Conditioned fear can be diminished through an inhibitory process called extinction, but can resurface under conditions such as the passage of time or exposure to stress. Our protocol presents a novel way of preventing fear recovery by introducing extinction during the reconsolidation window (the re-storage phase of a reactivated memory).
Schiller, D., Raio, C. M., Phelps, E. A. Extinction Training During the Reconsolidation Window Prevents Recovery of Fear. J. Vis. Exp. (66), e3893, doi:10.3791/3893 (2012).