Author: Stephen Johnson / Source: Big Think
- A new study examined how the effects of fear-related memories can be silenced in the brain.
- Forming new and positive “extinction memories” can help to silence fearful memories.
- The study found that the hippocampus plays a significant role in “extinction training. ”
Memories associated with traumatic events can cause unexpected problems in everyday life. A woman with a phobia of dogs might experience a rush of fear when she happens to find herself right next to a dog without a leash in the park. In cases like this, a psychologist might recommend exposure therapy, in which people with specific fears are voluntarily and incrementally exposed to the very things they fear. The goal is to create new positive memories to silence the fearful ones. These are called “extinction memories.”
Scientists have long associated a part of the brain called the amygdala with fear. However, a new study focuses on the hippocampus — a brain region generally associated with memory and spatial navigation — and describes how extinction memories work not by replacing fearful memories, but rather by competing with them. This competition acts in two ways:…
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