Total recall, or not

Sometimes the most interesting and potentially insidious science happens for the best of reasons. For more than a decade psychologists have been waiting for geneticists to figure out which genes are involved in the propensity toward and the formation of addiction to habit-forming drugs like cocaine and Mary Jane. Although there have been many candidate genes identified, none of these discoveries has led to the “holy grail” of addiction counseling: a cure for addiction.

Recently, in the journal Neuron, two studies have been reported that take a very different approach to the problem of addiction. Instead of focusing on the dopamine receptor these studies are focusing on another component of addiction… memory of the pleasurable component of addicting events. In one study a drug was administered to rats immediately after their first hit of cocaine. The rats exposed to this second drug were unable to remember their way back to the cocaine. Essentially, the rats forgot where the cocaine was located, and in essence lost their desire for the drug. As interesting as this is in rats, humans might not want to have their short-term memory messed with, or might not make it to the clinic immediately after that first hit with an addictive substance.

The second study is far more interesting. Dr. J. Lee of Cambridge University reported that if he inhibited a particular gene in the amygdala, the part of the brain that links memory to feeling, he could inhibit the memory of rats in such a way that the normal stimuli that would cause them to crave the addictive drugs would no longer function. In this study the rats lost their ability to remember the events that made them become drug addicts. This would be akin to a human who sees bright neon lights as a trigger to enter his favorite bar, but has forgotten the link between the lights and the alcohol. As a result, he does not enter the bar and does not get drunk. Advertisers beware!

Just think about the potential benefits for this kind of research. In the United States alone we spend nearly half a billion dollars rehabilitating people with drug and alcohol addictions. In addition, there are dozens of diseases related to chronic substance abuse, thousands of police and ambulance calls that are drug and alcohol related, and all of the death and destruction associated with them. Next consider the addictions to porn, sex, and video games! What if we could cause people to forget why those things seem fun and, by simply modifying gene expression cause them to forget the very triggers for addictive behavior? Think of the marriages that could be saved! Think of all of the college students who could study instead of playing video games until their grades are as dead as the monsters they have been repeatedly killing. The decreased crime rates alone should make this a very attractive therapy.

As noble as these two groups of researchers are attempting to be, there is a potential dark side to their work. Erasing short-term memory with a non-invasive drug may not be such a great idea after all. What if we could selectively remove memories of trauma, or embarrassment, or love? Who would administer these drugs? Psychologists, physicians, the government? Could someone maliciously tinker with the thoughts and motivations of an unsuspecting causing them to commit a crime then forget they have done it?

Maybe… but not yet.

I am definitely not calling for a cessation to these avenues of research; there is too much potential benefit. My conclusion is simply this: As with so many new technologies the benefit/harm analysis must be done along the way to maximize the benefit and minimize the potential harm.