December 20, 2015. Researchers have found that the propranolol, a beta blocker used to treat hypertension, taken following a two-minute exposure to a tarantula, would significantly reduce fear behaviors in people with arachnophobia.
Doctors Marieke Soeter and Merel Kindt, from the clinical psychology department of theUniversity of Amsterdam, were based on the notion of reconsolidation, developed by Joseph Ledoux 15 years ago. Reconsolidation is the idea that memory can be altered to alter its psychological impact.
Tested on 45 arachnophobic volunteers, this is the first time that this method has been used on healthy human beings.
Subjects were exposed to a tarantula for 2 minutes and then randomly assigned to receive either a dose of propranolol or a placebo.
People who received propranolol, once again confronted with the object of their fear, showed much less avoidance behaviors and more approach behaviors. This effect persisted for a year.
According to these results, the activation of memory followed by a dose of propranolol would therefore be a lasting treatment against phobias. The researchers recognize that it is necessary, however, to continue research in order to be able to treat more serious phobias.
source: medicalnewstoday
