A common therapy currently for trauma and phobias is called exposure treatment. It involves repetitive exposure in a nonthreatening way to help patients confront their fears and gradually weaken the fear response, a process known as extinction. But with extinction, the fearful memories don't disappear or get altered, and relapse is common, says Edna Foa, an expert on post-traumatic stress disorder at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. If extinction could be enhanced, that could mean more efficient treatment with less relapse, she says.

暴露疗法是目前很普遍的一种治疗精神创伤及恐惧症的方法。具体做法是，以不会产生伤害的方式让患者多次暴露于引起恐惧的刺激，让他们直面自己的恐惧，从而循序渐进地弱化他们的恐惧反应，这一过程被称为“恐惧记忆退化”。宾夕法尼亚大学医学院创伤后心理紊乱研究专家弗阿（Edna Foa）说，其实，在恐惧记忆消除过程中，可怕的记忆并没有完全消失或者改变，经常会有复发的情况。她说，如果恐惧记忆消除得到强化，那么治疗就会更有效，复发情况就会减少。