Short-term memory lapse can be irritating and quite embarrassing, especially when you end up getting chided with ‘you’re-so-stupid’ remarks for having forgotten immediate incidents or instructions. That’s perhaps why the pill that can cure this ill has been dubbed the ‘anti-stupidity’ pill. There is lots that’s smart with this combination drug. The unforgettable remedy, now in its testing stage, is the result of long years of research by Hans Hilger Ropers, director at Berlin’s Max-Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics. The drug works on certain hyperactive brain cells whose functioning - or rather, non-functioning - triggers a sudden lapse of memory.
Theorists define short-term memory as what one remembers of the last 15-30 seconds. It includes instances of instructions being ‘forgotten’ immediate to their issuance or the more common instance of ending a phone call and being unable to recall the conversation. For sceptics, it must be qualified that this is different from choosing to forget instructions or conversations.
The pill has worked well on mice and fruit flies. If all goes well, as such researches usually do, we may soon be able to snap back into attention by popping a pill. One will have to remember to take the pill though. For which another drug is being planned.