Scientist New therapy can completely eradicate fears

Can fears really be permanently removed?
Certain situations in life can lead to mental problems and deep anxieties. Such fears can haunt people for life. Researchers have now found out that by using certain methods, the memories can be completely erased.

The University of California scientists found in their study that different sounds are capable of triggering memories. However, there is a way to delete such memories again. The physicians published the results of their study in the journal "Neuron".

Many people suffer from strong fears. The reasons for this are usually quite different. Researchers have now developed a method that can permanently remove the memory of fears in mice. (Image: Photographee.eu/fotolia.com)

Memories can be strengthened or weakened
The results of the new study could be used in the future to strengthen or soften certain memories without altering other memories, the authors explain. The method can potentially be used to help people with cognitive decline or post-traumatic stress disorder by erasing certain negative memories without affecting the useful memories, the researchers add.

Can memories of pathological fears be manipulated??
We can use the same approach to manipulate only the memory of pathological fears, without affecting the memories useful for everyday life, explains author Jun-Hyeong Cho of the University of California, Riverside. The investigation is the latest in a series of studies looking at ways to erase unpleasant memories.

Physicians examined ways to process sounds
In his research, the research team used genetically modified mice to study the pathways in the brain involved in processing a particular sound. In addition, the area in the brain, which is involved in the emotional memories, was investigated, the scientists explain.

Mice received electric shock when they heard high pitched sounds
Mice can be used particularly well to mark specific pathways that transmit certain signals to the amygdala, say the experts. This enabled scientists to identify which pathways are modified when mice fear certain sounds. In the first part of the experiment, the team played both the high tone and the low tone to the mice. When the high tone was played, the researchers gave the mice a small electrical shock. Later, when the high note was played without electric shock, the mice froze in fear. When the deep tower was played, no such reaction could be observed.

So far, the fears returned after a certain time
The researchers then looked at whether there were differences between the high and low tone paths in the brain of the mice. The experts found that mice exposed to electroshock had an increase in the number of compounds involved in the processing of high-pitched sounds. Later, when the mice were repeatedly exposed to high pitches without receiving electric shock, the fears slowly eroded, say the physicians. This reduction of anxiety is the psychological basis of the so-called exposure therapy in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, the scientists explain. However, the fears returned after a certain period of time after the therapy. The new study may now have found the explanation for this impact. The neuronal pathway for the high tone remained enhanced in the mice, say the experts.

Allows optogenetics to permanently delete memories?
Fears can not usually be completely wiped out, but only temporarily suppressed, the researchers explain. The new technique called optogenetics now allows unpleasant memories to be erased. This technique uses a virus to introduce genes into certain neurons in the brains of the mice involved in the high-tone transmission pathways.

Treating low frequency light can actually permanently erase memories
When the cells are in the genes, this leads to the production of proteins that react to light. This enabled the researchers to control the activity of the neurons. In order to relieve the fear of the mice, the physicians used low-frequency light on the neurons that were involved in transmitting high-pitched sounds. The result was that the mice no longer appeared anxious when they heard a high pitched sound. The treatment permanently erased the memory of their fears, the scientists explain. (As)