experiments by Nader et al. (2000)

Nader et al. (2000) conducted experiments on rats to understand how fear memories are formed and altered. They found that when a fear memory was reactivated, it became temporarily unstable. During this window, if researchers introduced special drugs or stimuli, they could weaken or even erase the fear response. This suggests that memories are not fixed but can be modified after they’re recalled. The findings have implications for therapies aimed at reducing harmful fears or traumatic memories in humans by targeting the brief period when those memories are vulnerable to change.