Researchers are hoping new techniques will weaken the fear response for a longer period, or perhaps permanently. The trick, they say, is to administer the treatment after the original memory has been retrieved from storage so the updated memory will be saved. One way of doing this is to have the subject write a detailed account of the original incident and reread it at the start of each treatment session.

研究者希望，新技术可以在更长时间内甚至可能永久地弱化恐惧反应。他们表示，诀窍在于，在大脑中唤醒了最初的记忆之后马上开展治疗，这样大脑中就会存下更新后的记忆。有一种方法是，让患者写下对于事件的详尽记忆，每次治疗开始的时候让他重读这段文字。