Manipulating the Memory of Flies

Through modern biotechnology and an understanding of science, researchers from the University of Oxford have successfully altered the brains of flies to create memories that never actually occurred. According to a scientist from the university, it was common knowledge that flies had the ability to learn but it was unknown how the organisms kept memories. After several experiments, it was revealed that the researchers located twelve cells in the brain that could have been in control of the ability for flies to create a memory; a discovery called optogenetics was used, which basically stimulates the activities of certain neurons.
The optogenetics test proved that only the twelve neurons had to be stimulated to create an unpleasant memory for flies which never occurred. This particular science allows biologists to obtain evidence about brain function which never existed before. Gero Miesenbock, a researcher at the University of Oxford, argues that the understanding of a simple brain like that of a fly reveals much about how more complex brains, like that of humans, work. One should expect the same experiments will be performed on increasingly more complex animals, eventually to the level of creating or erasing memories of human beings.

Source: The Cell Press