Early test subject

Scientists test pill to fade memories of traumatic events

Scientists have been testing a pill that, when given after a traumatic event like rape, may make the resulting memories less painful and intense.

Wait a minute… Isn’t that what a roofie (Rohypnol) does when taken before the rape?

Such people often develop post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Only 14 percent to 24 percent of trauma victims experience long-term PTSD, but sufferers have flashbacks and physical symptoms that make them feel as if they are reliving the trauma.

Scientists say it happens because the brain goes haywire during and right after a strongly emotional event, pouring out stress hormones that help store these memories in a different way than it normally ones.

Taking a drug to tamp down these chemicals might blunt memory formation and prevent PTSD, they theorize.

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