Predicting Return of Fear Following Exposure Therapy With an Implicit Measure of Attitudes

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Vasey, Michael W.; Harbaugh, Casaundra N.; Buffington, Adam G.; Jones, Christopher R.; Fazio, Russell H.

2012-01-01

We sought to advance understanding of the processes underlying the efficacy of exposure therapy and particularly the phenomenon of return of fear (ROF) following treatment by drawing on a social psychological view of phobias as attitudes. Specifically, a dual process theory of attitude-related behavior predicts that a positive response to exposure therapy may reflect change in either the automatic (the attitude representation itself) or controlled (skills and confidence at coping with the fear) responses to the phobic stimulus, or both. However, if the attitude representation remains negative following treatment, ROF should be more likely. We tested this hypothesis in a clinical sample of individuals with public speaking phobia using a single-session exposure therapy protocol previously shown to be efficacious but also associated with some ROF. Consistent with predictions, a post-treatment implicit measure of attitudes toward public speaking (the Personalized Implicit Association Test [PIAT]) predicted ROF at 1-month follow-up. These results suggest that change in the automatically activated attitude toward the phobic stimulus is an important goal of exposure therapy and that an implicit measure like the PIAT can provide a useful measure of such change by which to gauge the adequacy of exposure treatment and predict its long-term efficacy. PMID:23085186

Uplifting Fear Appeals: Considering the Role of Hope in Fear-Based Persuasive Messages.

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Nabi, Robin L; Myrick, Jessica Gall

2018-01-09

Fear appeal research has focused, understandably, on fear as the primary emotion motivating attitude and behavior change. However, while the threat component of fear appeals associates with fear responses, a fear appeals' efficacy component likely associates with a different emotional experience: hope. Drawing from appraisal theories of emotion in particular, this article theorizes about the role of hope in fear appeals, testing hypotheses with two existing data sets collected within the context of sun safety messages. In both studies, significant interactions between hope and self-efficacy emerged to predict behavioral intentions. Notable main effects for hope also emerged, though with less consistency. Further, these effects persisted despite controlling for the four cognitions typically considered central to fear appeal effectiveness. These results, consistent across two samples, support the claim that feelings of hope in response to fear appeals contribute to their persuasive success. Implications for developing a recursive model of fear appeal processing are discussed.

The scare tactic: do fear appeals predict motivation and exam scores?

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Putwain, David; Remedios, Richard

2014-12-01

Prior to high-stakes exams, teachers use persuasive messages that highlight to students the possible consequences of failure. Such messages are known as fear appeals. This study examined whether fear appeals relate to self- and non-self-determined motivation and academic performance. Data were collected in 3 waves. Self-report data pertaining to perceived fear appeals were collected in the first wave, self-report data pertaining to self-determined motivation were collected in the second wave, and exam scores were collected in the third wave. An increased frequency of fear appeals and the appraisal of fear appeals as threatening predicted lower self-determined motivation but were largely unrelated to non-self-determined motivation. An increased frequency of fear appeals and the appraisal of fear appeals as threatening predicted lower examination performance that was partly mediated by lower self-determined motivation. These findings support a position derived from self-worth theory that the negative consequences of fear appeals arise from their focus on avoiding failure rather than their focus on extrinsic consequences. We suggest that teachers and instructors need to be aware how seemingly motivational statements can unwittingly promote lower self-determined motivation. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Alpha1-adrenergic receptor blockade in the VTA modulates fear memories and stress responses.

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Solecki, Wojciech B; Szklarczyk, Klaudia; Klasa, Adam; Pradel, Kamil; Dobrzański, Grzegorz; Przewłocki, Ryszard

2017-08-01

Activity of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and its terminals has been implicated in the Pavlovian associative learning of both stressful and rewarding stimuli. However, the role of the VTA noradrenergic signaling in fear responses remains unclear. We aimed to examine how alpha 1 -adrenergic receptor (α 1 -AR) signaling in the VTA affects conditioned fear. The role of α 1 -AR was assessed using the micro-infusions into the VTA of the selective antagonists (0.1-1µg/0.5µl prazosin and 1µg/0.5µl terazosin) in acquisition and expression of fear memory. In addition, we performed control experiments with α 1 -AR blockade in the mammillary bodies (MB) - a brain region with α 1 -AR expression adjacent to the VTA. Intra-VTA but not intra-MB α 1 -AR blockade prevented formation and retrieval of fear memories. Importantly, local administration of α 1 -AR antagonists did not influence footshock sensitivity, locomotion or anxiety-like behaviors. Similarly, α 1 -AR blockade in the VTA had no effects on negative affect measured as number of 22kHz ultrasonic vocalizations during fear conditioning training. We propose that noradrenergic signaling in the VTA via α 1 -AR regulates formation and retrieval of fear memories but not other behavioral responses to stressful environmental stimuli. It enhances the encoding of environmental stimuli by the VTA to form and retrieve conditioned fear memories and to predict future behavioral outcomes. Our results provide novel insight into the role of the VTA α 1 -AR signaling in the regulation of stress responsiveness and fear memory. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. and ECNP. All rights reserved.

The prelimbic cortex uses contextual cues to modulate responding towards predictive stimuli during fear renewal.

