If the thought of a spider in the same room makes your skin crawl, and you go out of your way to avoid confrontation with the eight-legged beasts, you are likely to be part of the 30% of Americans who have arachnophobia. But according to a new study, this fear of spiders could be eradicated in just 2 minutes with a single dose of a commonly used beta-blocker – and exposure to the creepy critters themselves.

Share on Pinterest Researchers believe they may have discovered a way to cure arachnophobia in just 2 minutes.

Researchers found that propranolol – a beta-blocker used to treat high blood pressure, chest pain and other heart conditions, and which has previously been found to have amnesic effects – significantly reduced fearful behavior in participants with arachnophobia, after brief exposure to a tarantula.

Drs. Marieke Soeter and Merel Kindt, of the Department of Clinical Psychology at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, say their findings – published in the journal Biological Psychiatry – suggest a novel treatment strategy for individuals with arachnophobia and other anxiety disorders.

The new treatment approach builds on a theory known as memory “reconsolidation,” discovered by neuroscientist Dr. Joseph LeDoux and his team around 15 years ago.

Reconsolidation is the idea that memories can be modified upon activation in order to alter their psychological impact – a strategy that has been hailed for its potential to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by modifying fear-inducing memories.

According to Drs. Soeter and Kindt, the modification of fearful memories has only been credibly demonstrated in animal studies and among healthy individuals. Now, the team has shown the feasibility of memory reconsolidation among people with a real-life fear of spiders.