Developing and testing a novel memory therapeutic treatment for PTSD: Retrieval-dependent Nitrous Oxide Therapy (R-NOT)

A single dose of nitrous oxide—laughing gas—given during trauma memory recall could weaken the emotional grip of PTSD. Post-traumatic stress disorder affects around 1 in 3 people who experience a severe trauma. Existing treatments, such as trauma-focused talking therapies, work for many but fail for others, and dropout rates are high. The core problem is that traumatic memories remain intensely distressing long after the event. This project tests whether nitrous oxide, a safe and widely used anaesthetic gas, can disrupt the reconsolidation of those memories when they are briefly reactivated in a controlled setting. If the approach works, it could offer a fast, low-cost, and scalable alternative to current PTSD therapies. A single session might replace weeks of therapy. The treatment would be delivered in a clinical setting, not at home, and would require no specialist psychological training for the administering clinician—potentially widening access in primary care and emergency departments. The researchers will first test the procedure in healthy volunteers, then in people with PTSD, to establish whether the memory-weakening effect is reliable and durable.