins, called RGS-14, are created in the visual cortex of the brain. The scientists found that, in rats, the increased production of these proteins led to the retention of visual memory increasing from one hour to 2 months. They determined this by first removing the section of the brain thought to be responsible for photographic memory, the visual cortex, from a number of rats. They then extracted the RGS-14 proteins and injected them into rats whose brains had not been tampered with. They found that the rats that had had their visual cortex removed had virtually no visual memory, while that rats with the addition RGS-14 proteins had a photographic memory 1500 times better than they did naturally. “Memory extension only applies to memories made through the poorly-understood visual cortex of the brain” (Smith). They have determined that this protein may be able to be put into a pill and then ingested by humans, potentially increasing our photographic memory to the same extent of the rats.
I located this information originally through Yahoo! News, but traced it back to many scientific blogs, publications, and, originally, to Science magazine.
I was drawn to this discovery because, as a college student, I often wish that I had a better memory. I wasn’t looking for a scientific breakthrough for my blog, but when I saw this, it caught my eye and made me look further into the discovery. The thought of a pill increasing photographic memory both fascinates and horrifies me, and I felt as though I could use this idea as a springboard for an interesting class discussion.
The impact that this could have on our world is massive. For students in particular, there will be no need to cram for exams, and the information learned in class, visually, at least, would be retained much longer. This pill, however, could be deemed cheating by some institutions, and the integrity of its use in different circumstances would have to be debated.
The scientists are essentially claiming that they have found the protein that enables our brain to process and store visual memories, and if the amount of that protein is increased, retention of visual memories will follow suit. In order to validate this hypothesis, the scientists really did two experiments. The first was questioning the impact of the visual cortex on visual memory. The rats without the visual cortex proved that this part of the brain has a huge role in visual memory. They then used this information to find out what component of the visual cortex was responsible for photographic memory. Once they isolated RGS-14 and tested its effect in high quantities on memory in comparison to normal levels, they found that RGS-14 increased the retention of visual memories significantly.
The fact that this group of scientists used an experimental method and systematic elimination to obtain their results is one element that makes this discovery “scientific.” Another reason that this is “science,” is that it explored what was previously known about the brain, and used that knowledge to further our comprehension of ourselves in a logical, cohesive manner.
This connects to what we are learning in class on multiple levels. This discovery could be considered heretic or immoral according to many parties, but could ultimately lead to a standard of information that is widely accepted and put to use in the coming years. In addition, it connects to our study of the re-envisionaries in that these scientists used existing knowledge in new ways to develop a revolutionary finding.

Additional sources:
Gutiérrez, Antonia, Zafar U. Khan , Manuel F. López-Aranda, Juan F. López-Téllez, Mariam Masmudi-Martín, Irene Navarro-Lobato. "Role of Layer 6 of V2 Visual Cortex in Object-Recognition Memory." Science 3 July 2009: 87-89. Print.