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Sharpe, Melissa; Killcross, Simon

2015-02-01

Previous research suggests the prelimbic (PL) cortex is involved in expression of conditioned fear (Burgos-Robles, Vidal-Gonzalez, & Quirk, 2009; Corcoran & Quirk, 2007). However, there is a long history of research in the appetitive domain which implicates this region in using higher-order cues to modulate a behavioural response (Birrell & Brown, 2000; Floresco, Block, & Tse, 2008; Marquis, Killcross, & Haddon, 2007; Sharpe & Killcross, 2014). For example, the PL cortex is necessary to allow animals to use contextual cues to disambiguate response conflict in ambiguous circumstances (Marquis et al., 2007). Using an ABA fear renewal procedure, we assessed the role of the PL cortex in using contextual cues to modulate a response towards a conditioned stimulus (CS) in an aversive setting. We found that pre-training lesions of the PL cortex did not impact on the expression or extinction of conditioned fear. Rather, they selectively abolished renewal. Functional inactivation of the PL cortex during extinction did not disrupt the subsequent renewal of conditioned fear or the ability of animals to exhibit fear towards a CS during the extinction session. However, PL inactivation during the renewal test session disrupted the ability of animals to demonstrate a reinstatement of responding in the renewal context. An analysis of orienting responses showed that renewal deficits were accompanied by a lack of change in attentional responding towards the CS. These data suggest the PL cortex uses contextual cues to modulate both a behavioural and an attentional response during aversive procedures. We argue that the role of the PL cortex in the expression of conditioned fear is to use higher-order information to modulate responding towards predictive cues in ambiguous circumstance. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Monetary incentive moderates the effect of implicit fear on effort-related cardiovascular response.

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Chatelain, Mathieu; Gendolla, Guido H E

2016-05-01

Integrating the implicit-affect-primes-effort model (Gendolla, 2012, 2015) with the principles of motivational intensity theory (Brehm & Self, 1989) we investigated if the effort mobilization deficit observed in people exposed to fear primes (vs. anger primes) in a difficult short-term memory task could be compensated by high monetary incentive. Effort was operationalized as cardiac response. We expected that fear primes should lead to the strongest cardiac pre-ejection period (PEP) reactivity when incentive was high (high subjective demand and high justified effort) and to the weakest response when incentive was low (high subjective demand but only low justified effort). PEP reactivity in the anger-prime conditions should fall in between (high but feasible demand). We obtained the predicted pattern on responses of PEP and systolic blood pressure. The present findings show for the first time that the effort mobilization deficit of participants exposed to fear primes in a difficult cognitive task could be compensated by a high incentive. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nuclear fear and children: the impact of parental nuclear activism, responsivity, and fear

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LaGuardia, M.R.

1986-01-01

This study examines the extent to which parental nuclear fear, parental activism, and parental responsivity is associated with children's (age 10) nuclear fear. Other associated variables investigated include: nuclear denial, general anxiety and fear, and the personal characteristics of sex, socio-economic status, and academic aptitude. Findings indicate that children attend to nuclear issues when their parents attend to a significant degree. Children's hopelessness about the arms race is increased as parents' worry about nuclear war increases. Children's fear about not surviving a nuclear war increases as parents' worry about survivability decreases. Children who have more general fears also indicated that they have a high level of hopelessness, pervasive worry, and much concern about being able to survive a nuclear war. Children with a high degree of general anxiety did not indicate high degrees of nuclear fears. Children with high academic aptitude were more knowledgeable about nuclear issues and expressed more fears about the nuclear threat. Boys demonstrated more knowledge about nuclear issues than girls, and girls expressed much more frequent fear and worry about the nuclear threat than boys. Parents of lower socio-economic statues (SES) expressed more denial about the nuclear threat and were more pro-military than the higher SES parents.

Settling for less out of fear of being single.

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Spielmann, Stephanie S; MacDonald, Geoff; Maxwell, Jessica A; Joel, Samantha; Peragine, Diana; Muise, Amy; Impett, Emily A

2013-12-01

The present research demonstrates that fear of being single predicts settling for less in romantic relationships, even accounting for constructs typically examined in relationship research such as anxious attachment. Study 1 explored the content of people's thoughts about being single. Studies 2A and 2B involved the development and validation of the Fear of Being Single Scale. Study 2C provided preliminary support for the hypothesis that fear of being single predicts settling for less in ongoing relationships, as evidenced by greater dependence in unsatisfying relationships. Study 3 replicated this effect in a longitudinal study demonstrating that fear of being single predicts lower likelihood of initiating the dissolution of a less satisfying relationship. Studies 4A and 4B explored the predictive ability of fear of being single for self-reported dating standards. Across both samples, fear of being single was unrelated to self-reported standards for a mate, with the exception of consistently higher standards for parenting. Studies 5 and 6 explored romantic interest in targets that were manipulated to vary in responsiveness and physical attractiveness. These studies found that fear of being single consistently predicted romantic interest in less responsive and less attractive dating targets. Study 7 explored fear of being single during a speed-dating event. We found that fear of being single predicted being less selective in expressing romantic interest but did not predict other daters' romantic interest. Taken together, the present research suggests that fear of being single is a meaningful predictor of settling for less in relationships. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Quantitative prediction of perceptual decisions during near-threshold fear detection

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Pessoa, Luiz; Padmala, Srikanth

