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Author
M. Kindt
Date
19-3-2018
Title
The surprising subtleties of changing fear memory
Subtitle
a challenge for translational science
Journal
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B - Biological Sciences
Volume | Issue number
373 | 1742
Article number
20170033
Number of pages
8
Document type
Review article
Faculty
Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (FMG)
Institute
Psychology Research Institute (PsyRes)
Abstract

Current pharmacological and psychological treatments for disorders of emotional memory only dampen the affective response while leaving the original fear memory intact. Under adverse circumstances, these original memories regain prominence, causing relapses in many patients. The (re)discovery in neuroscience that after reactivation consolidated fear memories may return to a transient labile state, requiring a process of restabilization in order to persist, offers a window of opportunity for modifying fear memories with amnestic agents. This process, known as memory reconsolidation, opens avenues for developing a revolutionary treatment for emotional memory disorders. The reconsolidation intervention challenges the dominant pharmacological and psychological models of treatment: it is only effective when the amnestic drug is given in conjunction with memory reactivation during a specific time window, and a modification of cognitive processes is a boundary condition for changing fear. Notwithstanding the dramatic effects of targeting memory reconsolidation in the laboratory (i.e. proof of principle), the greatest hurdle to overcome is that the success of the manipulation depends on subtle differences in the reactivation procedure. These experimental parameters cannot be easily controlled in clinical practice. In harnessing the clinical potential of memory reconsolidation, a heuristic forbi-directionally translatingbehavioural neuroscience and clinical science is proposed. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Of mice and mental health: facilitating dialogue between basic and clinical neuroscientists'.

URL
go to publisher's site
Link
Final publisher version
Language
English
Note
© 2018 The Authors. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Of mice and mental health: facilitating dialogue between basic and clinical neuroscientists’.
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/11245.1/74069a81-ac04-48a1-bc76-3cfe895f96bb
Downloads
  • 20170033.full

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