Exercise causes the generation of new neurons, which remodel neuronal pathways and can thus erase certain pathways linked to fear-related memories.
Moving helps you to remember better, but also to forget better. Numerous studies have shown in the past the beneficial effects of physical activity on memory. New research carried out on mice adds an essential element: doing sport also makes it possible to forget certain traumatic memories, opening the door to new treatments against post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD, or PTSD in English).
This psychiatric disorder occurs after being a victim or witness of a traumatic event, and it becomes chronic in around 20% of cases (according to Inserm), forcing these people to constantly relive the trauma. This discovery, made by researchers at Kyushu University in Japan, was published on May 8, 2024 in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.
Repetition of the traumatic event reinforces post-traumatic stress
To induce post-traumatic stress, the researchers placed the mice in a device divided into two compartments: a first with light and a second without light. The mice which entered the dark part received an electric shock. Following this first traumatic event, the mice having suffered this punishment hesitated more before entering the compartment without light, undoubtedly associating it with the electric shock.
Three days after the first shock, some mice received a second shock by entering the dark part of the device, with currents of different intensities. The next day, all those who received the strongest shock were very hesitant before venturing into the dark room again, but not those who received the weakest intensity.
It could just be a traumatic memory linked to a particular place. But these mice also hesitated to enter the other compartment, even in the one where they were not electrified, showing that they generalized the stressful memory to other contexts similar to that of[…]
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