PEOPLEwhohavehadapainfulexperiencemaywishtheycouldwipethememoryfromtheirminds.ResearchersatJohnsHopkinsUniversity,US,saythatthismaysomedaybepossible.

Adrugremainsfaroff,butresearchershavelaidafoundationwiththeirdiscoverythatproteinscanberemovedfromthebrain’sfearcentertocutmemoriesforever.

Previousresearchhadalreadyshownthataspecialbehaviortherapy(治疗)couldcutpainfulmemories.Butrelapse(复发)waspossiblebecausethememoryhadn’tnecessarilydisappeared.

Bylookingatthatprocess,RichardHuganirandRogerClem,tworesearchersfromJohnsHopkinsUniversity,discovereda“windowofvulnerability(脆弱的窗口)”whenproteinsarecreated.Theproteinshelpsignalstravelwithinthebrainaspainfulmemoriesaremade.Becausetheproteinsareunstable,theycanbeeasilyremovedwithdrugsorbehaviortherapytocutmemories.

Researchersusedmicetofindthewindow,butthinktheprocesswouldbethesameinhumans.Theyusedelectricshockstomakethemicefearacertainsound.Thesoundtriggered(触发)thecreationoftheproteins,calledcalcium-permeable(钙通透性)AMPARS,whichformedforadayortwointhefearcentersofthemice’sbrains.

Theresearchersareworkingonwaystoreopenthewindowbyrecalling(唤醒)thepainfulmemoryandusingdrugstoremovetheprotein.TheypublishedtheirreportonlinelastmonthinScienceExpress.

Theirresearchhasdrawninterestandconcernfromexpertsinmentalhealthcare.

KateFarinholt,amentalhealthexpertwiththeNationalAllianceonMentalIllness,Maryland,US,saidmanypeoplesufferingfromapainfuleventmightbenefitfromerasingamemory.“Erasingamemoryandtheneverythingbadbuiltonthatisanamazingidea,andIcanseeallsortsofpotential,”shesaid.

Buttherearealotofunansweredquestions,too.

“Completelydeletingamemoryisalittlescary.Howdoyouremoveamemorywithoutremovingapartofsomeone’slife,”Farinholtsaid.“Andisitbesttodothat,consideringthatpeoplegrowandlearnfromtheirexperiences?”

小题1:WhathaveresearchersatJohnsHopkinsUniversityfoundrecently?