Researchers have found a way to erase fear from our memory. Just that … Science fiction?
And yes, that sounds totally crazy. And let me say it right away, the experiment was carried out in humans – volunteers of course – and not in mice. Without any medication, these Swedish researchers have indeed managed to erase memories of fear from some individuals’ hard drives.
But how did they manage to modify the memory of these volunteers?
In fact, it was possible because memorizing events that aroused intense emotion does not happen instantly. In the hours or even days that follow, proteins in our brain activate to fix these memories. This is called the consolidation process. Well, if we disrupt this process, we scramble the memory.
But how do you prevent these proteins from doing their job? What did the experiment consist of?
They took a group of volunteers to whom they showed banal pictures. At the same time, they gave them an electric shock. Within 10 minutes, a group of people viewed this same image several times without electric shock. The 2th group was entitled to the same session but only 6 hours later.
Does this delay of several hours change everything in terms of memorization?
Exactly, the results are very clear. Members of 1er group can review the image without triggering a feeling of fear, while those of the 2th group had time to memorize the 1er event.
Having said that, the feeling of fear is also a good way to avoid danger. What could be the interest of such a process?
Well, post-traumatic stress, phobias or anxiety attacks could be classified as bad memories. But, this kind of experience should be consumed in moderation because we quickly imagine that touching memory can quickly lead to dangerous drifts.
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