While some researchers are looking for what will, after all, eventually allow techno-science to help those taking exams to “remember all the material” (p. 56), others want to provide social work of broader significance.
A neurochemical study from the University of Cambridge, the findings of which were published in Nature last fall, claims to have found the reason why unwanted thoughts keep coming back to mind—promising that this will be addressed in the not-too-distant future.
According to researchers, the problem occurs because of a chemical substance secreted by brain cells: the neurotransmitter GABA. According to experts, the concentration of GABA in the hippocampus of the human brain is related to the ability to suppress “unpleasant thoughts” and to prevent related memories from returning.
The triumphant tone of Professor Michael Anderson, head of the research team, leaves no room for misunderstanding. “What is exciting is that now we are becoming very precise… Before, all we could say was ‘this part of the brain affects the other’. But now we can say which neurotransmitters are important. And, consequently, we can intervene in the function of specific neurons, something that will allow us to stop unwanted thoughts.”
Professor Anderson and his team’s idea is said to be “desirable.” How long, I wonder, will it take for the “cure” to be developed and patented?
Buyers, we are certain, will be found in great numbers and willing… “From today at work, only productive thoughts”!!!