The rats still retained their memory of the chime and the shock, but the associated fear was greatly reduced. As such, this research could have important implications for the treatment of anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. PTSD in particular is thought to be at least partially caused by the brain's inability to extinguish feelings of intense fear, and differences in levels of BDNF could explain why two people who share a traumatic experience can be affected differently by it. BDNF therapies could potentially lead to a means not to forget our bad memories, but to help us live with them.