降壓藥還有另一種功效

Scientists are developing a pill that could help you forget bad memories - and they have just tested it on 60 heart-broken people.

科學(xué)家正在研究一種能幫助人們忘掉糟糕記憶的藥物，他們剛剛針對60名極度悲傷的人們進(jìn)行了試驗(yàn)。

Dr. Alain Brunet's memory manipulation study at the McGill University in Quebec, Canada, hopes to bring about a pioneering technique for the easing of painful memories.

阿蘭·布呂內(nèi)博士在加拿大魁北克麥基爾大學(xué)進(jìn)行的記憶操控研究，有望成為緩解痛苦記憶的開創(chuàng)性技術(shù)。

What had previously been a science fiction fantasy, discarding unwanted memories, may become a reality for those suffering from an 'adjustment disorder' after experiencing a traumatic event.

丟棄不想要的記憶曾經(jīng)是科幻小說中的幻想，如今對那些經(jīng)歷創(chuàng)傷事件后患有“適應(yīng)障礙”的人來說，這個幻想可能會成為現(xiàn)實(shí)。

Of the 60 people who signed up for the psychiatry study all had experienced the same emotion, the betrayal of their partner ending the romantic relationship, and all wanted to forget it.

報名參加這項精神病學(xué)研究的60名志愿者都有同樣的情感經(jīng)歷，伴侶的背叛終結(jié)了他們的戀愛關(guān)系，所有人都想忘記這些經(jīng)歷。

Using a non-expensive blood pressure drug, propranolol, the volunteers were made to recall their painful memory by reading a very detailed account of the breakup that they had written, before being asked personal questions about their feelings.

通過服用廉價降壓藥“心得安”，研究人員讓志愿者閱讀他們所寫的關(guān)于分手的詳盡描述，來回憶痛苦的記憶，然后再詢問他們的個人感受。

They were made to do this between four and six times while under the influence of propranolol with the aim of reactivating the memory to decrease its strength by blocking the synapse changes needed to solidify its existence.

研究人員讓他們在服用“心得安”的同時反復(fù)閱讀上述材料4到6次，以通過阻止鞏固記憶所需的神經(jīng)突觸的變化來重新激活記憶，從而降低記憶的強(qiáng)度。

Dr Brunet believes propranolol can dull the emotional pain associated with the memory, and could be taken at any point after the event.

布呂內(nèi)博士認(rèn)為，“心得安”能夠減輕與記憶相關(guān)的情感痛苦，并且可以在痛苦事件發(fā)生后的任何時間服用。

While the study has been completed, its results are yet to be released and are awaiting peer review.

這項研究已經(jīng)完成，不過結(jié)果尚未公布，還需等待進(jìn)行同行評議。

However Dr Brunet told The National Post that participants 'Just couldn't believe that we could do so much in such a small amount of time.

不過布呂內(nèi)博士告訴加拿大《全國郵報》說，參與者“簡直不敢相信我們能在這么短的時間內(nèi)達(dá)到這樣的效果”。

'They were able to turn the page. That's what they would tell us.''

他說：“他們能夠忘掉這些痛苦。這是他們告訴我們的。”

Dr Brunet claims he is not looking to fully wipe out memories due to the ethical problems that may arise, stating:'It's not going to come from my lab'.

布呂內(nèi)博士說，由于可能出現(xiàn)的倫理問題，他并不打算完全抹掉記憶。他說：“我的實(shí)驗(yàn)室不會這樣做。”

He adds that 'toning down a memory' was more comfortable ground for him and his team, ethically.

他還說，從倫理上講，他和他的團(tuán)隊更想做的是“淡化記憶”。

But he adds: 'If one day you had two options — I can tone down your memory, or I can remove it altogether, from your head, from your mind — what would you choose?'

但他補(bǔ)充道：“如果有一天你有兩個選擇，我可以淡化你的記憶，或者我可以完全把它從你的腦海中抹去，你會怎樣選擇?”

Researchers at the McGill University have based their work on the theory that a memory becomes pliable when it is recalled.

麥基爾大學(xué)研究人員的研究基于這樣的理論，即記憶在被記起時更容易被影響。

For around two to five hours after recall Dr Brunet believes a memory can be modified before it is re-stored or 'reconsolidated'.

布呂內(nèi)博士認(rèn)為，在回憶往事大約2到5小時后，可以對記憶進(jìn)行修改，然后重新存儲或“重新鞏固”。

Propranolol is believed to stop proteins in the brain from re-storing the memory in the way it did before, meaning some details of the memory are lost.

“心得安”被認(rèn)為會阻止大腦中的蛋白質(zhì)像以前那樣重新存儲記憶，因此記憶的一些細(xì)節(jié)會丟失。

Boston University neuroscientist Steve Ramirez claims 'memory is dynamic' and each time you 'open' a memory you effectively press 'save as' as if it is a word file, with any changes you may have made unwittingly saved until next time you recall the memory.

波士頓大學(xué)的神經(jīng)學(xué)家史蒂夫·拉米雷斯稱，“記憶是動態(tài)的”，每次你“打開”一段記憶時，你實(shí)際上是在按下“保存”鍵，就好像它是一個word文檔，你可能無意中做出的任何改變都會在你再次回憶起這段記憶時得以保存。

Ethical concerns also arise over how many and which types of memories the technique could be used for - should people be allowed to forget an embarrassing drunken episode they may need to learn from?

道德上的擔(dān)憂也出現(xiàn)了，即這項技術(shù)可以用于多少記憶以及哪些類型的記憶——是否應(yīng)允許人們忘記一次他們可能需要從中汲取教訓(xùn)的令人尷尬的醉酒事件?