Rodent of the Week: Be very afraid, then forget about it

Spooked by too many scary movies this week? Someday, scientists hope they can make bad memories that tend to resurface vanish. Some studies, including a 2009 study in the journal Nature, have already demonstrated that if timed properly, techniques can be used to interfere with the formation of a frightening memory by introducing information that makes the fearful object or memory safe.

New research describes a molecular basis for how this mechanism works in the brain. Scientists at Johns Hopkins University found that chemicals called calcium-permeable glutamate receptors (known as AMPARs) are strengthened during fear conditioning -- when the person, or rodent in this case, learns to become afraid of something. In the experiment, researchers showed that when mice were first learning to be afraid of something the activity of the calcium-permeable glutamate receptors increased and remained elevated for about a week. But during that window of time, fearful memories could be erased by behavioral experiences, such as training the mice not to be afraid of the frightening stimulus.

So, if memories are essentially unstable for the first week or so after forming in the brain and scientists can learn how and where to target them, there may be ways to intervene quickly and keep the fear from becoming permanent. The study appeared online Thursday in the journal Science.

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