CineXjenza is one of the new events forming part of this year’s Science in the City festival, bringing together cinema and science and featuring a number of short films about memory manipulation with discussions in-between. Paula Fleri-Soler speaks to event coordinator Jessica Edwards to find out more.
How can your memory be manipulated? Is it a metaphysical concept tied to who we are, or can our neurons and memories be tweaked? These are questions which aim to spark debate at the first edition of CineXjenza.
Jessica Edwards is a biology and chemistry student at the University of Malta, and the Science Communications officer of S-Cubed, the Science Students’ Society. She is also the coordinator of this event, in which aspects of science are explored via the medium of film; an event that is bound to pique the interest of both science aficionados and film buffs.
“The idea behind CineXjenza is to communicate science and spark debates raised by the movies,” says Jessica, adding that the issues raised are then discussed informally with experts, making these amazing developments in science much easier to appreciate. “We want visitors to want to understand the science behind the movies and to be part of this event.”
Edward Duca, project manager of Science in the City, attended a similar event in Edinburgh and was keen to adapt it for the festival, says Jessica, adding that “the inspir-ation behind CineXjenza is simply what inspired the rest of the festival. It is seeing science everywhere and combining it with other disciplines to reach the public in a better way”.
The four short films in CineXjenza tackle the theme of memory manipulation, and Jessica explains the choice of subject. “The Science in the City team looked at the scientific breakthroughs of 2014, and picked five – manipulating memories being one of them. These were all considered ground-breaking and we thought they might capture the public’s imagination. S-Cubed then simply themed the films around this topic.”
The concept of memory manipulation is something that a few years ago would have been dismissed as science fiction. How close does Jessica think we are to this becoming an actual reality?
She explains that the breakthrough in memory manipulation came from the University of California Davis Centre for Neuroscience and Department of Psychology, where light was used to erase specific memories from mice. This proved a theory that there are different parts of the brain that work together to store memories.
“This breakthrough may have various implications for the public, and researchers hope that it can be used when certain memories become problematic, such as when trying to treat post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety,” says Jessica.
The concept of memory manipulation is something that a few years ago would have been dismissed as science fiction
Clearly warming to the subject, she elaborates. “A method called ‘optogenetics’ was used to manipulate memory in mice. In this method the neurons, which are networks of cells that make up the brain, were triggered using a light. This method also allowed the scientists to trace specific memories. There are two types of memories, those that encode for the emotional aspect of the events we experience and the actual event itself. The method was not only used to remove negative memories but to also replace them with positive ones.”
That said, Edward is keen to stress that despite the new research, the concept is still at its early stages of development. “It is a reality that might take quite a few years to happen because the technique used is too invasive to be used on humans yet. This study can be used to better understand the brain and how it works, together with the type of method used for this discovery.”
Fascinating stuff, indeed; and the films being screened tackle various aspects of this. In Memory 2.0, a man seeks a way to reconnect with his lost love using futuristic virtual reality technology that lets him relive memories. In Temma, neuro-programmer Temma Baumgarten tries to complete a computational model of her mind while her body succumbs to a degenerative disease.
Hello World is set in the near future, where a private company has developed a technology that requires its clients to store their memory data on a single server. In this highly-controlled world, a young woman has the power to change things. In The Final Moments of Karl Brant, a neurologist and two homicide detectives use experimental brain taping technology to question a murder victim about his final moments.
There will be discussions with Giuseppe Di Giovanni, who studies depression and epilepsy and will talk about Diseased Memory, and Richard Muscat, pro-rector of research at the University of Malta, who will discuss Drugged Memory.
Jessica hopes that audiences at CineXjenza will leave the event “with a better understanding of brain function, and an idea of the research that’s currently going on at the University of Malta”. She also promises that CineXjenza is not a one-off event, with further film screenings being planned at St James Cavalier as from December.
CineXjenza takes place on Friday from 8pm until midnight.
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