2005-04-01

A fundamental goal of cognitive neuroscience is to explain how mental decisions originate from basic neural mechanisms. The goal of the present study was to investigate the neural correlates of perceptual decisions in the context of emotional perception. To probe this question, we investigated how fluctuations in functional MRI (fMRI) signals were correlated with behavioral choice during a near-threshold fear detection task. fMRI signals predicted behavioral choice independently of stimulus properties and task accuracy in a network of brain regions linked to emotional processing: posterior cingulate cortex, medial prefrontal cortex, right inferior frontal gyrus, and left insula. We quantified the link between fMRI signals and behavioral choice in a whole-brain analysis by determining choice probabilities by means of signal-detection theory methods. Our results demonstrate that voxel-wise fMRI signals can reliably predict behavioral choice in a quantitative fashion (choice probabilities ranged from 0.63 to 0.78) at levels comparable to neuronal data. We suggest that the conscious decision that a fearful face has been seen is represented across a network of interconnected brain regions that prepare the organism to appropriately handle emotionally challenging stimuli and that regulate the associated emotional response. decision making | emotion | functional MRI

SI-SHY: Dysregulated Fear in Toddlerhood Predicts Kindergarten Social Withdrawal through Protective Parenting.

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Kiel, Elizabeth J; Buss, Kristin A

2014-05-01

Two recent advances in the study of fearful temperament (behavioral inhibition) include the validation of dysregulated fear as a temperamental construct that more specifically predicts later social withdrawal and anxiety, and the use of conceptual and statistical models that place parenting as a mechanism of development from temperament to these outcomes. The current study further advances these areas by examining whether protective parenting mediated the relation between dysregulated fear in toddlerhood and social withdrawal in kindergarten. Participants included 93 toddlers and their mothers, who engaged in laboratory tasks assessing traditional fearful temperament, dysregulated fear, and protective parenting. When children reached kindergarten, they returned to the laboratory for a multimethod assessment of social withdrawal. Results confirmed the hypothesis that dysregulated fear predicted social withdrawal through protective parenting, and this occurred above and beyond the effect of traditional fearful temperament. These findings bolster support for the use of dysregulated fear as a temperamental construct related to, but perhaps more discerning of risk than traditionally measured fearful temperament/behavioral inhibition and highlight the importance of transactional influences between the individual and the caregiving environment in the development of social withdrawal.

SI-SHY: Dysregulated Fear in Toddlerhood Predicts Kindergarten Social Withdrawal through Protective Parenting

Science.gov (United States)

Kiel, Elizabeth J.; Buss, Kristin A.

2014-01-01

Two recent advances in the study of fearful temperament (behavioral inhibition) include the validation of dysregulated fear as a temperamental construct that more specifically predicts later social withdrawal and anxiety, and the use of conceptual and statistical models that place parenting as a mechanism of development from temperament to these outcomes. The current study further advances these areas by examining whether protective parenting mediated the relation between dysregulated fear in toddlerhood and social withdrawal in kindergarten. Participants included 93 toddlers and their mothers, who engaged in laboratory tasks assessing traditional fearful temperament, dysregulated fear, and protective parenting. When children reached kindergarten, they returned to the laboratory for a multimethod assessment of social withdrawal. Results confirmed the hypothesis that dysregulated fear predicted social withdrawal through protective parenting, and this occurred above and beyond the effect of traditional fearful temperament. These findings bolster support for the use of dysregulated fear as a temperamental construct related to, but perhaps more discerning of risk than traditionally measured fearful temperament/behavioral inhibition and highlight the importance of transactional influences between the individual and the caregiving environment in the development of social withdrawal. PMID:25242893

Biases in attention, interpretation, memory, and associations in children with varying levels of spider fear: Inter-relations and prediction of behavior.

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Klein, Anke M; van Niekerk, Rianne; Ten Brink, Giovanni; Rapee, Ronald M; Hudson, Jennifer L; Bögels, Susan M; Becker, Eni S; Rinck, Mike

2017-03-01

Cognitive theories suggest that cognitive biases may be related and together influence the anxiety response. However, little is known about the interrelations of cognitive bias tasks and whether they allow for an improved prediction of fear-related behavior in addition to self-reports. This study simultaneously addressed several types of cognitive biases in children, to investigate attention bias, interpretation bias, memory bias and fear-related associations, their interrelations and the prediction of behavior. Eighty-one children varying in their levels of spider fear completed the Spider Anxiety and Disgust Screening for Children and performed two Emotional Stroop tasks, a Free Recall task, an interpretation task including size and distance indication, an Affective Priming Task, and a Behavioral Assessment Test. We found an attention bias, interpretation bias, and fear-related associations, but no evidence for a memory bias. The biases showed little overlap. Attention bias, interpretation bias, and fear-related associations predicted unique variance in avoidance of spiders. Interpretation bias and fear-related associations remained significant predictors, even when self-reported fear was included as a predictor. Children were not seeking help for their spider fear and were not tested on clinical levels of spider phobia. This is the first study to find evidence that different cognitive biases each predict unique variance in avoidance behavior. Furthermore, it is also the first study in which we found evidence for a relation between fear of spiders and size and distance indication. We showed that this bias is distinct from other cognitive biases. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Excitatory strength of expressive faces: effects of happy and fear expressions and context on the extinction of a conditioned fear response.

