A memory wipe was a medical procedure designed for the purpose of selectively eliminating memory engrams from the mind of an individual. It was different from a memory block, in which the memory was merely suppressed.
The neural neutralizer was an early attempt at a device for erasing memories. (TOS: "Dagger of the Mind")
Dr. Katherine Pulaski developed a memory wipe technique which was effective on many humanoid species. It was used on Sarjenka, a young girl from the pre-warp civilization on Drema IV, in order to prevent her from telling her people of her experiences with the Enterprise. (TNG: "Pen Pals")
The technique was not successful on all humanoids, however. Mintakans were unaffected by the memory wipe, as were the Boraalans. (TNG: "Who Watches The Watchers", "Homeward")
A memory wipe was used by Dr. Julian Bashir to reassign Kurn's identity to Rodek in 2372. (DS9: "Sons of Mogh")
As of 2374, the Ramurans used a neurolytic emitter to erase memories of recaptured refugees. (VOY: "Unforgettable")
When then-Cadet Sam Rutherford suffered a head injury that required the use of a cybernetic implant to fix, then-Lieutenant Commander Les Buenamigo ordered his memory of the Texas-class project wiped to avoid the project coming to light. However, the memory wipe was not entirely successful, and began to degrade in 2380 when Lieutenant Shaxs was forced to rip the implant off now-Ensign Rutherford during the Battle of Kalla, resulting in amnesia. After a replacement implant was installed, Rutherford's pre-implant personality attempted to reassert itself in various ways, including Rutherford suddenly and temporarily developing a taste for pears, which he had enjoyed prior to the accident but now found "mealy and bland". In 2381, the memories began to reassert themselves when Rutherford purged excessive backups after repeated storage warnings began to interfere with his vision. This process was accelerated when he ended up interacting with his pre-implant self, who subsequently ceded control of his body to the post-implant Rutherford, allowing the memories to reemerge without causing Rutherford's personality to revert to what he later dubbed "the angry, ship-racing me"; eventually, enough memories returned to allow him to recognize code from the project that he had unknowingly repurposed when programming holographic tutor Badgey, and this discovery caused the memory wipe to fail entirely. (LD: "No Small Parts", "Strange Energies", "First First Contact", "Reflections", "The Stars At Night")
External link[]
- Memory wipe at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works