Can Traumatic Memories Be Erased?

Re-experiencing traumatic events is a core symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Cognitive-behavioral therapies seek to eliminate traumatic memories, but these approaches are vulnerable to relapse. New advances in the neurobiology of fear memory promise novel approaches to PTSD treatment, including the erasure of traumatic memories.

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Presented by

Stephen Maren, Ph.D.

Texas A&M University

Claude H, Everett, ’47 Jr. Chair of Liberal Arts

Professor of Psychology

Presidential Impact Fellow

Scientific Council Member (Joined 2017)

2017 Distinguished Investigator Grant

Stephen Maren, Ph.D. is the Claude H, Everett, ’47 Jr. Chair of Liberal Arts, Professor of Psychology, and Presidential Impact Fellow at Texas A&M University. He is also a member of the Texas A&M University Institute for Neuroscience. Dr. Maren’s research seeks to understand the neural basis of anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). His research on the neurobiology of Pavlovian fear conditioning and extinction in animals has revealed interactions between a triad of interconnected brain areas, including the hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex, that are essential for the regulation of emotional memory. Importantly, stress yields dysfunction in these circuits that both impairs fear extinction and promotes fear relapse, a process that may contribute to the development of PTSD. Dr. Maren is a recipient of the American Psychological Association (APA) Distinguished Scientific Award for an Early Career Contribution to Psychology (2001) and the D. O. Hebb Distinguished Scientific Contributions Award (2017).

Moderated by

Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein, President and CEO of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

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Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D.

Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

President and CEO

Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D., serves as the President & CEO of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, the largest private funder of mental health research grants. Dr. Borenstein developed the Emmy-nominated public television program “Healthy Minds,” and serves as host and executive producer of the series. The program, broadcast nationwide, is available online, and focuses on topics in psychiatry in order to educate the public, reduce stigma and offer a message of hope. Dr. Borenstein also serves as Editor-in-Chief of Psychiatric News, the newspaper of the American Psychiatric Association.

Dr. Borenstein is a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine and serves as the Chair of the Section of Psychiatry at the Academy. He also has served as the President of the New York State Psychiatric Association. Dr. Borenstein earned his undergraduate degree at Harvard and his medical degree at New York University.

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Stephen Maren, Ph.D.

Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D.

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