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Extinction Training During the Reconsolidation Window Prevents Recovery of Fear
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Published on: August 24, 2012

Post-retrieval extinction as reconsolidation interference: methodological issues or boundary conditions?

Alessia Auber1, Vincenzo Tedesco, Carolyn E Jones

  • 1Neuropsychopharmacology Lab., Sect. Pharmacology, Department Public Health and Community Medicine, Univ. of Verona, Verona, Italy. alessia.auber@gmail.com

Psychopharmacology
|February 14, 2013
PubMed
Summary

Disrupting reconsolidation of emotional memories after retrieval may prevent fear return. This research reviews post-retrieval extinction methods for treating disorders like PTSD and addiction.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Psychology
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Emotionally charged memories aid survival but can lead to disorders like PTSD, phobias, and addiction when emotional learning systems malfunction.
  • Targeting emotional memories is crucial for clinical applications, as aberrant memory consolidation underlies psychiatric disorders.
  • Memory reconsolidation, a process where memories are restabilized after retrieval, presents a potential therapeutic window.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the literature on post-reactivation extinction for disrupting emotional memory reconsolidation.
  • To discuss methodological variations and boundary conditions in studies of post-retrieval extinction.
  • To evaluate the potential applications of post-reactivation extinction in clinical settings.

Main Methods:

  • Review of studies investigating the effects of extinction sessions after memory retrieval on reconsolidation.
  • Analysis of research across laboratory animals and humans concerning fear and drug-related memories.
  • Examination of methodological differences and boundary conditions influencing study outcomes.

Main Results:

  • Post-retrieval extinction can update original memory traces, preventing the return of fear in animal models.
  • Subsequent research has explored this effect on both fear and drug-related memories in diverse populations.
  • Discrepancies exist across studies, potentially due to methodological variations and boundary conditions.

Conclusions:

  • Memory reconsolidation offers a promising target for disrupting pathological emotional memories.
  • Post-reactivation extinction is a viable strategy for updating fear and drug-related memories.
  • Further research is needed to clarify boundary conditions and optimize clinical applications.