Find a way to help your brain overcome fear in your sleep

How to help the brain get rid of fear, haunted by the painful memories studied by scientists at Northwestern University.

We know that sleep is very important for memory. Every night, the events of the day are replayed in the brain to reinforce memories. However, not all memories are beautiful, there are memories that make us afraid, obsessed and want to forget.

So, researcher Katherina Hauner and colleagues at Northwestern University, Chicago, conducted experiments to find ways to help our brains overcome fear and somehow replace sad memories with beautiful images. than.

The team conducted fMRI scans for 15 volunteers who participated in the experiment. They will be exposed to a range of neutral odors, such as lemon, mint. Each smell will be combined with a scary image, sometimes accompanied by a small electric shock.

Scientists found that, the amygdala in the brain - the part related to fear has memorized the face image, smell and accompanied by electric shock. After that, they will be asked to sleep 40 minutes under normal conditions.

During this time, they will be exposed to one of the smells that made them fear before but not accompanied by electric shock. Experts measured the change and found that, at first, when sleeping, the smell caused a fearful reaction but when it got used to it, the reaction was markedly reduced.

To find out if this is because the memory has been replaced by something else during sleep or simply weakened, the team delves deeper into what is happening in the brains of participants.

They found that the results of the MRI scan after sleep indicated differences in brain activity when they recalled the scary face image before, however, the level of fear decreased. Instead, new images, though not really clear, also make volunteers feel less stressed and afraid.

Scientists are still conducting experiments, however, researcher Daniel Bendor of the University of London said: "This is an interesting finding in understanding the role of sleep. In the future. , it will greatly assist in the treatment of psychological or post-traumatic stress disorder . ".