Most people are unaware that in order to recall memories, they need to be pulled out of storage areas. This process of rewriting the brain's memory circuits is referred to 'memory reconsolidation,' reports topnews.net.
Examining this as a subject for research, Dutch researchers Marijn Kroes and colleagues from Radboud from University Nijmegen conducted an experiement using Electroconvulsive therapy. The idea behind their study was to use ECT on patients with depression - including manic depression or bipolar disorder, which cycles between mania and depression so they would not recall disturbing events. These are usually the jarring emotional events or a personal crisis that trigger depression.
The rudimentary effect of ECT is to pass electricity through various parts of the brain. This process has been perceived with a fair degree of negativity since it is portrayed in movies as a painful procedure that is done without anesthesia. Two relevant examples from Hollywood are Jack Nicolson as a mental patient in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and A Beautiful Mind starring Russel Crowe as a brilliant mathematician with paranoid schizophrenia
The study involved 39 patients who underwent ECT. They were kept calm throughout the procedure by playing relaxing music and by giving them an anesthetic. They were then asked to watch two distressing videos. The first one was about a person who had his legs amputated after a car accident, while the second was about two sisters. One of these sisters were kidnapped and assaulted sexually in the video.
Following a week's rest, the patients divided into groups of three - A,B, & C - were questioned about details about one of the disturbing videos. Group C was a control group, which did not receive ECT, while both A & B had been administered ECT.
The conclusion? The timing of recollecting memories are crucial in learning if the treatment process was a success.