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Lanzetta, J T; Orr, S P

1986-01-01

In a recent study, Orr and Lanzetta (1984) showed that the excitatory properties of fear facial expressions previously described (Lanzetta & Orr, 1981; Orr & Lanzetta, 1980) do not depend on associative mechanisms; even in the absence of reinforcement, fear faces intensify the emotional reaction to a previously conditioned stimulus and disrupt extinction of an acquired fear response. In conjunction with the findings on acquisition, the failure to obtain extinction suggests that fear faces have some of the functional properties of "prepared" (fear-relevant) stimuli. In the present study we compared the magnitude of conditioned fear responses to happy and fear faces when a potent danger signal, the shock electrodes, are attached or unattached. If fear faces are functionally analogous to prepared stimuli, then, even in the absence of veridical support for an expectation of shock, they should retain excitatory strength, whereas happy faces should not. The results are consistent with this view of fear expressions. In the absence of reinforcement, and with shock electrodes removed, conditioned fear responses and basal levels of arousal were of greater magnitude for the fear-face condition than for the happy-face condition.

Contingency Awareness Shapes Acquisition and Extinction of Emotional Responses in a Conditioning Model of Pain-Related Fear.

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Labrenz, Franziska; Icenhour, Adriane; Benson, Sven; Elsenbruch, Sigrid

2015-01-01

As a fundamental learning process, fear conditioning promotes the formation of associations between predictive cues and biologically significant signals. In its application to pain, conditioning may provide important insight into mechanisms underlying pain-related fear, although knowledge especially in interoceptive pain paradigms remains scarce. Furthermore, while the influence of contingency awareness on excitatory learning is subject of ongoing debate, its role in pain-related acquisition is poorly understood and essentially unknown regarding extinction as inhibitory learning. Therefore, we addressed the impact of contingency awareness on learned emotional responses to pain- and safety-predictive cues in a combined dataset of two pain-related conditioning studies. In total, 75 healthy participants underwent differential fear acquisition, during which rectal distensions as interoceptive unconditioned stimuli (US) were repeatedly paired with a predictive visual cue (conditioned stimulus; CS(+)) while another cue (CS(-)) was presented unpaired. During extinction, both CS were presented without US. CS valence, indicating learned emotional responses, and CS-US contingencies were assessed on visual analog scales (VAS). Based on an integrative measure of contingency accuracy, a median-split was performed to compare groups with low vs. high contingency accuracy regarding learned emotional responses. To investigate predictive value of contingency accuracy, regression analyses were conducted. Highly accurate individuals revealed more pronounced negative emotional responses to CS(+) and increased positive responses to CS(-) when compared to participants with low contingency accuracy. Following extinction, highly accurate individuals had fully extinguished pain-predictive cue properties, while exhibiting persistent positive emotional responses to safety signals. In contrast, individuals with low accuracy revealed equally positive emotional responses to both, CS(+) and CS

Contingency awareness shapes acquisition and extinction of emotional responses in a conditioning model of pain-related fear

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Franziska eLabrenz

2015-11-01

Full Text Available As a fundamental learning process, fear conditioning promotes the formation of associations between predictive cues and biologically-significant signals. In its application to pain, conditioning may provide important insight into mechanisms underlying pain-related fear, although knowledge especially in interoceptive pain paradigms remains scarce. Furthermore, while the influence of contingency awareness on excitatory learning is subject of ongoing debate, its role in pain-related acquisition is poorly understood and essentially unknown regarding extinction as inhibitory learning. Therefore, we addressed the impact of contingency awareness on learned emotional responses to pain- and safety-predictive cues in a combined dataset of two pain-related conditioning studies.In total, 75 healthy participants underwent differential fear acquisition, during which rectal distensions as interoceptive unconditioned stimuli (US were repeatedly paired with a predictive visual cue (conditioned stimulus; CS+ while another cue (CS- was presented unpaired. During extinction, both CS were presented without US. CS valence, indicating learned emotional responses, and CS-US contingencies were assessed on visual analogue scales. Based on an integrative measure of contingency accuracy, a median-split was performed to compare groups with low versus high contingency accuracy regarding learned emotional responses. To investigate predictive value of contingency accuracy, regression analyses were conducted. Highly accurate individuals revealed more pronounced negative emotional responses to CS+ and increased positive responses to CS- when compared to participants with low contingency accuracy. Following extinction, highly accurate individuals had fully extinguished pain-predictive cue properties, while exhibiting persistent positive emotional responses to safety signals. In contrast, individuals with low accuracy revealed equally positive emotional responses to both, CS+ and

Cannabinoid CB1 receptors in distinct circuits of the extended amygdala determine fear responsiveness to unpredictable threat.

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Lange, M D; Daldrup, T; Remmers, F; Szkudlarek, H J; Lesting, J; Guggenhuber, S; Ruehle, S; Jüngling, K; Seidenbecher, T; Lutz, B; Pape, H C

2017-10-01

The brain circuits underlying behavioral fear have been extensively studied over the last decades. Although the vast majority of experimental studies assess fear as a transient state of apprehension in response to a discrete threat, such phasic states of fear can shift to a sustained anxious apprehension, particularly in face of diffuse cues with unpredictable environmental contingencies. Unpredictability, in turn, is considered an important variable contributing to anxiety disorders. The networks of the extended amygdala have been suggested keys to the control of phasic and sustained states of fear, although the underlying synaptic pathways and mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we show that the endocannabinoid system acting in synaptic circuits of the extended amygdala can explain the fear response profile during exposure to unpredictable threat. Using fear training with predictable or unpredictable cues in mice, combined with local and cell-type-specific deficiency and rescue of cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptors, we found that presynaptic CB1 receptors on distinct amygdala projections to bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) are both necessary and sufficient for the shift from phasic to sustained fear in response to an unpredictable threat. These results thereby identify the causal role of a defined protein in a distinct brain pathway for the temporal development of a sustained state of anxious apprehension during unpredictability of environmental influences, reminiscent of anxiety symptoms in humans.

