Saturday, July 7, 2007

Truth, Fiction and the News...

The headline reads: New Drug Deletes Bad Memories

Wow! Sounds like this must be cutting edge science, right?

Only two problems: the drug isn't new and it doesn't "delete" memories.

In fact, this drug has been around for a long time and for years has been used in conjunction with cognitive behavioral therapy to treat Post-Traumatic Stress, panic attacks and other anxiety-spectrum disorders.

And no, it doesn't delete or erase bad memories. Rather, it blocks the physiologic effects (racing heart, palpitations, sense of panic, etc) produced by the stress hormones when people re-live those memories.

Why does the media feel like it has to lie to us in order to get our attention long enough to tell us the truth?

Although, I must admit, these folks (Dinner guest finds host's wife and son in freezer) might have wished it was the truth!

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