BBC NEWS | Health | Heart pill to banish bad memories: "Scientists believe a common heart medicine may be able to banish fearful memories from the mind.
The Dutch investigators believe beta-blocker drugs could help people suffering from the emotional after-effects of traumatic experiences.
They believe the drug alters how memories are recalled after carrying out the study of 60 people, Nature Neuroscience reports."
6 comments:
I need a pill to help me forget all the crazy stuff I post when I'm drunk internetting.
I don't need a pill. I'm so forgetful that it's gone before I get up out of the chair.
Pretty science fiction, don't you think? In the wrong hands, and all. I've read too much science fiction, but those sf writers knew about this a long time ago.
P. K. Dick, for one, I'll bet.
Do we need a pill? Revisionist thinking seems to come naturally at the end of personal relationships and political regimes.
Years ago I discovered that the beta blocker propanolol mitigates performance anxiety and was used by actors for that purpose. I have used it steadily when lecturing, doing readings, appearing on panels, and other occasions that were stressful to me. It works by keeping one's pulse level, and it infuses the body with a sense of calm no matter how anxious one is. (Prior to using it, my pulse would skyrocket to near-fibrillation levels in some performance circumstances.) The beta blocker enabled me to teach, conduct workshops, go on tours, etc. I believe this memory blocking may have much to do with the calm it induces.
Richard Wheeler
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