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How to Change a Memory: One Neuroscientist’s Quest to Alter the Past

Neuroscientist Steve Ramirez explores the biology of memory and the emerging possibility of changing how the past is represented in the brain. Blending laboratory research with personal narrative, he explains how memories are formed, retrieved, updated, and linked to emotion. Experiments that identify and manipulate memory traces in animals point toward future treatments for trauma, depression, and other conditions, while also raising profound ethical questions. Ramirez is careful to distinguish scientific progress from science fiction: the goal is not simply erasing experience, but understanding whether painful memories can be made less controlling without losing the lessons and identity they carry.

Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication date: 2025
Format: Print edition
Pages: 256
ISBN: 9780691266688

Subjects

Memory Neuroscience Ethics

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Interview with the Author

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1. New Books in Psychology — Steve Ramirez, "How to Change a Memory: One Neuroscientist’s Quest to Alter the Past" (Princeton UP, 2025)Checked

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2. Princeton UP Ideas Podcast — Steve Ramirez, "How to Change a Memory: One Neuroscientist’s Quest to Alter the Past" (Princeton UP, 2025)Checked

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3. NBN Book of the Day — Steve Ramirez, "How to Change a Memory: One Neuroscientist’s Quest to Alter the Past" (Princeton UP, 2025)Checked

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4. New Books in Science — Steve Ramirez, "How to Change a Memory: One Neuroscientist’s Quest to Alter the Past" (Princeton UP, 2025)Checked

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