Researchers at McLean Hospital in Massachusetts have found a possible tool for erasing bad memories in a new study.
The tool is not like the neuralyzer from the Men in Black movies, and instead, comes in the form of xenon gas, which is used for anesthesia and diagnostic imaging on humans, according to CNET.
Edward G. Meloni, assistant professor at the hospital and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, led the research team in a study that had a low concentration of the gas tested on rats that were trained to be scared of specific environmental cues. The same cues were then used on the rats while they were exposed to xenon at the same time.
"We found that a single exposure to the gas, which is known to block NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptors involved in memory formation in the brain, dramatically and persistently reduced fear responses for up to two weeks. It was as though the animals no longer remembered to be afraid of those cues," Meloni said.
While more research is needed to determine the effect the treatment would have on humans, the team believes xenon could eventually be used to treat conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), CNET reported. They hope the gas could reduce flashbacks, nightmares, and distress that comes with the condition.
"The fact that we were able to inhibit remembering of a traumatic memory with xenon is very promising because it is currently used in humans for other purposes, and thus it could be repurposed to treat PTSD," said Marc. J. Kaufman, director of the McLean Hospital Translational Imaging Laboratory.
