Scientists hope to one day make scary memories vanish
Spooked by too many scary Halloween movies?
Someday, scientists hope they can make bad memories that tend to resurface vanish. Some studies, including a 2009 study in the journal Nature, have already demonstrated that if timed properly, techniques can be used to interfere with the formation of a frightening memory by introducing information that makes the fearful object or memory safe.
New research published in the journal Science last week uses mice to understand the molecular basis for forgetting fear.
In a Johns Hopkins University experiment, researchers showed that when mice were first learning to be afraid of something receptors in their brain became more active and remained elevated for about a week. But during that time, fearful memories could be erased by training the mice not to be afraid of whatever it was that scared them.
So, if one of the "Saw" movies creeped you out a little too much, the best remedy may be to watch it again and again and either learn to laugh or try to forget you've wasted money on a bad film.
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