Question

People who have been in stressful situations may begin to have excessive fear responses to certain sounds or sights. Why would therapists who want to reduce the fear response be interested in memory reconsolidation?

1) If the person can learn to associate something harmless with the sights and sounds through declarative memory processes (involving the hippocampus instead of the amygdala), the person would have to repeatedly make the new association, and this is called reconsolidation.
2) During reconsolidation you might be able to "erase" or minimize the association between certain sights or sounds and the fear response.
3) Reconsolidation will allow patients to better remember the strategies recommended by the therapists.
4) Reconsolidation will allow them to think more clearly and override their emotional responses.

Answer 1

Therapists are interested in memory reconsolidation because it allows them to 'erase' or minimize the association between certain sights or sounds and fear responses. The correct option is (2).

Step-by-step explanation:

Therapists who want to reduce fear responses in people who have been in stressful situations are interested in memory reconsolidation because it allows them to potentially 'erase' or minimize the association between certain sights or sounds and the fear response.

Memory reconsolidation involves making a new association through declarative memory processes involving the hippocampus instead of the amygdala. This process can help the person learn to associate something harmless with the sights and sounds that previously triggered fear responses.

By targeting memory reconsolidation, therapists can help patients better remember the strategies recommended to manage their fear responses and think more clearly, overriding their emotional responses.

This can be particularly helpful for individuals with disorders such as PTSD, where recollection can create a disability. Memory reconsolidation provides a potential avenue for treatments that aim to weaken or modify the fear response to improve the individual's quality of life.