It’s the stuff of science fiction, to plug a living person into a computer and have it write directly to their brain, giving them memories and skills that they never learned by traditional means.  But now scientists are saying that they’re doing just that…

Sort of.

If by person, you mean a fly.  And if by memory you mean a theoretical memory of an undefinable but unpleasant event.

Scientists from Oxford and Virginia were able to narrow down the cells of the (fly’s) brain necessary for forming memories based on a procedure they have termed “optogenetics”, in which “a simple flash of light is used to release caged-molecules present in selective neurons that then stimulate the activity of those neurons.”  They got it down to just a mere twelve brain cells used to record memories.

Then using those same flashes of light they proceeded in “writing directly to memory”, allegedly giving the fly a memory of an unhappy event which never actually occurred.

Okay, okay, so it’s not exactly a ringing endorsement for making The Matrix real.  Still, it’s a step in the right direction in understanding the brain.  One day this research could lead to something useful.