Scientists have discovered a new method to erase bad memories by activating good memories, which could aid in mental health treatment.
Thinking about positive memories can help us remember painful things less - Image created by AI
Erasing bad memories and traumatic recollections could help support the treatment of many mental health issues. Recently, scientists have discovered a promising new approach to weakening bad memories with positive ones, according to ScienceAlert on January 13th.
In a multi-day study, an international research team asked 37 volunteers to associate random meaningless words with negative images, such as images of injured people or dangerous animals, during the first night.
The following day, after a night's sleep to consolidate those memories, the team attempted to associate half the words with positive images in the volunteers' minds.
During the second night of sleep, the team played previously associated nonsensical words during the non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep phase, which is crucial for memory retention and electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring in the volunteers.
The research team found that theta wave activity in the brain, which is involved in processing emotional memories, spiked in response to auditory memory cues and was significantly higher when using positive cues.
Through questionnaires administered over several days, the researchers found that the group of volunteers were less likely to recall negative memories that had been scrambled with positive memories through association words.
"We found that this process impairs the ability to recall negative memories and also increases the involuntary intrusion of positive memories. Overall, our findings provide new insights related to the treatment of pathological or traumatic-related memories," the research team said.
However, the research is still in its early stages and is taking place in a tightly controlled laboratory.
According to the research team, the negative images in the experiment will not have the same level of impact on the formation of traumatic memories as in real life. Therefore, more research is needed to find the precise way to modify traumatic memories and to determine how long their effects last.
The study was published in the journal PNAS .
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tim-ra-cach-giup-xoa-bo-ky-uc-dau-thuong-20250114100637168.htm
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