Re: What's the most realistic way to induce amnesia or false memories?

Dear Peter,

Hypnosis is certainly the most familiar way of inducing amnesia, but not the only way. One thing to be noted about this phenomenon is that amnesia is more successfully induced the more suggestible the subject is (thus, false memories can be induced under the same process). In fact, psychologists today know that suggestibility is actually the primary factor that determines who can have amnesia or false memories induced upon them, as it has been shown that amnesia and false memories can be induced, with enough persuasion, in normal waking states with suggestible people. Furthermore, some experts believe that it is only the NOTION that amnesia can be induced during hypnosis that makes it so.

However, there are other ways of inducing amnesia: brain damage due to a physical injury can cause either retrograde amnesia (loss of memory of everything prior to the impact) or anteriograde amnesia (loss of memory of everything after the impact), but for the purposes of your story you probably don't want ALL memories to be erased, and furthermore brain damage doesn't usually create false memories (not to my knowledge at least).

I know there are some drugs which can put you in a state in which one could induce amnesia or false memories, but I'm not sure what these drugs are. Drugs have also been known to have the effect of storing memories while under the influence in such a way as to make them inaccessible once you sober up (like alcohol).

Lastly, amnesia and false memories can be self-induced under the mechanisms of repression, denial, and other such defense mechanisms. These occur when certain memories or awarenesses are too stressful to keep in consciousness, so the subject pushes them out of his or her mind or creates an alternate reality that is more soothing. Again, however, psychologists have found that those who can do this easily are highly suggestible.

I hope these help. Good luck on your book.

Gibran