It's not quite the same as using the flashing thingy, but it's close. Do you have a really bad memory, or past heartache, that you would prefer to forget?
Researchers at Harvard and McGill University (in Montreal) are working on an amnesia drug that blocks or deletes bad memories. The technique seems to allow psychiatrists to dusrupt the biochemical pathways that allow a memory to be recalled.
In a new study, published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, the drug propranolol is used along with therapy to "dampen" the memories of trauma victims. They treated 19 accident or rape victims for ten days, during which the patients were asked to describe their memories of the traimatic event that had happened 10 years earlier. Some patients were given the drug, which is also used to treat amnesia, while others were given a placebo.
A week later, they found that patients given the drug showed fewer signs of stress when recalling their trauma. This could have some benefits. We could forget about Bush's entire presidency after he leaves office!
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