Brain 'can be trained to forget'

[Guest guest]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3380635.stm

 

Brain 'can be trained to forget'

 

See below or . From my own experience and what I

have gleaned from Attilio, it appears that cells also 'remember'. We

therefore have a 'heart memory' and a 'liver memory' and so on. If

trauma resides in these cells simply blocking an unpleasant

experience from memory may not enable healing at a cellular level.

Freud called it " repression " and although was referring to a higher

level psycho-somatic link (see his discussion on hysteria for

example) it is a valuable lesson and indicates a role for

psychotherapy in TCM.

 

Sammy.

 

 

 

The brain can suppress memories, say researchers

It is possible to persuade the brain to consciously suppress unwanted

memories, say experts.

Research from US universities used brain scans to show that people

can use willpower to " block " thoughts in the same way they stop

unwanted actions.

 

There has been controversy for years over whether a mechanism exists

to hide away unpleasant memories.

 

Experts say it could help psychiatrists aid people scarred by

traumatic experiences.

 

Some experts previously held the view that there was no mechanism in

the brain capable of helping someone suppress an unwanted memory.

 

This was supported by what seemed an intuitive fact about humans -

that the more you try to forget something, the more often it comes

back to haunt you.

 

Clean slate

 

Now, however, the US research teams from Stanford and Oregon

universities seem to have demonstrated that, given the right

circumstances, an individual can wipe a memory out - or at least

suppress it deeply.

 

It backs the original thesis from Sigmund Freud suggesting the

existence of " voluntary memory suppression " .

 

Survivors of natural disasters, crime, acts of terror such as 9/11,

the loss of someone close all undergo a process that may continue for

a very long time

 

Professor Michael Anderson, University of Oregon

In the study, MRI scans were used to measure activity in different

areas of the brain.

 

Scientists already broadly know what functions are represented by

activity in various different areas, so by testing activity, they can

work out what is going on in the minds of their volunteers.

 

A word test was given to the volunteers, involving pairs of words

such as ordeal-roach, steam-train and jaw-gum.

 

The participants were ordered to learn the word pairs, then given the

first word and either asked to remember its other half or suppress

it.

 

Word test

 

Remarkably, when a formal test on the dozens of word pairs was later

given, the researchers found that their volunteers had more trouble

remembering those they had been asked to suppress than the others.

 

While this suppressing process was going on, the brain scans revealed

that the activity in the brain was similar to that spotted when a

person sets out to complete a physical manoeuvre, but pulls back at

the last minute because of a perceived danger.

 

Professor Michael Anderson, one of the researchers, explained that

mechanism by describing an incident where he knocked a pot plant off

his windowsill.

 

" As I saw the plant falling off the sill out of the corner of my eye,

I reflexively went to catch it - but at the very last second, I

stopped myself, midstream, when I realised the plant was a cactus. "

 

He said that understanding how the brain in normal circumstances

could be trained to " forget " might enable doctors to help those

plagued by traumatic memories.

 

" Survivors of natural disasters, crime, acts of terror such as 9/11,

the loss of someone close all undergo a process that may continue for

a very long time.

 

" My goal is to expand on this model so we can better understand these

important experiences. "