memory erasure
Wiping the mind
Memory erasure is the deliberate removal of specific memories from a person's mind.
The concept appears frequently in science fiction—characters undergo procedures to forget traumatic events, failed relationships, or dangerous knowledge.
In neuroscience, memory erasure refers to experimental techniques that disrupt memory consolidation or reconsolidation: Researchers are studying memory erasure as a treatment for PTSD.
The term carries dystopian overtones, suggesting loss of identity or autonomy.
- amnesiaPathological loss of recall
- forgettingFailing to retain memories
- oblivionComplete erasure from memory
- wipeRub to clean
- blankWithout marks or content
blank stare · wiped clean · suppression · lobotomy · blackout · lost time · trauma · hypnosis · repression · eternal sunshine · flashback · dissociation · therapy · redaction · void · clean slate · bleach · mindwipe
- Dystopia1984, Nineteen Eighty-Four, dystopian fiction, totalitarianism, Brave New World
- sci-fi techteleporter, time travel, cryonics, force fields, time machine
- Sci-fi powersteleportation, time travel, mind meld, warp drive, hyperdrive
- cultural erasurecultural genocide, ethnocide, forced assimilation, identity loss, cultural amnesia
- memoryforget, recall, recollect, retain, forgetfulness
memory erasurememory preservation
Maintaining ability to recall
memory retention · total recall · eidetic memory · photographic memory · unforgetting
memory erasurememory enhancement
Improving ability to retain information
memory erasureremembering
Retaining past information
remembrance · recollection · commemoration · memorialization · reminiscence
memory, erasure, memories, memorize, memorization, memorial, memoriam, memorable, memorably