Memory activation, exposure reduces life-long fear of spiders read more at here www.spinonews.com/index.php/item/713-memory-activation-exposure-reduces-life-long-fear-of-spiders

Researchers at Uppsala University have shown how the effect of exposure therapy can be improved by disrupting the recreation of memories of fear in people with arachnophobia.

Anxiety leads to great suffering for those affected, but can be treated with exposure therapy, in which the patient is gradually exposed to the object or context that provokes the reactions.

If exposure therapy is successful, a new ‘safe’ memory is formed, which overshadows the old fear memory. But not everyone is helped by this treatment.

In part, learning takes place during the treatment is not permanent; the memory may return at some point later. Memory researchers have now demonstrated that the improvement can be made more lasting.

When a person is reminded of something, the memory becomes unstable and is re-saved. If you disrupt the re-saving of the memory, the creation of the memory can be disrupted and erasure.

A fear memory could thus be weakened or erased, and this offers hope for improved treatment of anxiety disorders.

Researchers from Uppsala University have shown that it is possible to use this method to reduce fear in life-long phobias. The researchers exposed individuals with arachnophobia to spider pictures while measuring their brain activity in the amygdale, a part of the brain that is strongly linked to fear.

Researchers had volunteer arachnophobia patients look at a series of spider pictures, a 10-minute "mini-exposure." During the two phases, researchers measured brain activity in the amygdale. The following day, when study participants were exposed to the pictures once again, amygdale activity was significantly reduced.

Patients were also less likely to avoid spiders after the memory activation and exposure therapies.

It is striking that such a simple manipulation so clearly affects brain activity and behavior. A simple modification of existing treatments could possibly improve effects. This would mean more people getting rid of their anxieties after treatment and fewer relapses.