Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to make, strengthen, or reconfigure synaptic connections in response to changes in the environment. These changes are necessary for learning, forming memories, and fixing broken memory representations (Beckers, 2017). When a memory is revived, such as one from a traumatic incident, it enters a reconsolidation phase during which it is susceptible to alterations. Animal studies have demonstrated that painful fear memories at this stage can significantly diminish their strength; this underscores how memory reconsolidation facilitates adaptive restructuring of memory networks (Beckers, 2017).
Humans and mice have similar processes. This makes memory reconsolidation a possible therapeutic target; for instance, propranolol can make memories of trauma less intense when administered during retrieval (Beckers, 2017). These examples show that the brain is plastic; memories are not fixed but are always changing based on new knowledge and other various mechanisms.
EMDR
Functional neuroplasticity and EMDR therapy are utilized in a therapeutic environment. The treatment involves eliciting uncomfortable memories while administering bilateral stimulation, which may include eye movements, auditory tones, or tactile sensations (Chamberlin, 2019). The amygdala, which processes emotions, and the prefrontal cortex, which regulates behavior from the top down, appear to undergo synaptic remodeling due to EMDR’s use of bilateral stimulation with memory retrieval (Pagani et al., 2017). The hippocampus also plays a vital function in putting traumatic memories in a time and space context so that they can be seen as normal memories (Pagani et al., 2017).
The empirical evidence supports this mechanism. Van Heijden et al. (2024) found that using EMDR therapy and Targeted Memory Reactivation (TMR) together can make treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) work better. Jellestad et al. (2021) assert that experimental literature indicates eye movements, integral to EMDR, can interfere with the reconsolidation and emotional significance of fear memories. Computational models demonstrate how EMDR therapy rewires brain circuits linked to trauma memory, offering a neurobiological explanation for the reported clinical improvements (Zegerius & Treur, 2021).
These findings indicate that EMDR therapy does not eradicate memories of a traumatic event; instead, it modifies the intensity of those memories by leveraging the brain’s neuroplasticity to transform both memory retention and experience. This supports the overarching notion of memory reconsolidation and demonstrates how treatment can actively modify damaged neurocircuitry (Wright et al., 2021).
Clinical and Theoretical Considerations
There is significant promise for the amalgamation of psychotherapy with neuroplasticity and memory reconsolidation. This indicates that EMDR therapy and other therapies can modify neural circuitry instead of merely inhibiting memories, which is essential for enduring efficacy (Chamberlin, 2019; Wright et al., 2021).
This new knowledge also shows that alternative kinds of treatment could be better, maybe by combining behavioral, cognitive, or pharmacological strategies to change memory in the best way possible. The philosophical and moral ramifications of memory malleability necessitate more critical investigations into identity, narrative identity, and the role of therapy in the structuring of subjective experience.
Neuroplasticity is a dynamic, adaptable, and constructivist process that is always changing how memories work. Memory reconsolidation offers an opportunity to update a memory by diminishing its emotional significance. EMDR therapy is a good example of how these neuropsychological ideas can be used in the clinic. It lets you reorganize memory networks that aren’t working right while keeping the facts about the memory’s context.
If we learn more about how eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) works through current research, we may be able to improve therapies for PTSD and other trauma disorders. In short, we can change how people recall the past because our brains are so flexible. So, history doesn’t have to be the beginning.
References
Beckers, T. (2017). Memory reconsolidation interference as an emerging treatment strategy for emotional disorders. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 2060. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032816-045209
Chamberlin, D. E. (2019). The predictive processing model of EMDR. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 2267. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02267
Jellestad, L., et al. (2021). Interfering with fear memories by eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 179. https://doi.org/10.1016j.ijpsycho.2021.04.006
Pagani, M., et al. (2017). Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy: Neurobiological mechanisms and clinical applications. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1935. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01935
Van der Heijden, A. C., et al. (2024). Targeted memory reactivation to augment treatment in post-traumatic stress disorder. Cell Reports Medicine, 5(4), 100922. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2024.07.019
Wright, L. A., et al. (2021). Consolidation/reconsolidation therapies for the prevention and treatment of PTSD: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Translational Psychiatry, 11(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-021-01570-w
Zegerius, L., & Treur, J. (2021). Modelling metaplasticity and memory reconsolidation during an eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing treatment. Computational Intelligence, 37(4), 1221–1243. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65596-9_74