Beta-Blockers Erase Emotion of Fearful Memories

Beta-blockers are already taken by patients with heart conditions, however new research shows that beta-blockers can help in a totally different way. These drugs can wipe away emotions a person has with a frightful memory. The hope is that these drugs can be used on patients with Post-Traumatic Stress Dissorder, or PTSD, not by wiping out the patients fearful memory but by dulling their response to the memory when they recall it.
The study that scientist chose to do was show subjects who are scared of spiders a photograph of a spider. These patients displayed anxiety by recalling a fearful memory associated with the image. Later these subjects were given a beta-blocker , propranolol, while others were given a placebo pill. 24 hours later the subjects were once again showed the image of the spider and the group that had taken the beta-blockers fear response had been greatly reduced. The hypothosis was that the fear associated with the spider had been erased because of the beta-blockers.
Scientist believe that the beta-blockers work by altering the way the frightful memory is stored in the brain. Every time a memory is recalled it changes a little and the new version is placed in the long term memory part of the brain by a process called reconsolidation. It is thought that the beta-blockers block the reconsolidation of the emotional part of the memory, while leaving the memory itself present.
The downfall of this is that not only would the frightful memories of patients with anxiety disorders be dulled but so would the happy and sad ones. This is not thought to be a huge deal researchers say because people with anxiety disorders are not thinking about happy memories, but rather they are obsessed with the frightful ones.

http://sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/40928/title/Beta-blockers_erase_emotion_of_fearful_memories