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A not so ‘Tiny Dancer’

Posted on 04. Jun, 2010 by chiantichiara in Communications, Health, News

Last bank holiday weekend was a weekend for weddings it would appear. A few people in the office went to them, including me. The wedding I attended was A LOT OF FUN, so much so, that I awoke the next day with the tune to Elton John’s Tiny Dancer still swirling around my head and a smile on my face. Then, as I began to recall the previous night’s events, the smile was quickly replaced by that all too familiar feeling of ‘cringiness’. Did I really say that? Did I really dance like that with him? Oh dear. Not long after, thanks to photographic evidence posted on a popular social networking site, my suspicions were confirmed. It would appear that I did indeed dance with him ‘like that’.

So you can imagine my delight when I read this morning about a study published in Science showing that it is possible to overcome bad memories of painful situations with the help of a chemical that works on the brain. Not that I want to erase the memory of the wedding (the speeches were outstanding), just the dancing part. The clever scientists at the University of Puerto Rico have discovered that the naturally produced brain chemical, called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), is involved in learning and memory. When given to lab rats, the chemical caused them to re-learn a painful association so that the memory of it is extinguished – although not lost entirely.

In all seriousness this is very intriguing stuff. Firstly, our understanding of the complex function of the brain and memory is poor in comparison to other body functions. I’m sure this discovery has contributed significantly to our knowledge of how the mind operates and opened up many more possibilities in this area. Secondly, the impact of participating in or witnessing distressing and disturbing ordeals can result in significant lasting psychological trauma for lots of people. The possibility that a new future class of drugs could someday be developed to alleviate post-traumatic stress disorder or the symptoms of extreme anxiety is really exciting. Just thinking about ongoing and recent UK and world events (not the wedding I attended), there are a lot people who would, sadly, qualify and benefit from such treatments.