Institute of Psychology, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Clinical Psychology, Utrecht University, the Netherlands.
Department of Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, the Netherlands.
Biol Psychiatry. 2017 Oct 15;82(8):587-593. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2017.03.012. Epub 2017 Mar 28.
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is an effective treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder. During EMDR, patients make horizontal eye movements (EMs) while simultaneously recalling a traumatic memory, which renders the memory less vivid and emotional when it is later recalled again. Recalling highly emotional autobiographical memories enhances noradrenergic neurotransmission. Noradrenaline (NA) strengthens memory (re)consolidation. However, memories become less vivid after recall+EMs. Therefore, NA might either play no significant role or serve to strengthen memories that are degraded by EMs. The present study was designed to test the latter hypothesis. We predicted that blocking NA would abolish the memory degrading effects of EMs.
Fifty-six healthy participants selected three negative autobiographical memories. One was then recalled while making EMs, one was recalled without EMs, and one was not recalled. Vividness and emotionality of the memories as well as heart rate and skin conductance level during memory retrieval were measured before, directly after, and 24 hours after the EM task. Before the task, participants received a placebo or the noradrenergic β-receptor blocker propranolol (40 mg).
There were no effects of EMs on memory emotionality or psychophysiological measures in the propranolol and placebo groups. However, in the placebo group, but not in the propranolol group, memory vividness significantly decreased from pretest to posttest and follow-up after recall+EMs relative to the control conditions.
Blocking NA abolished the effects of EMs on the vividness of emotional memories, indicating that NA is crucial for EMDR effectiveness and possibly strengthens the reconsolidation of the degraded memory.
眼动脱敏再处理（EMDR）是治疗创伤后应激障碍的有效方法。在 EMDR 治疗过程中，患者在回忆创伤性记忆的同时进行水平眼球运动（EMs），从而使记忆在以后再次回忆时变得不那么生动和情绪化。回忆高度情绪化的自传体记忆会增强去甲肾上腺素能神经传递。去甲肾上腺素（NA）增强记忆（再）巩固。然而，回忆后记忆会变得不那么生动。因此，NA 可能没有发挥重要作用，也可能是增强被 EMs 削弱的记忆。本研究旨在检验后一种假设。我们预测，阻断 NA 将消除 EMs 对记忆的降解作用。
56 名健康参与者选择了三个负面自传体记忆。其中一个在进行 EMs 的同时回忆，一个不进行 EMs 回忆，一个不进行回忆。在 EM 任务之前、直接之后和 24 小时后测量记忆的生动度和情绪、回忆期间的心率和皮肤电导率水平。在任务之前，参与者接受了安慰剂或去甲肾上腺素β受体阻滞剂普萘洛尔（40mg）。
在普萘洛尔和安慰剂组中，EMs 对记忆情绪或心理生理测量均无影响。然而，在安慰剂组中，但不在普萘洛尔组中，与对照条件相比，回忆+EMs 后，记忆生动度从预测试到后测试和随访均显著降低。
阻断 NA 消除了 EMs 对情绪记忆生动度的影响，表明 NA 对 EMDR 效果至关重要，并且可能增强了降解记忆的再巩固。
