There’s interesting research being conducted into ways to modify fear memories. New methods may unlock the potential to reduce post-traumatic stress disorder and other disorders that debilitate many in our society.

Memory re-consolidation occurs when a memory is retrieved and it becomes unstable, thus allowing new information to be incorporated into the memory. When the memory is unstable its re-stabilization process can be blocked or weakened. This process of memory re-consolidation has been shown to help weaken the memory of the negative emotions associated with the fearful memories (Schiller et al., 2010). This does not imply that conscious memory of the event is weakened, rather, it implies that the negative tone of the memory is weakened.

Research in this area has led to using extinction processes that have been shown to weaken fear-associated memories.

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