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BRAIN
continued from page 1
The fMRI images of the subjects'
brain activity revealed strong neurobio
logical evidence for the key concept of
the experiment: People can mentally
suppress unwanted memories with
brain mechanisms similar to those used
when stopping overt physical actions.
In other words, the brain systems
— including the prefrontal cortex —
that allow one to stop an arm motion
midstream can be used to halt the re
trieval of an unwanted memory.
And instead of stopping activity in
brain regions linked with physical ac
tion, however, these control processes
reduce brain activation in the hip
pocampus, a structure known to be in
volved in storing conscious memories
of the past. It was this reduction in hip
pocampal activity that led the subjects
to forget the rejected experiences.
"The people who suppressed their
memories the best had the most acti
vation in the prefrontal cortex,"
Gabrieli said. "Hence, the hippocam
pus and the act of suppression had an
opposite connection."
Freud and beyond
Anderson and Gabrieli's latest find
ings provide strong evidence that
Freud was on to something 100 years
ago when he proposed the existence of
a "voluntary repression mechanism"
that erases unwanted memories.
Although he has studied Freud's re
search and theories about the brain,
Anderson said his main interest is in
how people actively control their
memories and what parts of the brain
are involved.
Matthew Erdelyi, a researcher at
Brooklyn College in New York, has an
extensive background in experimen
tal psychology and Freudian theory.
Erdelyi said Freud was first a neurosci
entist, one who understood that the
brain's subsystems could work against
each other. Anderson's findings, Erde
lyi added, show how modern tech
nology can take century-old science a
step further.
"This is very much the kind of pic
ture Freud would feel at home with,"
Erdelyi said.
Since Freud, the idea of memory re
pression has been a vague and highly
controversial idea, in part because it
has been difficult to imagine how such
a process could occur in the brain.
Elizabeth Loftus, a distinguished pro
fessor of social ecology at the University
of Califomia-Irvine, has been a leading
voice in the debate of false-memory
theory, which states that people are
Tim Bobosky Photographer
Associate Professor Michael Anderson watches Scott Watrous, an MRI Technologist,
operate an electromagnetic brain scanner on a subject Monday morning. Anderson’s
experiments reveal that people can voluntarily suppress memories.
susceptible to suggestion, or false mem
ories. This theory conflicts with the rele
vance of Anderson's experiment to trau
matic cases because people might be
able to fabricate their memories.
"This seems like very carefully done
work, but it has little to do with trau
matic experiences," she said. "People
are simply misinterpreting the results
of this study."
Erdelyi, who has been interviewed
about Anderson's findings by Euro
pean media, agreed.
"I think this is groundbreaking as a
first step," he said. "But I don't think
it's going to be the last."
Traumatic potential
By providing a way to map and in
vestigate cognitive and brain process
es in the laboratory, Anderson has en
couraged a better understanding of
neural mechanisms by which people
deal with traumatic memories.
For more than a decade, University
psychology Professor Jennifer Freyd
has studied the process of forgetting
traumatic episodes. Through her
studies of people's childhood experi
ences, Freyd said she has found her
own evidence of memory suppression
in those who were abused at home.
"If the abuser was a caregiver, the
abused was much more likely to for
get the experience," she said. "It's ac
tually helpful at times to forget so
they can stay close to the abuser."
Although Anderson's experiment
did not address traumatic memories,
Freyd said the connection with brain
mechanisms is extremely important.
"My best guess is there are different
ways people can forget, and Michael
Anderson's is one way," she said.
Considering his study focused on the
suppression of relatively neutral events,
Anderson stressed that future research
is needed to examine the suppression
of emotional experiences.
"I hope this sets off a new wave of re
search on how people actively forget
and cope with obtrusive memories," he
said. "This is really just the beginning."
Contact the business/science/
technology reporter
at caronalarab@dailyemerald.com.
Join Us for the 2004
Johnston Lecture
Sponsored by the university of Oregon
school of Journalism and Communication
“A Writer Bearing
Witness: AIDS
Orphans in Africa
Melissa Fay Greene
Author of Last Man Out: the Stor
OF THE SPRINGHILL MINE DISASTER
Thursday, January 15,2004
Knight Library
Browsing Room, 4:oo p.m.
o
SCHOOL OF
JOURNALISM AND
COMMUNICATION
Univarsity of Oregon
This lecture is made possible with an endowment gift
from the Richard w. Johnston Memorial project.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL (541) 346-3819 AT THE SCHOOL
OF JOURNALISM AND COMMUNICATION. ACCOMMODATIONS FOR
PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES WILL BE PROVIDED IF REQUESTED IN
ADVANCE BY THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2004.
LIMITED RESERVED PARKING.
GIVE
ME 5!
Run your "for sale" ad (items under $1,000)
for 5 days In the ODE Classified Section.
If the item(s) doesn’t sell, call us at 346-4343
and we'll run it again for another
5 days free!
EVERY
THURSDAY
ONLY IN THE
OREGON
DAILY
EMERALD
CELLULAR
continued from page 5
through quite a few business "peaks
and valleys" as it grew to form a
wholesale division and offer more
than 300 cell phone accessories for
most makes and models.
Miller said the EMU Board will
remain active in its search for a
"valuable" replacement to fill the
void as Totally Cellular continues to
pay a minimum rent of $1,100 per
month for the remainder of its
three-year lease.
"We're doing our research with an
open mind," he said. "If we can find a
good service that can help students on
campus, that's what we'll present to
the board."
Contact the business/science/
technology reporter
at caronalarab@dailyemerald.com.
Student Groups
Advertise in the Oregon Daily Emerald.
Call 346-3712 to speak with a sales rep.
We have great University rates.