U.S. scientists developed a noninvasive method to block the fear and anxiety that cause phobias in humans.
Humans have a critical period in which e can be deleted memories of fear. According
says the study published in the journal Nature , the researchers succeeded for the first time and without using drugs, to remove from the minds of volunteers the thoughts that cause fear and anxiety. They did
changing how memories are laid down in the mind.
Researchers at the University of New York state that could effectively neutralize these thoughts acting in a "critical period of six hours" that humans have after it has formed a scary thought.
Scientists say the findings could eventually help people with anxiety disorders or PTSD.
"Our results show a non-pharmacological approach and naturalistic to more effectively manage emotional memories," says Dr. Elizabeth Phelps, who led the study.
"Drawing on basic science studies with rodents, these new findings in humans opens new opportunities to develop better therapies for the treatment of anxiety disorders like PTSD," says the researcher.
Memory "flexible"
For many years scientists have tried to understand how memories are formed and thoughts of fear that cause phobias.
They are believed to be established as an emotional response of the body to objects or events that have previously been linked to a potentially hazardous situation.
Our research reveals that throughout our life are critical periods where our memory is susceptible to change it permanently
Dr. Danielle Shiller
is known that over time these emotional responses can be dissipated, in a process called extinction, when the person experiences the same event in a safe environment.
When that extinction occurs, researchers say, the fear memory is only suppressed, not erased, and therefore those fears can come back under certain conditions, even unrelated to the original event, such as stress.
In some cases the resurgence of fear can cause anxiety disorders.
So for a long time, scientists have been trying to find ways to prevent the return of these memories.
In the study, the scientists created fear memories in volunteers with electrodes by causing a mild electric shock while showing them images of squares of different colors, a process known as classical fear conditioning.
conditioning is known to have been successful when the individual shows a fear response to the image when it is presented without shock.
volunteers in the memory of fear was measured by analyzing the electrical reaction in the skin when shown the picture.
next day, the researchers worked in the process to avoid fear and turned to expose volunteers to the same image but this time without the shock, the so-called extinction training.
found that the procedure worked to erase the fear response of volunteers, but only when they were subjected to extinction training after they were made to recall the original experience of fear. Critical period
The study confirms that our memory is more flexible than you think.
More importantly, they found that the extinction worked only if such a reminder was carried out in the six hours prior to extinction training. And the training
blocked only fear the square of specific color with which he had caused the classical fear conditioning, suggesting, researchers say, that extinction is highly specific.
"The time may have a role more important than who believe in the control of fear, "says Dr. Phelps.
" Our memory recalls the last scary thought that we had and not the exact original event, "he adds.
Scientists believe that this training could also function in the treatment of other emotional disorders.
As stated by Dr. Daniela Schiller, one of the authors of the study, "Our research reveals that throughout our life are critical periods where our memory is susceptible to change it permanently. "
" If we understand the dynamics memory could in the future, opening new avenues of treatment for disorders that involve abnormal emotional memories, "says the researcher.
* From: BBCMundo
