Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

This morning while listening to NPR I heard a "medical breakthrough" clip, brought to me courtesy of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Scientists are studying the affect of inhaled anesthetics on people with post-traumatic stress disorder. In one study, patients were shown a series of images, some of which were disturbing (i.e., a severed hand). One group was then given inhaled anesthetics, while the other was given a placebo. A week later, the patients given the inhaled anesthetics remembered fewer of the images (and the less disturbing ones at that, I think). Scientists believe this is a breakthrough in treating people with PTSD, particularly soldiers who have been through the trauma of war. I would cite more medical research here, but my attempt at a Google search on this topic didn't turn up any satisfying results.

The doctors in the NPR clip hinted at the ethical questions these studies raise. All I could think of was the movie (one of my favorites), "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," in which Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet go to a doctor to have the memories of their failed relationship erased from their minds. Will "regular" people, not just soldiers, be able to have their bad memories erased? Will we be able to isolate specific memories to delete? Would we have to take a test to determine the "seriousness" of memories to delete? If I can wipe from my mind the death of a loved one, can I also wipe out that really horrible movie I saw at the theater? Could we keep teacher attrition to a low if teachers were inhaling every Friday afternoon? Isn't there something valuable to be gained by going through a painful experience? Where is Michael Crichton to write a socially relevant science fiction novel when I need him? or did I already have the memory of his death erased from my brain?

Here is the exerpt from the poem by Alexander Pope:

How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!

The world forgetting, by the world forgot.

Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!