By Cheyenne Macdonald For Dailymail.com
Published: 16:13 GMT, 22 January 2019 | Updated: 18:29 GMT, 22 January 2019
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A new breakthrough in memory research could one day help to prevent recovering addicts from relapsing.
In a study on rats, researchers have identified a way to ‘erase’ cocaine-associated memories to cut down on relapse behavior in the future, even outside of the controlled environment.
The experts say this could make for a much more effective treatment method than current options such as ‘exposure therapy,’ which often falls apart when a patient is out of the therapist’s office and back in the outside world.
Researchers identified a region in a rat's brain that plays a key role in forming the memories associated with the rats’ cocaine high and the related cues. The amygdala and the medial geniculate nucleus, which acts like a ‘switchboard for sound,’ were found to be important
The researchers were able to observe the functions of the rat's brain using a technique called optogenetics.
Optogenetics targets genetically modified cells in the brain using precise bursts of light.
Using optogenetics, they were able to tweak neurons associated with rats' cocaine-cue memories.
After erasing these neurons, they found the rats were less likely to engage in drug-seeking behavior, even when they were in a new environment.
Before optogenetics, scientists had to open the skull and implant electrodes into living tissue to stimulate neurons with electricity and measure their response.
The researchers used a technique known as optogenetics, in which light pulses are used to control genetically modified cells, to tweak neurons
