Optogenetics and the mechanism of false memory
pp. 1561-1583
Résumé
Constructivists about memory argue that memory is a capacity for building representations of past events from a generalized information store (e.g., De Brigard, in Synthese 191:155–185, 2014a; Michaelian, in Philos Psychol 24:323–342, 2012). The view is motivated by the memory errors discovered in cognitive psychology. Little has been known about the neural mechanisms by which false memories are produced. Recently, using a method I call the Optogenetic False Memory Technique (O-FaMe), neuroscientists have created false memories in mice (e.g., Ramirez et al., in Science 341:388–391, 2013). In this paper, I examine how Constructivism fares in light of O-FaMe results. My aims are two-fold. First, I argue that errors found in O-FaMe and cognitive psychology are similar behaviorally. Second, Constructivists should be able to explain the former since they purport to explain the latter, but they cannot. I conclude that O-FaMe studies reveal details about the mechanism by which false memories are produced that are incompatible with the explanatory approach to false memories favored by Constructivism.
Détails de la publication
Publié dans:
Piccinini Gualtiero (2016) Neuroscience and its philosophy. Synthese 193 (5).
Pages: 1561-1583
DOI: 10.1007/s11229-016-1045-9
Citation complète:
Robins Sarah K., 2016, Optogenetics and the mechanism of false memory. Synthese 193 (5), Neuroscience and its philosophy, 1561-1583. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-016-1045-9.