The drug scopolamine has been used to treat a variety of
conditions, including nausea and motion sickness. A new study by
UCLA life scientists suggests that it may also be useful in
treating anxiety disorders. Researchers found that the drug can
help boost the effectiveness of a common treatment for anxiety
disorders known as exposure therapy. In exposure therapy, a
subject with a phobia or anxiety is repeatedly exposed to the
object or situation they fear, in a non-threatening setting. The
goal of this treatment is to ultimately lessen and eliminate the
fear — in essence, make it “extinct.” However, fear-extinction
memories formed during this type of therapy tend to be weak
because they are tied to the non-dangerous context. Subjects
have a tendency to relapse when they again encounter the source
of their anxiety in a different environment. “Extinction has one
Achilles heel that at present has not quite been pierced —
namely, extinction learning is highly dependent on the
environment or context in which it o