Nel cervello umano c'è un cassetto segreto in cui è possibile confinare i ricordi negativi, legati ad esempio a un trauma vissuto. Lo ha individuato un team di ricercatori dell'Università di Cambridge che ha condotto uno studio pubblicato su Nature Communications.
La chiave di questa "scatola" è rappresentata da un messaggero cerebrale chiamato GABA (Acido Gamma-AmminoButirrico), che agisce sul magazzino della memoria: l'ippocampo, che il cervello adopera quando vuole confinare pensieri spiacevoli, fonte di preoccupazioni e stress.
La ricerca ha iniziato a "sbirciare" dentro questo cassetto, attraverso tecniche di risonanza magnetica anche se il modo in cui operano i circuiti nervosi che lo controllano non è ancora chiaro. I risultati mostrano però, in presenza di un suo malfunzionamento, come i ricordi negativi possano riaffiorare di continuo, tormentando le vite di chi soffre di patologie come il disturbo post traumatico da stress, la schizofrenia, l'ansia o la depressione.
ANSA/AnP
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