The implantation of memories is a common feature in sci-fi films , such as Inception and Total Recall . But now , for the first time , conscious memories have been implanted into the minds of mice while they slept . The feat gives hope that the same technique could one day be used to change human memories , which could help people who replay traumatic events over and over in their minds . For the first time , conscious memories have been implanted into the minds of mice while the sleep . The technique could one day be used to change human memories , such in in films like Total Recall and Inception ( a still from the film is shown ) The brain typically replays the day ’ s activities when people or animals sleep , which allows it to reinforce and learn a new activity , for example . Experts have found that when this replay process is disrupted in rodents , so too is their ability to remember what they learned – for example , a new area that they explored – the previous day , New Scientist reported . Scientists from the Industrial Physics and Chemistry Higher Educational Institution in Paris , France , used this replay process to create new memories in the brains of mice , while they slept . The team , led by Karim Benchenane , focused on place cells - which are neurons that fire in response to thinking about , or being in , a specific place – and help animals and humans form internal maps . The brain typically replays the day ’ s activities when people or animals sleep , which allows it to reinforce and learn a new activity , for example . Scientists used this replay process to create new memories in the brains of mice , while they slept - and say it could one day be used in humans while they sleep ( stock image ) In the same way that humans sometimes remember things that didn ’ t actually occur , researchers have found that bees also misremember . It ’ s the first time that false memories have been observed in non-human animals . Researchers from Queen Mary University of London ( QMUL ) tested to see if bumblebees would confuse merged versions of patterns that had previously rewarded them with food , with the ones they had actually seen . They found that if they ’ d previously been shown a flower with black rings and then a yellow one , that they would later seek food rewards from a flower with yellow rings on it . This incorrect merging of long-term memories in bumblebees is similar to some types of misremembering information that have previously only been observed in humans . The researchers think that such memory errors are probably common in animals whose lifestyle involves regularly juggling multiple memories . Professor Lars Chittka , from QMUL ’ s School of Biological and Chemical Sciences , said : ‘ That people form false memories is well understood but it has never been seen in other animals before . ‘ There are a lot of similarities between our own memories and those of other animals . ‘ The more we know about the way that memory works in the animal kingdom the more we ’ ll be able to understand our own memory and the problems we have with it. ’ He monitored the activity of these cells when the mice explored an ‘ arena ’ using electrodes , isolating the cell that fired in a certain arena location . While the mice slept , they monitored the creature ’ s brain activity and when the specific place cell fired , an electrode stimulated the brain areas linked to reward . When the mice woke up , they immediately scurried to the location that was linked to the rewarding feeling , showing that a new pleasant memory of the place had been formed by the scientists . While this is the first time a conscious memory has been implanted during sleep , experts have already managed to create subconscious associations in the minds of sleeping people – so that smokers associate cigarettes with the smell of rotten eggs , for example . Experts think that if subconscious learning has been forced on the mice while they slept , they would have explored the area in a more random way , instead of heading straight to the place they associated with reward . ‘ The mouse develops a goal-directed behaviour to go towards the place , ’ Dr Benchenane said . ‘ It proves that it 's not an automatic behaviour . What we create is an association between a particular place and a reward that can be consciously accessed by the mouse. ’ He thinks it could take years for the technique to be adapted to implant different kinds of memories such as skills , for example , but hopes that it could be developed to alter traumatic memories in people . He believes that positive thoughts could be attached to negative memories to stop people having nightmares or dwelling on upsetting events . ‘ If you can identify where in the brain a person is reactivating a phobia-associated experience , you might be able to create a positive association , ’ he said . The study was published in the journal Nature Neuroscience .
Scientists from the Industrial Physics and Chemistry Higher Educational Institution in Paris , France implanted a new memory in the brains of mice . Focused on place cells - which are neurons that fire in response to thinking about , or being in , a specific place - and hijacked the 'replay ' process . Experts hope the technique could help humans forget traumatic events .