Phobias may be cured, treated with sleep, study says

Phobias may be cured, treated with sleep, study says

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CHICAGO — Those with phobias may soon find not only comfort, but treatment while sleeping.

A new study suggests the organizational function of the brain during deep sleep may also be used to help eliminate fear.

"It's a novel finding," neuroscientist Katherina Hauner told USA Today. "We showed a small, but significant decrease in fear. The bigger picture is that, perhaps, the treatment of phobias can be enhanced during sleep."

Researchers at the Northwestern Univeristy Feinberg School of Medicine used fear conditioning on healthy adults to conduct the study, Hauner said. The subjects were shown pictures of two people with neutral faces while they were awake and taught to associate them with a mild electric shock and scent.

"Each face was associated with a neutral smell, like mint or lemon, so both the faces and the smells became associated with the fear response," Hauner told National Geographic about the study published in Nature Neuroscience.

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While subjects were sleeping they were continuously exposed to one of the smells again without the picture, she said. When they woke up the researchers measured their fear response again and noted a decrease in fear associated with the person who was linked to the scent they smelled while they slept.

Hauner said more research still needs to be done, but the study may also have implications for conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder because it doesn't require patients to come in contact with the subject causing them stress.

Hauner gave some advice for those in the process of forming emotional memories, when she said sleep is especially important.

"If you're experiencing some negative or fearful event, if possible, don't go to sleep right away," she told National Geographic. "Wait until you've worked through it and calmed a bit before going to sleep. This way you will have a less distressing version of that memory available for strengthening during sleep."

She also gave a tip to avoid nightmares — don't fall asleep while watching a scary movie.

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Natalie Crofts

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