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REVIEW article

Front. Neurol.
Sec. Neurorehabilitation
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1481450
This article is part of the Research Topic Advances in Understanding and Treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder View all 3 articles

Advances in fear memory erasure and its neural mechanisms

Provisionally accepted
Wenbo Guo Wenbo Guo 1Xibo Wang Xibo Wang 1*Zihan Zhou Zihan Zhou 1*Yuhui Li Yuhui Li 1*Yani Hou Yani Hou 2*Keyan Wang Keyan Wang 1*Ruyuan Wei Ruyuan Wei 3Xiaoyu Ma Xiaoyu Ma 4*Hao Zhang Hao Zhang 1*
  • 1 Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China
  • 2 Shandong Yingcai University, Jinan, Shandong, China
  • 3 Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
  • 4 The Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: In nature, animals must learn to recognize danger signals and respond immediately to threats to improve their environmental adaptation. However, excessive fear responses can lead to diseases such as post-traumatic stress disorder, wherein traumatic events result in persistent traumatic memories. Therefore, erasing pathological fear memories in vivo is a crucial topic in neuroscience for understanding the nature of memories and treating clinically relevant diseases. Main text: This article reviews recent studies on fear memory erasure, erasure of short-and long-term memory, fear memory erasure and neuroplasticity, the neural circuitry and molecular mechanisms of fear memory erasure, and the roles of engram cells and perineuronal nets in memory erasure. Conclusion:Research on the mechanism of memory erasure is limited, and a plausible explanation for the essential difference between memory erasure and memory extinction still needs to be provided.Notably, this review may guide future studies on fear memory and its underlying molecular mechanisms, which may help to develop novel treatment strategies for post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and other mental disorders.

    Keywords: fear memory, memory erasure, neuroplasticity, engram cell, perineuronal net

    Received: 15 Aug 2024; Accepted: 13 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Guo, Wang, Zhou, Li, Hou, Wang, Wei, Ma and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Xibo Wang, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China
    Zihan Zhou, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China
    Yuhui Li, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China
    Yani Hou, Shandong Yingcai University, Jinan, Shandong, China
    Keyan Wang, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China
    Xiaoyu Ma, The Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, Shandong Province, China
    Hao Zhang, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.