真的有“忘情水”：科学家发现消除不愉快记忆的方法

还记得《美丽心灵的永恒阳光》里的约尔

如果现实中真的有这样的“忘情诊所”，你会去尝试吗？

Are there any memories you'd like to permanently remove from your head?

是不是有些记忆你想从头脑中永久删除？

Or what if you could alter unpleasant memories so they're no longer upsetting? Or create entirely new memories of events that never occurred?

或者，如果有某种手段可以改写你的不愉快记忆，让你不再沮丧，你觉得怎么样？甚至让你的大脑生成全新的、从未发生过的记忆呢？

It sounds like the stuff of science fiction, but according to a new documentary that premiered in the US recently, scientists have discovered how to do just that - and more.

这听起来像科幻小说里的桥段。不过根据美国近日播出的一部纪录片的介绍，科学家其实已经知道怎么实现上面这些“科幻”了，而且还不止这些。

"Memory Hackers," from PBS's NOVA documentary strand, looks at cutting edge research into the nature of memory, and how it might be manipulated for mankind's benefit.

美国公共广播公司的“NOVA”系列科普节目近日推出了一部名为《记忆黑客》的纪录片，讲述了科学家对记忆本质进行的尖端研究，并以此造福人类的过程。

"For much of human history, memory has been seen as a tape recorder that faithfully registers information and replays it intact," say the film's makers.

本片制作人表示：“在大部分人类历史中，记忆就像一台磁带录音机：忠实的纪录信息，然后按原音重放。”

"But now, researchers are discovering that memory is far more malleable, always being written and rewritten, not just by us but by others. We are discovering the precise mechanisms that can explain and even control our memories."

“不过现在，研究者发现，记忆其实非常可塑，可以不断改写。而改写的人可以是我们自己，也可以是其他人。我们已经发现了能够准确解释、甚至控制我们记忆的大脑运行机制。”

Among the documentary's subjects is Jake Hausler, a 12-year-old boy from St. Louis who can remember just about every single thing he has experienced since the age of 8.

12岁的男孩杰克·豪斯勒是本片中参与试验的人之一。来自圣路易斯的他几乎能清楚的记得自己8岁以来经历过的每件事。

Jake is the youngest ever person to be diagnosed with Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory, which makes it difficult for him to distinguish between trivial and important events from his past.

在所有患“极端自传式记忆症”的人中，杰克年龄最小。他分辨不出记忆中哪些是不值一记的小事，哪些是值得记住的大事。

“Forgetting is probably one of the most important things that brains will do,” says Andre Fenton, a prominent neuroscientist who is currently working on a technique to erase painful memories. “We understand only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to human memory.”

著名神经学家安德烈·芬顿致力于消除痛苦记忆的研究。他表示：“‘忘记’可以说是大脑需要掌握的最重要的机能之一。在对人类记忆进行的研究方面，我们目前发现的还只是冰山一角。”

Other interviewees include Julia Shaw, psychology professor at London South Bank University, who has designed a system for implanting false memories, and has successfully convinced subjects they've committed crimes that never took place.

伦敦南岸大学的心理学教授茱莉亚·肖也是受访者之一。她设计了一种可以向人脑植入错误记忆的系统，这种系统能让受试者错误的以为自己有过犯罪行为。

The film's makers also speak to clinical psychologist Merel Kindt, who has discovered that medication can be used to remove the negative associations of some memories - through which she has managed to 'cure' patients of arachnophobia.

本片制作人还采访了临床心理学家梅雷尔·金迪特。金迪特发现，可以通过药物消除不好的记忆，她就曾在蜘蛛恐惧症患者身上成功运用了这个方法。

Vocabulary

malleable：可锻的；可塑的；有延展性的

neuroscientist：神经学家

clinical psychologist：临床心理学家

arachnophobia：蜘蛛恐惧症