Fear affects parental care, which predicts juvenile survival and exacerbates the total cost of fear on demography.

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Dudeck, Blair P; Clinchy, Michael; Allen, Marek C; Zanette, Liana Y

2018-01-01

Fear itself (perceived predation risk) can affect wildlife demography, but the cumulative impact of fear on population dynamics is not well understood. Parental care is arguably what most distinguishes birds and mammals from other taxa, yet only one experiment on wildlife has tested fear effects on parental food provisioning and the repercussions this has for the survival of dependent offspring, and only during early-stage care. We tested the effect of fear on late-stage parental care of mobile dependent offspring, by locating radio-tagged Song Sparrow fledglings and broadcasting predator or non-predator playbacks in their vicinity, measuring their parent's behavior and their own, and tracking the offspring's survival to independence. Fear significantly reduced late-stage parental care, and parental fearfulness (as indexed by their reduction in provisioning when hearing predators) significantly predicted their offspring's condition and survival. Combining results from this experiment with that on early-stage care, we project that fear itself is powerful enough to reduce late-stage survival by 24%, and cumulatively reduce the number of young reaching independence by more than half, 53%. Experiments in invertebrate and aquatic systems demonstrate that fear is commonly as important as direct killing in affecting prey demography, and we suggest focusing more on fear effects and on offspring survival will reveal the same for wildlife. © 2017 by the Ecological Society of America.

Harsh parenting and fearfulness in toddlerhood interact to predict amplitudes of preschool error-related negativity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rebecca J. Brooker

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Temperamentally fearful children are at increased risk for the development of anxiety problems relative to less-fearful children. This risk is even greater when early environments include high levels of harsh parenting behaviors. However, the mechanisms by which harsh parenting may impact fearful children's risk for anxiety problems are largely unknown. Recent neuroscience work has suggested that punishment is associated with exaggerated error-related negativity (ERN, an event-related potential linked to performance monitoring, even after the threat of punishment is removed. In the current study, we examined the possibility that harsh parenting interacts with fearfulness, impacting anxiety risk via neural processes of performance monitoring. We found that greater fearfulness and harsher parenting at 2 years of age predicted greater fearfulness and greater ERN amplitudes at age 4. Supporting the role of cognitive processes in this association, greater fearfulness and harsher parenting also predicted less efficient neural processing during preschool. This study provides initial evidence that performance monitoring may be a candidate process by which early parenting interacts with fearfulness to predict risk for anxiety problems.

Regulating sadness and fear from outside and within: mothers' emotion socialization and adolescents' parasympathetic regulation predict the development of internalizing difficulties.

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Hastings, Paul D; Klimes-Dougan, Bonnie; Kendziora, Kimberly T; Brand, Ann; Zahn-Waxler, Carolyn

2014-11-01

Multilevel models of developmental psychopathology implicate both characteristics of the individual and their rearing environment in the etiology of internalizing problems and disorders. Maladaptive regulation of fear and sadness, the core of anxiety and depression, arises from the conjoint influences of ineffective parasympathetic regulation of emotion and ineffective emotion socialization experiences. In 171 youths (84 female, M = 13.69 years, SD = 1.84), we measured changes of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) in response to sadness- and fear-inducing film clips and maternal supportive and punitive responses to youths' internalizing emotions. Youths and mothers reported on youths' internalizing problems and anxiety and depression symptoms concurrently and 2 years later at Time 2. Maternal supportive emotion socialization predicted fewer, and punitive socialization predicted more, mother-reported internalizing problems at Time 2 only for youths who showed RSA suppression to fear-inducing films. More RSA suppression to sadness-inducing films predicted more youth-reported internalizing problems at Time 2 in girls only. In addition, less supportive emotion socialization predicted more youth-reported depression symptoms at Time 2 only for girls who showed more RSA suppression to sadness. RSA suppression to sadness versus fear might reflect different patterns of atypical parasympathetic regulation of emotional arousal, both of which increase the risk for internalizing difficulties in youths, and especially girls, who lack maternal support for regulating emotions.

Dysregulated Fear in Toddlerhood Predicts Kindergarten Social Withdrawal through Protective Parenting

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Kiel, Elizabeth J.; Buss, Kristin A.

2014-01-01

Two recent advances in the study of fearful temperament (behavioural inhibition) include the validation of dysregulated fear as a temperamental construct that more specifically predicts later social withdrawal and anxiety, and the use of conceptual and statistical models that place parenting as a mechanism of development from temperament to these…

The role of fear and disgust in predicting the effectiveness of television advertisements that graphically depict the health harms of smoking.

