The titles of stories for non-scientists about research on altering traumatic memories express the hopes and fears of our society:

• “Studies say old memories can be lost” (Carey Goldberg,  Boston Globe, 2003)
• “Blank for the memories: Someday you may be able to take a pill to forget painful recollections” (Scott LaFee, San Diego Tribune, 2004)
• “Is every memory worth keeping? Controversy over pills to reduce mental trauma” (Rob Stein, Washington Post, 2004)
• “When remembering might mean forgetting” (Douglas Steinberg, The Scientist, 2004)
• “Rewriting your past: Drugs that rid people of terrifying memories could be a lifeline for many. But could they have  a sinister side too?” (Gaia Vince, New Scientist, 2005). 

Some of these stories’ authors, or at least the headline writers, have stretched the current science a bit. Forgetting, for example, is an active psychological process, not a simple memory erasure; and none of the studies so far has demonstrated a complete blockade of a targeted memory. But these writers are raising some of the right questions. 

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