The master student of the Graduate Program in Biomedical Gerontology, Eduarda Nachtigall, had her thesis published in the international journal Neurobiology of learning and memory , entitled “Facilitation of fear extinction by novelty is regulated by β -adrenergic and 5-HT1A serotoninergic receptors in hippocampus ”(Facilitating the extinction of fear memory by a novelty is regulated by the beta-adrenergic and 5-HT1A serotonergic receptors in the hippocampus), under the guidance of Profa. Jociane Myskiw, coordinator of the Memory Center of the Brain Institute of RS.

It was found that exposure to a new environment can facilitate the extinction of a traumatic memory, and can mitigate the effects of the trauma, since the novelty directly influences the formation of a new memory that will overlap the traumatic memory.

This study found that this effect can be modulated by the noradrenergic and serotonergic systems in the CA1 region of the hippocampus (essential structure in the formation of memories). In this way, this research contributes to the treatment of conditions that involve exaggerated fear, such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1074742719301686