Drug Helps Overwrite Bad Memories

An anonymous reader writes "Recalling painful memories while under the influence of the drug metyrapone reduces the brain's ability to re-record the negative emotions associated with them, according to a new study by a team of University of Montreal researchers. The finding challenges the theory that memories cannot be modified once they are stored in the brain. 'Our findings may help people deal with traumatic events by offering them the opportunity to "write-over" the emotional part of their memories during therapy,' said the team lead. One major hurdle, however, is the fact that metyrapone is no longer commercially produced."