Interfering With Traumatic Memories of the Boston Marathon Bombings

The Boston Marathon bombings of April 15, 2013 killed three people and injured hundreds of others near the finish line of the iconic footrace. The oldest and most prominent marathon in the world, Boston attracts over 20,000 runners and 500,000 spectators. The terrorist act shocked and traumatized and unified the city.What should the survivors do with their traumatic memories of the event? Many with disabling post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) receive therapy to lessen the impact of the trauma. Should they forget completely? Is it possible to selectively “alter” or “remove” a specific memory? Studies in rodents are investigating the use of pharmacological manipulations (Otis et al., 2014) and behavioral interventions (Monfils et al., 2009) to disrupt the reconsolidation of a conditioned fear memory. Translating these interventions into clinically effective treatments in humans is an ongoing challenge.The process of reconsolidation may provide a window to altering unwanted memories. When an old memory is retrieved, it enters a transiently labile state, when it's susceptible to change before becoming consolidated and stored again (Nader & Hardt et al., 2009). There's some evidence that the autonomic response to a conditioned fear memory can be lessened by an “updating” procedure during the reconsolidation period (Schiller et al., 2010).1 How this might apply to the recollection of personally experienced trauma memories is uncertain.Remembering the Boston B...

Source: The Neurocritic - January 18, 2015 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: The Neurocritic Source Type: blogs