14 DAY TRIAL // In a new study, experts at the Uppsala University, in Sweden, found that freshly-formed emotional memories can be deleted from the human brain, if caught early on. These findings have the potential of further research on memory and fear by several decades.
The discoveries could apply to a host of anxiety-related issues, including phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and panic attacks. “Ultimately the new findings may lead to improved treatment methods for the millions of people in the world who suffer from” such conditions, the team explains.
If doctors want to disrupt a negative memory from influencing a person, all they have to do is intervene at a critical moment called re-consolidation. This occurs when people remember something. The memory initially becomes unstable, before being reaffirmed through the aforementioned process.
Details of the new investigation were published in the latest issue of the top journal Science, PsychCentral reports.