Medicine clears memories

Dutch scientists have discovered a number of drugs that can help people eliminate fear and unforgettable memories.

A previous study showed that negative memories sticking to the head in our brains are better than positive memories.

Many experiments in animals prove that sometimes scary memories change when we remember them. It is called the process of consolidating memories. However, some antihypertensive drugs can control that process. This group of drugs blocks the sympathetic nervous system on the heart by blocking beta-adrenergic receptors.

In a study for humans, a group of scientists at the University of Amsterdam (Netherlands) gave 60 volunteers a look at some pictures of spiders. Every time a volunteer looks at a photo, experts conduct light shock on their bodies. The goal is to create a link between spider images and electric shocks in the volunteer brain. The team then asked each volunteer to take a pill of propranolol (the sympathetic blockade of the sympathetic nervous system) or placebo and then test their response to the spider after 24 hours.

The results showed that the feeling of fear in the propranolol group drastically decreased when they reviewed images of spiders. Then the feeling of fear disappeared. This shows that their fear memories have been deleted.

Some scientists argue that the finding makes sense for those who have experienced a terrible event - like being raped or murdered - because they can get rid of scary memories. However, many people believe that if you remove bad memories, the victim will not be able to give evidence to the court to convict the perpetrator.

'Some criminals may say to the court that the witnesses against them took the memory eraser, so the evidence they gave was not reliable,' said Professor John Harris, a professor of morality. studied at the University of Manchester (UK), said.

Meanwhile, scientists still do not understand how fear in particular and bad memories in general stay in the brain. In 2005, some experts found a gene related to fear. This gene helps them recognize people who are never afraid and those who are afraid of everything. Last year, a team of experts discovered that beta-catenin (a protein) is the glue that binds negative memories in the brain.

People also find some natural ways to eliminate bad memories. A test in 2007 showed that humans could completely control the recurrence of some memories by practicing regularly.