A53
Collective Memory
Excerpt from novel: A longitudinal case study into motherlessness.

Recollect: An experimental study on the use of memory recovery techniques for psychological therapy.

Dr. Stib Wheeler

Abstract

This study followed the experimental use of a recent development in psychiatric therapy, a technology which enhances one of humankind’s most essential abilities: recollection. The machine, currently branded Recollect in its pre-production phase, is a remarkable device that allows its user to access and (as the name suggests) recollect specific moments of one’s past. Thanks to the word of mouth of a podiatrist, Dr. Steven Bennet, during the chance meeting of a cocktail party, I learned about the research that the team at Standard Incorporated was doing with the technology. His brother happened to be involved in the User Experience development of the device and had given my friend a brief overview. I am most gracious to this doctor and his brother and have included them both in the “Thank You” section of this book. This random encounter changed my field of study drastically. After a generous (if I say so myself) seed investment into the small company, Standard was able to fast-track the technology and allow me to be the first to use it outside of their premises.

The device, still clunky and visually unrefined at this point, was held together by velcro straps and elastic bands with black wires spider-legging all around it. All of my patients had a negative initial reaction to the look of the thing, and I told the company as much. The eye mask was flat-black, like all pieces of the machine, and ovular with a lift at the nose-bridge. A cushion-backed plate was held below the cerebellum and wrapped to just behind the ears, with two small nodes on either side (this being the most direct access to the user’s hippocampus, where episodic memories are stored). Earphones were put in place and nose plugs administered. After dressing themselves in the wires and straps, participants lowered themselves into a Sensory Deprivation Chamber (SDC), warmed to 40 degrees Celsius and filled with Epsom salts. (The device and its process are subject to change in further implementations.) For a more comprehensive list of the experimental design, see Design subsection of Method section. […]

While I am unable to cite anything other than subjective use-cases, the following is a description of the machine through my subjective experience and the reported experiences of the participants. Once the device is on and the subject is in the SDC, the user decides a specific moment from the past. This can be decided in several different ways:

1) a specific date and time,

2) a specific person from a grid accessed by the machine, and then a day or moment with this person,

3) a color chart depicting “Mood” (as named by the UX) of the user’s memory, ranging from “Warm” to “Cold” as categorized by the machine,

4) a range of “Most” to “Least Forgotten,” and

5) “Most” to “Least Impactful.”

The brain reacts the same way it did when the recollected event first occurred. The same chemical releases occur, and can last up to several hours upon removal. […]

Primarily a cognitive behavioral therapist (CBT), I have trouble defining the type of psychology used in this study. CBT relies on the existence and reproducibility of experiments, but this one, due to its nature, could have no control group. While the experiment itself can be outlined and reproduced, the results inherently cannot be. The participant’s experiences are entirely subjective, relying on current mental state, their individual pasts, and variables too countless to foresee or note here.

My hypothesis for the study was that “the ability to relive one’s past memories will have a positive correlation with a participant’s self-reported results in psychiatric therapy.” […] My study has been accused by some ill-informed critics of a experimenter bias, as I am admittedly a shareholder in the company, but any reader of the publication can clearly see that the research speaks for itself. Participants were informed of the experiment and gave permission to use their likenesses in publication. The experiment followed all current ethics practices as outlined by the Remerican Psychological Association. […]

This study draws from the specific use-case of one individual who had been going to therapy for nineteen years without any positive result, according to his self-report.

Samson:
A remarkable individual who spent fifteen months in the womb. At 30 years old, his life is a scientific marvel. He has been attending therapy since 11 years old, including behavioral, humanistic, cognitive, hypnotic and holistic. Samson feels that his largest cumbrance in life is his inability to connect with others in a significant way, due largely to his mother, who died in childbirth.

I am entirely aware that a sample group of one participant is not enough to draw any formal conclusions. That being said, it is my belief, and the conceit of this work—that the ability to revisit memories—can offer more psychological benefits than therapy alone. Obviously more research will need to be done to create a more diverse, all-inclusive result, but this small study will at least provide more evidence than just anecdotal hearsay. I have also included my own experiences with the machine, but provide them only for further reading material, rather than part of a conclusive report. […]

Samson Manoah