Read Online Interfictions 2 by Delia Sherman - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Delia Sherman
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it was 5:50 by the digital clock on the stove. He was rushing to finish preparing the meal. He had come home late. The subway had been evacuated because of a strange smell, and he had had to take the bus, which was much slower.
There was something comforting about the methodical action of dipping the chicken into the oil, and as he got into the groove of it, his mind began to wander as though he were dreaming.
His mind swirled with a jumble of images cobbled together from the movements of his day. How he tied his shoe in the hall next to the water fountain. The lost glove he found outside the classroom. The piece of rhubarb pie he ate at lunch. The yellow of the ball he served in the tennis match against his thesis adviser.
Dunbar was dipping the next piece of chicken into the boiling oil when the doorbell jolted him out of his reverie. His study group had arrived.
But Dunbar screamed. He had stuck his whole hand into the fryer.
His study group kindly called 911.
* * * *
Slide 2: Simple Reflex Experiment
* * * *
* * * *
The simple reflex in the snail Aplysia is a good example of the sorts of things that happen in our own brains when we learn things.
In the experiment, the withdrawal reflex of the snail is evoked, and the first response is big. Then, with repetition, the amplitude of the withdrawal reflex diminishes. If you record the activity of the motor neurons of the reflex, there is less excitation arriving to the neurons. As the reflex goes down, the excitation goes down, as well.
With rest, the reflex can recover.
By adding more stimulations over days, the same withdrawal reflex can be diminished and remain diminished for several days or weeks. This is a simple form of learning. If we now look at the motor neurons involved in the reflex, we come to realize that not only are their connections diminished, but their structure is changed. For example, they now have fewer transmitting synaptic buttons than before, leading to less effectiveness in their messages. If by using another experimental protocol, such as giving a shock to the tail of the snail, the reflex is facilitated, the same motor neurons will now be more excited; and if the change is long lasting, we can observe that the synaptic buttons will be more numerous.
Thus the brain is continuously removing or adding connections according to the learning that has happened.
* * * *
Dunbar's experiments using this simple reflex and other model systems led him to find some molecules that could enhance synaptic transmission and therefore improve memory.
* * * *
A drug was being developed to enhance memory.
The developer, a private company called Memory, Inc., had head-hunted Dunbar after reading his recent paper, âMolecular Strategies for Diminishing Consolidation of Memory looking at CAM kinase II."
* * * *
Memory, Inc., had hired Dunbar for his expertise. His research in the mechanisms of memory was something to behold. With their funding, he believed that he could finally accomplish what he had set about as his life's work.
Memory suppression.
"You can build your own team,â they said.
He thought of Heidi.
Heidi was his most difficult student. She wanted to remember, and he had wanted to forget. They were at odds with each other, but it seemed logical that if one of them could succeed in the lab, it would benefit the other.
They became collaborators.
* * * *
HEIDI: How do I make sure that I can remember everything?
DUNBAR: How can I forget one specific thing?
* * * *
In front of them, they had the model systems of Aplysia and the hippocampal structure of the vertebrate brain. They looked at how these systems learned and forgot.
* * * *
Dunbar knew if he could figure out the right chemical cocktail to prevent the neurotransmitters from consolidating, he could successfully eliminate an experience from turning into a long-term memory. He did have some success, but the trouble was this: if he successfully eliminated consolidation,
There was something comforting about the methodical action of dipping the chicken into the oil, and as he got into the groove of it, his mind began to wander as though he were dreaming.
His mind swirled with a jumble of images cobbled together from the movements of his day. How he tied his shoe in the hall next to the water fountain. The lost glove he found outside the classroom. The piece of rhubarb pie he ate at lunch. The yellow of the ball he served in the tennis match against his thesis adviser.
Dunbar was dipping the next piece of chicken into the boiling oil when the doorbell jolted him out of his reverie. His study group had arrived.
But Dunbar screamed. He had stuck his whole hand into the fryer.
His study group kindly called 911.
* * * *
Slide 2: Simple Reflex Experiment
* * * *
* * * *
The simple reflex in the snail Aplysia is a good example of the sorts of things that happen in our own brains when we learn things.
In the experiment, the withdrawal reflex of the snail is evoked, and the first response is big. Then, with repetition, the amplitude of the withdrawal reflex diminishes. If you record the activity of the motor neurons of the reflex, there is less excitation arriving to the neurons. As the reflex goes down, the excitation goes down, as well.
With rest, the reflex can recover.
By adding more stimulations over days, the same withdrawal reflex can be diminished and remain diminished for several days or weeks. This is a simple form of learning. If we now look at the motor neurons involved in the reflex, we come to realize that not only are their connections diminished, but their structure is changed. For example, they now have fewer transmitting synaptic buttons than before, leading to less effectiveness in their messages. If by using another experimental protocol, such as giving a shock to the tail of the snail, the reflex is facilitated, the same motor neurons will now be more excited; and if the change is long lasting, we can observe that the synaptic buttons will be more numerous.
Thus the brain is continuously removing or adding connections according to the learning that has happened.
* * * *
Dunbar's experiments using this simple reflex and other model systems led him to find some molecules that could enhance synaptic transmission and therefore improve memory.
* * * *
A drug was being developed to enhance memory.
The developer, a private company called Memory, Inc., had head-hunted Dunbar after reading his recent paper, âMolecular Strategies for Diminishing Consolidation of Memory looking at CAM kinase II."
* * * *
Memory, Inc., had hired Dunbar for his expertise. His research in the mechanisms of memory was something to behold. With their funding, he believed that he could finally accomplish what he had set about as his life's work.
Memory suppression.
"You can build your own team,â they said.
He thought of Heidi.
Heidi was his most difficult student. She wanted to remember, and he had wanted to forget. They were at odds with each other, but it seemed logical that if one of them could succeed in the lab, it would benefit the other.
They became collaborators.
* * * *
HEIDI: How do I make sure that I can remember everything?
DUNBAR: How can I forget one specific thing?
* * * *
In front of them, they had the model systems of Aplysia and the hippocampal structure of the vertebrate brain. They looked at how these systems learned and forgot.
* * * *
Dunbar knew if he could figure out the right chemical cocktail to prevent the neurotransmitters from consolidating, he could successfully eliminate an experience from turning into a long-term memory. He did have some success, but the trouble was this: if he successfully eliminated consolidation,
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