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Updated: Aug 12, 2026

Disrupting Reconsolidation of Fear Memory in Humans by a Noradrenergic β-Blocker
Published on: December 18, 2014
Abstract:
beta-Adrenergic blockade represents a major pharmacologic advance. These drugs bind to membrane adrenergic receptors interfering with the effects of endogenous catecholamines. Eight beta-blockers are available in the United States, and others are being studied. The drugs have varying pharmacodynamic properties that may modify certain side effects: beta 1-selectivity, partial agonism, alpha-adrenergic blocking activity, membrane stabilization, and varying pharmacokinetic characteristics. The drugs have been shown to be relatively safe and useful for a wide variety of cardiovascular and noncardiovascular disease states, and their wide spectrum of therapeutic activity illustrates the importance of the sympathetic nervous system in the pathophysiology of medical illness.
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