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Attenuating the persistence of fear memory storage using a single dose of antidepressant

Molecular Psychiatry volume 18, pages 7–8 (2013)Cite this article

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Enhanced memory for emotionally arousing events is a highly adaptive phenomenon that helps us remember both dangerous and favorable situations.1 However, under certain conditions, intrusive and persistent traumatic memories can lead to anxiety disorders, like posttraumatic stress disorder. Current therapies for anxiety disorders involve pharmacological or behavioral manipulations of long-lasting fear memories in which patients explicitly recall the painful traumatic experience.2, 3 Despite recent advances, a major question of how to effectively attenuate persistent fear memories in a safe and less distressful manner remains unresolved.

In addition, systemic administration of venlafaxine or fluoxetine 11 h after IA training impeded training-induced increase in hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels (Figure 1b). A similar pattern of effects was observed when TrkB phosphorylation was determined using pTrkB/TrkB ratio by immunoblotting (Supplementary Figure S2B). This is consistent with recent findings showing that an increased expression of hippocampal BDNF is crucial for memory persistence.4, 5 Moreover, venlafaxine-induced impairment of IA memory persistence is reverted by the bilateral infusion of BDNF (0.5 μg/0.5 μl) into the CA1 region of the dorsal hippocampus (Figure 1c).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Cellular Biology and Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    L Slipczuk, M Tomaiuolo, F Garagoli, C Katche & J H Medina

  2. Department of Internal Medicine, Albert Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    L Slipczuk

  3. Department of Physiology, Systems Neuroscience Section, School of Medicine, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    N Weisstaub

  4. Department of Experimental Psychology and Welcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    P Bekinschtein

  5. Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    J H Medina

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  1. L Slipczuk
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  2. M Tomaiuolo
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Correspondence to J H Medina.

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Slipczuk, L., Tomaiuolo, M., Garagoli, F. et al. Attenuating the persistence of fear memory storage using a single dose of antidepressant. Mol Psychiatry 18, 7–8 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2012.4

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