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Jónsdóttir, Harpa Lind; Holm, Jeffrey E; Poltavski, Dmitri; Vogeltanz-Holm, Nancy

2014-12-11

Antismoking television advertisements that depict the graphic health harms of smoking are increasingly considered best practices, as exemplified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's current national campaign. Evaluation of responses to these widely used advertisements is important to determine advertisements that are most effective and their mechanisms of action. Our study tested the hypothesis that advertisements rated highest in fear- and disgust-eliciting imagery would be rated as the most effective. Our laboratory study included 144 women and men aged 18 to 33; 84% were current nonsmokers. All participants viewed 6 antismoking television advertisements that depicted the health harms of smoking; they rated their responses of fear and disgust and the effectiveness of the advertisements. We used multilevel modeling to test the effects of the following in predicting effectiveness: fear, disgust, the fear-disgust interaction, the advertisement, and the participant's sex and smoking status. Follow-up analyses examined differences in ratings of fear, disgust, and effectiveness. Advertisement, fear, disgust, and the fear-disgust interaction were each significant predictors of effectiveness. Smoking status and sex were not significant predictors. The 3 advertisements that elicited the highest ratings of fear and disgust were rated the most effective. Our findings support the hypothesis that antismoking advertisements of health harms that elicit the greatest responses of fear or disgust are the most effective. When advertisements elicit high ratings of both fear and disgust, advertisements with graphic imagery are effective, whereas advertisements without graphic imagery are not.

Harsh parenting and fearfulness in toddlerhood interact to predict amplitudes of preschool error-related negativity.

Science.gov (United States)

Brooker, Rebecca J; Buss, Kristin A

2014-07-01

Temperamentally fearful children are at increased risk for the development of anxiety problems relative to less-fearful children. This risk is even greater when early environments include high levels of harsh parenting behaviors. However, the mechanisms by which harsh parenting may impact fearful children's risk for anxiety problems are largely unknown. Recent neuroscience work has suggested that punishment is associated with exaggerated error-related negativity (ERN), an event-related potential linked to performance monitoring, even after the threat of punishment is removed. In the current study, we examined the possibility that harsh parenting interacts with fearfulness, impacting anxiety risk via neural processes of performance monitoring. We found that greater fearfulness and harsher parenting at 2 years of age predicted greater fearfulness and greater ERN amplitudes at age 4. Supporting the role of cognitive processes in this association, greater fearfulness and harsher parenting also predicted less efficient neural processing during preschool. This study provides initial evidence that performance monitoring may be a candidate process by which early parenting interacts with fearfulness to predict risk for anxiety problems. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Childhood maltreatment and combat posttraumatic stress differentially predict fear-related fronto-subcortical connectivity.

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Birn, Rasmus M; Patriat, Rémi; Phillips, Mary L; Germain, Anne; Herringa, Ryan J

2014-10-01

Adult posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been characterized by altered fear-network connectivity. Childhood trauma is a major risk factor for adult PTSD, yet its contribution to fear-network connectivity in PTSD remains unexplored. We examined, within a single model, the contribution of childhood maltreatment, combat exposure, and combat-related posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) to resting-state connectivity (rs-FC) of the amygdala and hippocampus in military veterans. Medication-free male veterans (n = 27, average 26.6 years) with a range of PTSS completed resting-state fMRI. Measures including the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), and Combat Exposure Scale (CES) were used to predict rs-FC using multilinear regression. Fear-network seeds included the amygdala and hippocampus. Amygdala: CTQ predicted lower connectivity to ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), but greater anticorrelation with dorsal/lateral PFC. CAPS positively predicted connectivity to insula, and loss of anticorrelation with dorsomedial/dorsolateral (dm/dl)PFC. Hippocampus: CTQ predicted lower connectivity to vmPFC, but greater anticorrelation with dm/dlPFC. CES predicted greater anticorrelation, whereas CAPS predicted less anticorrelation with dmPFC. Childhood trauma, combat exposure, and PTSS differentially predict fear-network rs-FC. Childhood maltreatment may weaken ventral prefrontal-subcortical circuitry important in automatic fear regulation, but, in a compensatory manner, may also strengthen dorsal prefrontal-subcortical pathways involved in more effortful emotion regulation. PTSD symptoms, in turn, appear to emerge with the loss of connectivity in the latter pathway. These findings suggest potential mechanisms by which developmental trauma exposure leads to adult PTSD, and which brain mechanisms are associated with the emergence of PTSD symptoms. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Understanding amygdala responsiveness to fearful expressions through the lens of psychopathy and altruism.

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Marsh, Abigail A

2016-06-01

Because the face is the central focus of human social interactions, emotional facial expressions provide a unique window into the emotional lives of others. They play a particularly important role in fostering empathy, which entails understanding and responding to others' emotions, especially distress-related emotions such as fear. This Review considers how fearful facial as well as vocal and postural expressions are interpreted, with an emphasis on the role of the amygdala. The amygdala may be best known for its role in the acquisition and expression of conditioned fear, but it also supports the perception and recognition of others' fear. Various explanations have been supplied for the amygdala's role in interpreting and responding to fearful expressions. They include theories that amygdala responses to fearful expressions 1) reflect heightened vigilance in response to uncertain danger, 2) promote heightened attention to the eye region of faces, 3) represent a response to an unconditioned aversive stimulus, or 4) reflect the generation of an empathic fear response. Among these, only empathic fear explains why amygdala lesions would impair fear recognition across modalities. Supporting the possibility of a link between fundamental empathic processes and amygdala responses to fear is evidence that impaired fear recognition in psychopathic individuals results from amygdala dysfunction, whereas enhanced fear recognition in altruistic individuals results from enhanced amygdala function. Empathic concern and caring behaviors may be fostered by sensitivity to signs of acute distress in others, which relies on intact functioning of the amygdala. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The prelimbic cortex directs attention toward predictive cues during fear learning.

