Brain can erase bad memories
20 Oct 2012 5:27 AM IST
Scientists have discovered that brain can help us voluntarily forget unwanted memories by either blocking them out or substituting them.
Researchers from the Cambridge University tested if suppressing memories or substituting them with more desirable memories could erase them and whether these tactics could engage distinct neural pathways.
To test this possibility, researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the brain activity of volunteers who had learned associations between pairs of words and subsequently attempted to forget these memories by either blocking them out or recalling substitute memories.
‘A better understanding of these mechanisms and how they break down may ultimately help understanding disorders that are characterised by a deficient regulation of memories, such as posttraumatic stress disorder,’ Benoit said in a statement.
‘Knowing that distinct processes contribute to forgetting may be helpful, because people may naturally be better at one approach or the other,’ he said. The study was published in the journal Neuron.
Researchers from the Cambridge University tested if suppressing memories or substituting them with more desirable memories could erase them and whether these tactics could engage distinct neural pathways.
To test this possibility, researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the brain activity of volunteers who had learned associations between pairs of words and subsequently attempted to forget these memories by either blocking them out or recalling substitute memories.
‘A better understanding of these mechanisms and how they break down may ultimately help understanding disorders that are characterised by a deficient regulation of memories, such as posttraumatic stress disorder,’ Benoit said in a statement.
‘Knowing that distinct processes contribute to forgetting may be helpful, because people may naturally be better at one approach or the other,’ he said. The study was published in the journal Neuron.
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