Who among us doesn't have memories we'd like to sweep under the rug? Many would like to erase the memory of an embarrassing moment from childhood, or a prank that went wrong or who knows what else. Sometimes memory keeps beautiful things to itself, but puts painful things before us.
Some memories are so traumatic that they torment a person for the rest of their life, causing them severe distress. Those with PTSD know it well: memories of this kind can even become more and more intense, and impossible to avoid. According to a recent theory, would become fixed in our psyche as a result of our self-preservation instinct: putting the memories of a trauma first, it is less likely that it will happen again. The problem is, we keep reliving the trauma, though: and the pain of these memories can far outweigh the benefit.
Erasing the memory, it sounded like science fiction
Very painful memories can lead people to experience an endless cycle of trauma. Here because a new study of the University of York in Canada no longer sounds like a science fiction trial (only a few years ago a film like “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” seemed like a work of pure fantasy). Researchers have found that using a method known as “tone cueing” can help people forget specific memories. Clear memory with sound. Incredible.
For the study, 29 participants were taught associations for pairs of words, then paired them with a sound. When participants went to sleep in the University of York sleep laboratory, their brain waves were measured to detect whether they had reached the deep stage of sleep. In this phase, the researchers presented the patients with the sound linked to one of the words.
Subsequent tests showed that patients' recall of the words "heard" during the night increased, and that of the other words heard while awake was reduced.
Memories manipulated with sound signaling: first evaluations
“Although this phase is still experimental, the results of our study raise the possibility of increasing or erasing the memory of specific items by playing sound signals when an individual is sleeping,” says dr. Bardur Joensen, first author of the study.
Trauma sufferers can suffer from a wide range of distressing symptoms due to memories of those events. Our discovery could pave the way for new techniques for manipulating the the memory, to be combined with existing therapies, to weaken those memories.
Bardur Joensen
Indeed, this research could provide a valuable tool to help people who have experienced traumatizing events so that they do not relive the pain in a kind of mental prison. However, it will also be necessary to evaluate whether the cancellation of specific memories can have a repercussion in the mental structure of an individual: after all, pain is also part of our experience.