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Sharpe, Melissa J; Killcross, Simon

2015-06-01

The prelimbic cortex is argued to promote conditioned fear expression, at odds with appetitive research implicating this region in attentional processing. Consistent with an attentional account, we report that the effect of prelimbic lesions on fear expression depends on the degree of competition between contextual and discrete cues. Further, when competition from contextual cues is low, we found that PL inactivation resulted in animals expressing fear toward irrelevant discrete cues; an effect selective to inactivation during the learning phase and not during retrieval. These data demonstrate that the prelimbic cortex modulates attention toward cues to preferentially direct fear responding on the basis of their predictive value. © 2015 Sharpe and Killcross; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

Do infants find snakes aversive? Infants' physiological responses to "fear-relevant" stimuli.

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Thrasher, Cat; LoBue, Vanessa

2016-02-01

In the current research, we sought to measure infants' physiological responses to snakes-one of the world's most widely feared stimuli-to examine whether they find snakes aversive or merely attention grabbing. Using a similar method to DeLoache and LoBue (Developmental Science, 2009, Vol. 12, pp. 201-207), 6- to 9-month-olds watched a series of multimodal (both auditory and visual) stimuli: a video of a snake (fear-relevant) or an elephant (non-fear-relevant) paired with either a fearful or happy auditory track. We measured physiological responses to the pairs of stimuli, including startle magnitude, latency to startle, and heart rate. Results suggest that snakes capture infants' attention; infants showed the fastest startle responses and lowest average heart rate to the snakes, especially when paired with a fearful voice. Unexpectedly, they also showed significantly reduced startle magnitude during this same snake video plus fearful voice combination. The results are discussed with respect to theoretical perspectives on fear acquisition. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Fear of violence during armed conflict: Social roles and responsibilities as determinants of fear.

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Williams, Nathalie E; Ghimire, Dirgha; Snedker, Karen A

2018-03-01

This article investigates the prevalence and determinants of fear as a consequence of living through armed conflict. We use survey data from Nepal during the armed conflict (1996-2006) to examine how trauma, sex and gender, age, marriage, and household size affect fear of violence. We also disaggregate types of worry, and find substantial variance on whether respondents were more concerned about livelihood consequences of conflict than physical danger. We supplement quantitative analyses with discussion of in-depth interviews from the study area on these same topics. Overall, our results highlight the enduring impact of gender roles in Nepal and that conflict might disproportionately affect those who are already vulnerable and have greater social responsibilities. This article provides a unique comparison between fear of violence during armed conflict in a low-income country to the fear of crime literature based in high-income countries. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

When psychopathy impairs moral judgments: neural responses during judgments about causing fear.

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Marsh, Abigail A; Cardinale, Elise M

2014-01-01

Psychopathy is a disorder characterized by reduced empathy, shallow affect and behaviors that cause victims distress, like threats, bullying and violence. Neuroimaging research in both institutionalized and community samples implicates amygdala dysfunction in the etiology of psychopathic traits. Reduced amygdala responsiveness may disrupt processing of fear-relevant stimuli like fearful facial expressions. The present study links amygdala dysfunction in response to fear-relevant stimuli to the willingness of individuals with psychopathic traits to cause fear in other people. Thirty-three healthy adult participants varying in psychopathic traits underwent whole-brain fMRI scanning while they viewed statements that selectively evoke anger, disgust, fear, happiness or sadness. During scanning, participants judged whether it is morally acceptable to make each statement to another person. Psychopathy was associated with reduced activity in right amygdala during judgments of fear-evoking statements and with more lenient moral judgments about causing fear. No group differences in amygdala function or moral judgments emerged for other emotion categories. Psychopathy was also associated with increased activity in middle frontal gyrus (BA 10) during the task. These results implicate amygdala dysfunction in impaired judgments about causing distress in psychopathy and suggest that atypical amygdala responses to fear in psychopathy extend across multiple classes of stimuli.

Spontaneous eye movements and trait empathy predict vicarious learning of fear.

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Kleberg, Johan L; Selbing, Ida; Lundqvist, Daniel; Hofvander, Björn; Olsson, Andreas

2015-12-01

Learning to predict dangerous outcomes is important to survival. In humans, this kind of learning is often transmitted through the observation of others' emotional responses. We analyzed eye movements during an observational/vicarious fear learning procedure, in which healthy participants (N=33) watched another individual ('learning model') receiving aversive treatment (shocks) paired with a predictive conditioned stimulus (CS+), but not a control stimulus (CS-). Participants' gaze pattern towards the model differentiated as a function of whether the CS was predictive or not of a shock to the model. Consistent with our hypothesis that the face of a conspecific in distress can act as an unconditioned stimulus (US), we found that the total fixation time at a learning model's face increased when the CS+ was shown. Furthermore, we found that the total fixation time at the CS+ during learning predicted participants' conditioned responses (CRs) at a later test in the absence of the model. We also demonstrated that trait empathy was associated with stronger CRs, and that autistic traits were positively related to autonomic reactions to watching the model receiving the aversive treatment. Our results have implications for both healthy and dysfunctional socio-emotional learning. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

When psychopathy impairs moral judgments: neural responses during judgments about causing fear

OpenAIRE

Marsh, Abigail A.; Cardinale, Elise M.

