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Bad memories of trauma need not leave people emotionally scarred for life, according to neuroscientists who claim it is possible to erase feelings of fear or anxiety attached to stressful events.

In a breakthrough for the treatment of depression or post-traumatic stress, researchers at the Riken-MIT Centre for Neural Circuit Genetics in the U.S. have pinpointed the brain circuits that attach emotions to memories, and crucially, learned how to reverse the link.

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They managed to “switch off” feelings of fear in mice that had been conditioned to feel anxious. It is likely that the same technique could be used in people.

“In our day-to-day lives we encounter a variety of events and episodes that give positive or negative impact to our emotions,” said Susuma Tonegawa, professor of biology and neuroscience at the centre. “If you are mugged late at night in a dark alley, you are terrified and have a strong fear memory and never want to go back to that alley. On the other hand if you have a great vacation, say on a Caribbean island, you also remember it for your lifetime and repeatedly recall that memory to enjoy the experience.