Japan develops technique to erase fear memories

Scientists in Japan have discovered they can temporarily erase fear memories by blocking specific neurotransmitter cells with specially designed light sensitive antibodies, a technique that may have application in psychiatric treatment.

The team of researchers from Yokohama City University, Osaka University and the University of Tokyo explained in their study published in Nature Biotechnology that their technique was more precise than earlier methods of blocking neurotransmitters—the chemical messengers that carry information between nerve cells —because it targeted only the surface of the cells where the neurotransmitters function, and not the cells’ internal proteins, thus avoiding long-lasting damage.