LOS ANGELES, April 27 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say a discovery could lead to the ability to "alter" traumatic memories in war veterans, rape victims and others troubled by horrific memories.
Researchers at UCLA say they've been able to eliminate, or at least substantially weaken, long-term memory in both a marine snail and in neurons in a lab dish, a university release said Wednesday.
Doing so has yielded important insights into the cell biology of long-term memory, the study's authors said.
"I think we will be able to alter memories someday to reduce the trauma from our brains," said senior author David Glanzman, a professor of biology and physiology and neurobiology.
Researchers discovered long-term memory in the marine snail known as Aplysia can be erased by inhibiting the activity of a specific protein kinase, one of a class of molecules that modifies proteins by chemically changing their structure and activity.
The findings have potential implications for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as drug addiction, in which memory plays an important role, and perhaps Alzheimer's disease and other long-term memory disorders, the researchers said.
"The brain is the most complicated organ in the body," Glanzman said. "The research is complex, but this is the way we are going to understand how memories in our brains last a lifetime, or at least part of the way. It will take a lot of research, but I think it will be feasible."
