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Can we manipulate memory to fight anxiety?

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Memory manipulation may be moving away from science fiction and towards reality, argues Steve Ramirez.

Ramirez, an assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences at Boston University,
and his team are doing research on a small structure in the brain that they believe holds the key to future therapeutic techniques for treating depression, anxiety, and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).

The researchers envision that someday their work might give clinicians the ability to selectively enhance positive memories or suppress negative ones as a form of treatment.

In this video, Ramirez breaks down how researchers can identify specific memories in the brain, and how we might be able to dial up or dial down their emotional oomph in the future:

Source: Boston University