Some stressful experiences—such as childhood abuse—are so overwhelming and traumatic that the memories hide in the brain.
Those hidden memories may protect us from the emotional pain of recalling an event. But eventually they can lead to debilitating problems, such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, or dissociative disorders.
A process known as state-dependent learning is thought to help us form memories that are inaccessible to normal consciousness. So, memories formed in a particular mood, arousal, or drug-induced state can best be retrieved when the brain is back in that state.
In a new study with mice, scientists discovered for the first time the mechanism by which state-dependent learning renders fear-related memories consciously inaccessible.
Brain’s Yin and Yang
“The findings show there are multiple pathways to storage of fear-inducing memories, and we identified an important one for fear-related memories,” said principal investigator Jelena Radulovic, professor of bipolar disease at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
