Anti-Memory Pill
A Pill To Erase Memory?
December 2006
You may have seen the news a week or two ago about Propranolol.
The critics have painted it as a pill that takes away memory.
They suggest all sorts of problems and ethical dilemmas.
First of all, if you watched the stories that covered this
in more depth, you realize that Propranolol doesn't erase memory.
What does it do? When taken while remembering traumatic things,
it prevents the rush of adrenaline that normally occurs in those
suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disease - formerly
known as Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome). This reduces the strength
of the emotional response.
Repeating this process eventually retrains the brain so that
traumatic events can be recalled without much emotion. In other
words, Propranolol may be able to eliminate the severe emotional
response to past events that many people have. This is the hope,
in any case. More studies are being conducted.
There doesn't seem to be any loss of memory associated with
using these pills. In an interview with one woman who used the
drug, it was apparent that she remembered all the details of
the rape she suffered as a child. She just no longer suffered
from the crippling emotions that used to come with the recollection.
It was suggested to this woman that the pill may be altering
who she is by altering her emotional response to traumatic events.
Her view? She said that she was finally able to be herself now
that the severe effects of her trauma were gone. That's understandable,
unless one argues that regular and severe emotional pain is important
to one's identity.
There may be some potential for abuse of this drug, as the
critics suggested. For example, people could use it to overcome
the feelings from extreme guilt or embarrassment, rather than
using these feelings as a motivation for changing their behavior.
Of course, there are risks of abuse with any new drugs, even
those that do wonderful things.
On balance, it seems like those risks are worth it in this
case. At this point, there don't seem to be any side effects,
and Propranolol may be of great benefit to those who have suffer
from PTSD. Our brains need emotional cues for guidance, but sometimes
those go too far and become crippling. If there is nothing better,
why not use a pill that can help the brain get back to functioning
effectively?
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