[beauflow]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17689645

Flexible memories The work relies on the idea that a memory can become malleable after it is accessed, creating a brief window during which the memory can be "rewritten".
Twenty-two heroin addicts who had taken the drug for - on average - 11 years, took part in the study.
They were initially shown a brief video to remind them of taking drugs - opening the memory window. Ten minutes later they watched more videos and looked at pictures of heroin drug use.
Other addicts were shown an initial video of the countryside, which would not open the window.
Tests 180 days later showed that levels of cravings were lower in those treated during the 'memory window' than in the other groups. These experiments were backed up by further tests on "addicted" rats.
The authors wrote: "The [memory] procedure decreased cue-induced drug craving and perhaps could reduce the likelihood of cue-induced relapse during prolonged abstinence periods."

Sort of Interesting

I wonder if this is similar of me going back to "drug memory of my own" coming back out of it and remembering all the chaos that it caused though (i.e. open memory window, then close it with realization of the effect of the drug abuse)....

what are you guy's/gal's thoughts?

[madisgram]

thanks beauflow. it is a very interesting study. it's good to see that heroin use is being studied. heroin abstinence is difficult. hope they'll keep tracking the participants. i would imagine continued reasessment over time using this technique may help. it might also work on other addictions?..like my cigarette smoling.

[beauflow]

yeah I was wondering on that too Madisgram -- I keep wondering what can help me break the cig addiction...

It is the one that is here to stay it seems... I keep wondering if perhaps finding pictures of lungs (actually I do have a poster already) or people with tracheotomies due to smoking.. and posting them up places and looking at them when i want to smoke, maybe help? but my S/O really is against that idea-- He does not like my poster that I have..

The picture is some what like this but it has little captions of "Smoking is Cool" under the dark lungs, and "Yeah, right!" under the healthy lungs

I had it up for years when i was doing other things---- idk with that being said, if it would help with stopping...