Memories can be very upsetting. Take, for example, soldiers stationed in war zones and returning home; they often suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and some may even commit suicide.
Researchers in Puerto Rico may have found a way to reduce the fear associated with memories by injecting a natural chemical directly into the brain.
learning of extinction. For example: researchers can instill a learned fear in laboratory rats; when a bell rings an electric shock is applied to the rats.
After a while, the rats fear the pain associated with the ringing. Researchers can undo this process through extinction learning, which is the exact opposite; The bell rings, but the electric shock is not applied. If this is repeated over and over again, the rats can forget that fear.
Researchers at the University of Puerto Rico wanted extinguish fear chemically, rather than through repetitive learning. To do this, a natural chemical known as "Brain-derived neurotrophic factor" (BDNF) in the prefrontal cortices of rats. BDNF is involved in various types of learning, including extinction learning. The researchers hoped that artificially increasing the amount of BNDF could eliminate the fear of the bell.
In the experiments, rats were conditioned to fear ringing through an electric shock. The next day, instead of subjecting the rats to learning extinction, BDNF was injected into a group of rats. There was a group of control rats to which nothing was administered. The next day, investigators began ringing the bell. As expected, the control rats froze, awaiting shock. Instead, the group of rats given BDNF did not alter their normal behavior (you can watch the video at the end of this article).
The rats still had their memory of the buzzer and shock, but the associated fear was greatly reduced. As such, this research could have important implications for the treatment of anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.
HOW GOOD THE COMMENTS OF THE STUDIES