Here's an idea for your R&D department:



SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/nation...olecule16.html

'Fear molecule' may help in treating emotional disorders
Last updated July 15, 2007 6:24 p.m. PT

By LEE BOWMAN
SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE

Researchers at MIT have identified a molecular mechanism that appears to control the formation of fears stemming from traumatic events, a finding that could lead to a drug to treat people unable to live normal lives because of their fears.

In a report published online Sunday by the journal Nature Neuroscience, Li-Huei Tsai and colleagues said an enzyme called cdk5 facilitates extinction of fear learned in a particular context and, in mouse studies, can be manipulated to eliminate that fear.

Emotional disorders such as post-traumatic stress and panic attack stem from an inability of the brain to stop experiencing fear associated with a specific incident or series of incidents.

In some people, disturbing memories don't fade with time.

The National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder says 5.2 million adults suffer from the disorder in any given year.

For the MIT study, neuroscience professor Tsai and his team studied mice genetically engineered to have inhibited or increased activity of the enzyme in the hippocampus, the brain's center for storing memories.

During the experiment, the mice got mild foot shocks while they were in a certain environment and then, later, re-exposed to the same environment without getting shocked.

Mice with increased levels of cdk5 had more trouble letting go of the memory of the shock and continued to freeze in fear in the setting associated with the shock. But in mice that had inhibited activity of the molecule, the bad memory of the shocks seemed to have no effect once they learned they no longer needed to fear being shocked.

"This data points to a promising therapeutic avenue to treat emotional disorders and raising hope for patients suffering from PTSD or phobia," Tsai said.

Thats a great post.Im sure we all could use a sup like this for 1 or more areas of our lives!

Originally Posted by mmowry

Thats a great post.Im sure we all could use a sup like this for 1 or more areas of our lives!

Yeah, I was in a pretty horrific motorcycle accident as a teen. Two decades later I still get the occasional flashback. Something like this could be interesting for issues like that but also as a general anti-anxiety med. Teach yourself not to fear certain situations.

interesting post...

Of course it would be tweaked to give to soldiers and we would have blood thirsty killaz™ I think I saw a movie once that had a drug that did something like this.

I bet this would reduce or eliminate the anxiety many people have/learn about their jobs and careers. Many, like my wife, dread work so much that they get in a pattern of worrying about what's going to happen at work tomorrow when they are getting ready for bed...which is really bad.

beta-blockers can effectively attenuate the physiological response to a memory in conjunction with therapy/meditation - take something like propranolol and recall the memory, do this enough and you should be able to cut the response completely.