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Researchers at Stanford claim they’ve figured out how to erase the traumatic memories of mice while they sleep bringing them one step closer to their goal of ending PTSD for humans. Apparently a prescription memory-eraser could even be on the way. Are we closer to an Eternal Sunshine moment than we think?
The conventional treatment for stress and anxiety caused by traumatic events can be grueling for the patient, barbaric, even. They’ve simply got to recall the drama over and over and over in front of a shrink until, eventually, they learn how to deal with it—and there’s no guarantee the patent won’t relapse.
Nature reports the research of a Stanford team that found a way to replicate this therapy passively in sleeping mice. First, the researchers trained mice to fear the smell of jasmine by exposing them to the smell and then zapping them electricity. Once the mice were thoroughly traumatised, the researchers went about un-traumatising the mice in their sleep.
One batch of mice received traditional therapy: They were exposed to the smell while they slept without getting shocked, and eventually got over the fear—temporarily at least. These mice, like PTSD humans tended to relapse.
The researchers treated the other batch of mice by tampering with their brain chemistry. Nature explains:
In other mice, Rolls administered a drug to block protein production in the basolateral amygdala – a brain area associated with storage of fearful memories – just before the animals went to sleep. The researchers then exposed the sleeping mice to repeated odor puffs alone. Upon waking, these animals showed reduced fear responses to amyl acetate [the smell chemical] that carried over even into new environments.
Holy smokes that’s crazy! Imagine a world in which the tedium and pain of therapy could be replaced with a simple pill. The world would be such a happier place. Unfortunately, the drug used in the study isn’t safe for humans, but it turns out that existing anxiety meds could potentially be used the same way. It seems the solution to an old psychiatric puzzle might have been lying under our noses for decades. [Nature]
Image by angeladellatorre under Creative Commons license
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This makes no sense. Trauma’s usually occur at a young age and the effects are reinforced in the brain by constant “reliving” of the experience. Once it’s ingrained it’s going to be a lot more difficult to shift than a recent memory.
I presumed it was for those that recently suffered from ptsd
Doesn’t sound like it was particularly pleasant for the mice. Too many of these experiments seem to be done for the hell of it – particularly in this case, given that the drug was known to be unsafe for humans from the outset. What was the point? Bragging rights?
Agree, plus it was only partially (and apparently) effective; ‘reduced fear responses’ but what other damage was done, or effect caused?
I believe that you are both quite mistaken on the first two points.
a) Very few experiments are done for the hell of it, even if they may appear that way to the ignorant public. Acquisition of funding is exceedingly competetive and research proposals have to be appropriately justified to have any hope of gaining funding. If you were to track down the research paper that this work was published in, you would be able to read the rationale for these experiments.
b) The experiment was not to determine whether this particular drug could be used in humans; it was to determine whether this particular area of the brain could be targeted to produce the desired effects. Different drugs will be required for humans, but it’s hoped that the principles will be similar.
The possibility that damage may be done by blocking protein production in the basolateral amygdala is a valid scientific point; I don’t know whether it has been addressed by this research group or another but it does sound like a heavy-handed approach. Nonetheless, if the basolateral amygdala has been discovered to be a suitable target, further research may be warranted using more refined approaches.
Now if we can just erase the memory of my ex-girlfriend I will be glad.
+1
De Ja Vu