The goal of the research isn't to erase memory outright, as depicted in popular movies over the years. That would raise ethical issues and questions of what would happen to associated memories, scientists say. Instead, 'reducing or eliminating the fear accompanying the memory . . . that would be the ideal scenario,' says Roger Pitman, a psychiatry professor at Harvard Medical School who has done extensive work in this area.
这项研究的目的不是像近年很多热门电影里描述的那样直接将不好的记忆消除。科学家们表示，这样做会引发论理上的争议，而且相关记忆会发生怎样的变化也尚不明确。哈佛医学院精神病学教授罗杰•皮特曼（Roger Pitman）在这一领域开展过广泛的研究，他表示，其实，“弱化甚而消除伴随着这一记忆的那种恐惧感……会是理想的解决之道。”