Soñar contribuye a borrar malos recuerdos

Un estudio de la Universidad de California (EE UU) publicado en la revista Current Biology revela que, mientras soñamos, la química cerebral vinculada alestrés se desactiva (desciende la norepinefrina) y el cerebro puede procesar las experiencias emocionales para "borrar" o "suavizar" las emociones dolorosas o desagradables almacenadas en la memoria. Así se deduce en una serie de experimentos realizados por los investigadores usando resonancia magnética. Según los autores del estudio, el hallazgo ofrece una nueva e interesante explicación a por qué soñamos.

“La fase del sueño en la que hay actividad onírica –es decir, en la que soñamos-, está basada en un composición neuroquímica diferente, y nos proporciona una forma de terapia, un bálsamo que elimina los ‘bordes afilados’ de las experiencias emocionales vividas durante el día”, afirma Matthew Walker, neurocientífico de la Universidad de California en Berkeley. Esta fase del sueño, más conocida comoREM (siglas en inglés de Movimientos Oculares Rápidos), ocupa el 20% del tiempo de descanso de una persona sana.

En su estudio, Walker y sus colegas trabajaron con 35 sujetos a los que se mostraron imágenes emocionales a diferentes horas del día. Los experimentos revelaron que las imágenes que se veían por la mañana, tras dormir, tenían una respuesta emocional mucho menos intensa. Concretamente detectaron una notable reducción en la reacción de la amígdala, estructura cerebral que procesa las emociones, dejando a la corteza prefrontal “racional” tomar el control de la respuesta emocional de los sujetos. “Después de dormir las experiencias del día anterior han reducido su carga emocional; nos sentimos mejor con ellas, nos sentimos capaces de afrontarlas”, explica Walker.

Aunque los seres humanos pasamos aproximadamente un tercio de nuestras vidas durmiendo, aún no existe una explicación científica clara sobre la función fisiológica del sueño. Walker y su equipo apuntan a que una respuesta a este misterio podría venir de la estrecha relación entre aprendizaje, memoria y regulación emocional. Además, aseguran que los patrones del sueño REM pueden verse interrumpidos en trastornos por estrés postraumático o depresión, lo que dificultaría la recuperación psicológica de estas personas.

http://www.muyinteresante.es/sonar-ayuda-a-borrar-malos-recuerdos

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