Thaindian News

November 2, 2010 (Pen Men at Work): No one can run away from memories of the past. Some memories are good and some remind you of certain unfortunate events. Bad memories can traumatize a person for a long time. For example if a person is involved in an accident he/she might take a long time to recover from the post-traumatic stress. Scientists have always wanted to know if they can manipulate memories or even erase them, it seems like the answer is not far away after all.

Researchers have recently discovered that they can now manipulate the memories and even erase them completely with proper behavioral training. Scientist Roger Clem and Richard Huganir of John Hopkins university School of Medicine have come up with this unique method to determine the neural circuitry behind different behavioral outcomes in human beings. They have discovered a molecular mechanism that can over ride the fear and cause instability of recent memory among patients.

Huganir and Post-doctoral fellow Roger Clem have identified the specific nerve circuits in the amygdala of brain that is responsible for instilling fear in Humans and animals alike. The researchers believe that spike of protein concentrations in Amygdala causes people to be afraid. The team has come up with this unique idea of combining protein removal with behavioral conditioning to remove fear from the memories of individuals completely.

This research can work wonders for people suffering from Post-traumatic stress disorder. The idea behind this revolutionary procedure is to weaken the nerve connections that transmit the fear response to the brain and removing the memory from the subconscious.