Researchers from the American Johns Hopkins University have discovered a method by which the painful memories of any person can be erased within just 48 hours.
According to the scientists, posttraumatic stress disorder, which leads to the dangerous intake of medicinal drugs and is often caused by traumatic memories, can be cured by increasing certain proteins in an area of the brain.
So far, the experiments have only been carried out on lab mice but the end results have been truly amazing.
In their experiments, the scientists managed to erase the painful memory of a loud sound, which caused great fear in the rodents.
During the research, the team of Dr. Richard Huganir, who headed the study, made lab mice fear certain sounds.
Then, the American researchers began to increase the intake of calcium-permeable proteins AMPARs and as a result, the rodents' traumatic memories disappeared after 48 hours.
The report of the science team is published in Science Express. The experts announce that the new method will be very useful for people whose lives have been dominated by unpleasant memories from the past and the feeling of fear.
"Whenever a person lives through a traumatic event, they create a fear memory, which can last their whole life and have a debilitating effect on their life, " declared Dr. Huganir.
The new method can also be very useful for creating drugs against posttraumatic stress disorder.
Huganir adds that deleting traumatic memories will erase the memory itself as well, since taking in unstable proteins affects nerve cells.
If the experiments with humans are as successful as those with mice, the new method of erasing painful memories will be used on war veterans, victims of aggression and violence.
Removing traumatic memories will aid people with addictions, who often suffer from psychological problems.
