Memory surgery: common drug takes the panic out of traumatic memories

On day 3, the subjects were shown the same photos - and there was a noticeable reduction in fear symptoms shown by the group given propranolol. What's more, subjects that were given propranolol but that weren't subjected to the reconsolidation process on day 2 didn't appear to benefit from the drug, suggesting that the reconsolidation process is where the drug takes effect.

Legal and ethical implications

If propranolol or another drug proves able to assist in a kind of "memory surgery" - and thus has the ability to vastly improve the lives of PTSD and panic attack sufferers - surely it should be used to this effect. PTSD, by its nature, tends to affect innocent victims of tragic and traumatic events, and if the technology exists to reduce the burden of panic attacks for these victims, then it should be deployed.

But the association of fear with certain memories is also a valuable learning tool that can help prevent people from getting into trouble situations again - so, while the soldier on deployment in Iraq might suffer from PTSD after a terrifying incident, that fear might help save his life in a future situation.

There's also potential legal ramifications, wherein a defendant in a sexual abuse case might be able to argue that a victim makes an unreliable witness because they have chosen to alter their memory using this sort of technology.

But surely the victim's quality of life is more important than the punishment of the perpetrator - and the psychological devastation that arises in the aftermath of events like Hurricane Katrina or the recent Australian bushfires can be a crippling hindrance to survivors' ability to rebuild their lives and get on with it.

Either way, the ability to permanently cure or dampen the fear of memory-linked panic attacks is a fascinating piece of psychological technology and we look forward to the results of future studies with great interest.

Read Prof. Dr. Kindt's full experimental report over at Nature Neuroscience.

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