Die Forscher beschreiben zum ersten Mal Gehirnsignale, die mit dem Vergessen unangenehmer Erinnerungen verbunden sind. Es wurde festgestellt, dass diese Aussterbenerinnerungen sehr kontextspezifisch sind und erklären, warum Angst häufig zurückkehrt, wenn die Therapie endet. Die Ergebnisse eröffnen neue Wege für Therapien, die sich an Angst im Zusammenhang mit angstbezogenen Erkrankungen richten

Suppression of fear-related memories after unpleasant experiences is very critical for adaptive behaviour, as it allows one to inhibit responses that could lead to psychiatric problems such as anxiety or depression. Recent theories propose that the extinction of these memories takes place when new, highly context-dependent memories that suppress the initial fear response are created. Electrophysiological experiments on mice support this theory, and show a relationship between certain oscillations of signals recorded in the brain regions of the amygdala and hippocampus with the learning and extinction of fear-response memories. However, this relationship has so far not been confirmed in the human brain.

In an article published recently in Nature Human Behaviour, researchers at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany, describe for the first time the electrophysiological signals associated with the extinction of aversive memories in humans. 

Researchers employed a powerful technique to study the characteristics of human memory called Representational Similarity Analysis (RSA), which provides information on how brain regions represent information. “The technique allows us to achieve a more detailed and mechanistic understanding of episodic memories, overcoming traditional approaches based solely on brain activation”, explains Daniel Pacheco-Estefan, first author of the paper and researcher at the UAB Department of Basic, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-025-02268-5