Is medicated memory manipulation ethically sound? And perhaps more importantly, who should be charged with the decision to deliver such a treatment: patient or physician?
Elisa Hurley, a philosophy professor, is seeking answers to these questions in her research currently underway at The University of Western Ontario.
In the Academy Award-winning film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a fictional, non-surgical procedure called ‘targeted memory erasure’ is used to delete painful memories the afflicted wish to forget – permanently.
And while the story’s science-fiction based concept earned the movie an Oscar for best original screenplay, real-life scientists are conducting clinical trials today using beta-blockers – drugs traditionally used for varying heart conditions – for manipulating the memories of people, who may go on to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Hurley says while the real threat of developing PTSD might be a good enough reason to use beta-blockers as a preventative measure, she also wants policy makers to consider the ramifications of what such a treatment may mean to a person’s moral well-being.
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