Easing Traumatic Memories

What if you could lessen a traumatic memory, or even erase it? In early trials, a common beta-blocker called propranalol appears to lesson the emotional effects of traumatic memories. Journalist Robin Marantz Henig joins Larry to discuss her article called “The Quest To Forget,” which appeared in the New York Times magazine, April 4th, 2004. It focuses on Harvard psychiatrist Roger Pitman’s pilot study of propranalol. Also joining the conversation is James McGaugh, Ph.D., Director of the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory at UC Irvine. His work inspired Pitman’s study. How much do our memories make us who we are? Could propanalol be useful to deal with the horror of combat?