Medication Blocks Negative Feelings from Bad Memories According to Studies

Often people will turn to alcohol or drug abuse to erase bad memories. Now, scientists have discovered medications that can help ease negative feelings from painful memories. What have they learned about using these medications to block bad memories?

What if you could take a pill so you're not affected so deeply by bad memories? Researchers now say that's possible according to new studies. They found certain medications block negative feelings from bad memories.

There are at least two medications that can help with the negative feelings associated with bad memories. In a study published in NatureNeuroscience, the drug propranolol temporarily eliminated fear related to painful memories. This could be helpful to those who suffer panic attacks and anxiety induced by bad memories. It is important to note that the study only included recent bad memories induced by the researchers and it is unknown whether or not this will affect older memories.

Another study showed that the drug metyrapone blocked the stress hormone cortisol, which is responsible for saving and recalling memories. After taking a certain doses of the metyrapone, subjects actually forgot the negative aspects and feelings of a recent event. As with the other study, there is no proof yet that this will work on past memories or how long the effects would last.

There are even more implications to using the drug metyrapone if it can block cortisol. Cortisol is a stress hormone that in large amounts can invoke the "fight or flight" instinct. Cortisol also causes fat to be stored in the abdominal area for what is referred to as "belly fat". A drug that could reduce cortisol levels might be able to reduce abdominal fat storage for some people as well.

However, cortisol plays important roles in the body in small amounts. This hormone helps regulate blood sugar levels, aids the immune system and reduces inflammation. Cortisol produced in response to temporary stressors helps to increase brain function and energy and can reduce sensitivity to pain.

I also wonder if these drugs would be used for bad at some point to assist in wiping out negative memories, such as for prisoners of war or kidnapping victims or the like. If memory could effectively be wiped clean, so many crimes could be committed if the victim didn't remember the crime even happened.

If these drug are approved for the use of reducing negative feelings associated with bad memories, I certainly hope some company, including the original manufacturer, does not try to pass it off as a diet pill for a "quick fix" to reduce belly fat. Helping people regain their lives through reducing bad memories is a good thing, scamming people is not.

SOURCES:

Jeffrey Perkel; Beta Blocker Blocks Feelings of Bad Memories; http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Healthday/story?id=6885660&page=1

Marie-France Martin, et al.; Metyrapone Administration Reduces the Strength of an Emotional Memory Trace in a Long-Lasting Manner; http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/early/2011/05/18/jc.2011-0226.short