It can take only an instant for fear to take hold in the brain — a fear of snakes after being bitten, or of water after witnessing a drowning — and overcoming that fear can take a long time. But now researchers are saying it can be done in your sleep.
Scientists at Northwestern University say they have successfully lowered levels of fear in humans by using certain odors to trigger and re-associate frightening memories into harmless ones during a deep slumber.
"Sleep sort of stamps memories in more strongly," said neurologist Jay Gottfried, senior author of the study, which was published online Sunday by the journal Nature Neuroscience. "That's when a lot of memory formation can take place."