London, Nov. 23: Often there are moments that we wish to forget because they cause us so much pain like the death of a loved one or a childhood trauma, now it might be possible to do so just by popping a pill.
US researchers have discovered that proteins can be removed from the brain’s fear centre to wipe out traumatic memories. Their findings could be of benefit to soldiers who have experienced distressing events and victims of violence, or even help couples get over the hurt of painful break-ups.
Professor Richard Huganir and his colleagues discovered a “window of vulnerability” when unique receptor proteins are created in the brain as painful memories are made. Because the proteins are unstable, they could be removed with drugs to eliminate the memory forever.
“When a traumatic event occurs, it creates a fearful memory that can last a lifetime and have a debilitating effect on a person’s life,” the Daily Mail quoted him as saying.
He said his findings “raise the possibility of manipulating those mechanisms with drugs to enhance behavioural therapy for such conditions as post-traumatic stress disorder.”