2012-01-01

Psychopathy is a disorder characterized by reduced empathy, shallow affect and behaviors that cause victims distress, like threats, bullying and violence. Neuroimaging research in both institutionalized and community samples implicates amygdala dysfunction in the etiology of psychopathic traits. Reduced amygdala responsiveness may disrupt processing of fear-relevant stimuli like fearful facial expressions. The present study links amygdala dysfunction in response to fear-relevant stimuli to th...

Predicting Emotional Responses to Horror Films from Cue-Specific Affect.

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Neuendorf, Kimberly A.; Sparks, Glenn G.

1988-01-01

Assesses individuals' fear and enjoyment reactions to horror films, applying theories of cognition and affect that predict emotional responses to a stimulus on the basis of prior affect toward specific cues included in that stimulus. (MM)

Fear of pain in the context of intensive pain rehabilitation among children and adolescents with neuropathic pain: associations with treatment response.

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Simons, Laura E; Kaczynski, Karen J; Conroy, Caitlin; Logan, Deirdre E

2012-12-01

Recent research has implicated pain-related fear in relation to functional outcomes in children with chronic pain. The current study examined fear of pain, disability, and depression within the context of an intensive pain rehabilitation program. One hundred forty-five children and adolescents who participated in an intensive interdisciplinary pediatric pain rehabilitation day program were assessed in this study. Patients completed measures of pain intensity, pain-related fears, functional disability, and depressive symptoms at admission, discharge, and on average, 2 months postdischarge. After controlling for pain intensity, pain-related fear was significantly related to disability and depressive symptoms at all time points. As predicted, a decline in pain-related fear was significantly associated with a decrease in disability and depressive symptoms. Interestingly, high levels of pain-related fears at admission predicted less reduction in functional disability and depression at discharge, suggesting that high levels of pain-related fear may be a risk factor in relation to treatment outcomes. Overall, results indicate that the relationship between fear of pain and changes in disability and depressive symptoms are closely linked, with fear of pain playing an important role in treatment. This paper presents results underscoring the importance of pain-related fear in relation to treatment response for children and adolescents with chronic pain. These findings support the need to develop and implement interventions that target reductions in pain-related fear. Copyright © 2012 American Pain Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Moderation of prior exposure to trauma on the inverse relationship between callous-unemotional traits and amygdala responses to fearful expressions: an exploratory study.

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Meffert, Harma; Thornton, Laura C; Tyler, Patrick M; Botkin, Mary L; Erway, Anna K; Kolli, Venkata; Pope, Kayla; White, Stuart F; Blair, R James R

2018-02-12

Previous work has shown that amygdala responsiveness to fearful expressions is inversely related to level of callous-unemotional (CU) traits (i.e. reduced guilt and empathy) in youth with conduct problems. However, some research has suggested that the relationship between pathophysiology and CU traits may be different in those youth with significant prior trauma exposure. In experiment 1, 72 youth with varying levels of disruptive behavior and trauma exposure performed a gender discrimination task while viewing morphed fear expressions (0, 50, 100, 150 fear) and Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent responses were recorded. In experiment 2, 66 of these youth performed the Social Goals Task, which measures self-reports of the importance of specific social goals to the participant in provoking social situations. In experiment 1, a significant CU traits-by-trauma exposure interaction was observed within right amygdala; fear intensity-modulated amygdala responses negatively predicted CU traits for those youth with low levels of trauma but positively predicted CU traits for those with high levels of trauma. In experiment 2, a bootstrapped model revealed that the indirect effect of fear intensity amygdala response on social goal importance through CU traits is moderated by prior trauma exposure. This study, while exploratory, indicates that the pathophysiology associated with CU traits differs in youth as a function of prior trauma exposure. These data suggest that prior trauma exposure should be considered when evaluating potential interventions for youth with high CU traits.

Evaluation of treatment related fear using a newly developed fear scale for children: "Fear assessment picture scale" and its association with physiological response

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nishidha Tiwari

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Dental treatment is usually a poignant phenomenon for children. Projective scales are preferred over psychometric scales to recognize it, and to obtain the self-report from children. Aims: The aims were to evaluate treatment related fear using a newly developed fear scale for children, fear assessment picture scale (FAPS, and anxiety with colored version of modified facial affective scale (MFAS - three faces along with physiologic responses (pulse rate and oxygen saturation obtained by pulse oximeter before and during pulpectomy procedure. Settings and Design: Total, 60 children of age 6-8 years who were visiting the dental hospital for the first time and needed pulpectomy treatment were selected. Children selected were of sound physical, physiological, and mental condition. Two projective scales were used; one to assess fear - FAPS and to assess anxiety - colored version of MFAS - three faces. These were co-related with the physiological responses (oxygen saturation and pulse rate of children obtained by pulse oximeter before and during the pulpectomy procedure. Statistical Analysis Used: Shapiro-Wilk test, McNemar′s test, Wilcoxon signed ranks test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Mann-Whitney test were applied in the study. Results: The physiological responses showed association with FAPS and MFAS though not significant. However, oxygen saturation with MFAS showed a significant change between "no anxiety" and "some anxiety" as quantified by Kruskal-Wallis test value 6.287, P = 0.043 (<0.05 before pulpectomy procedure. Conclusions: The FAPS can prove to be a pragmatic tool in spotting the fear among young children. This test is easy and fast to apply on children and reduces the chair-side time.

Evaluation of treatment related fear using a newly developed fear scale for children: "Fear assessment picture scale" and its association with physiological response.

Science.gov (United States)

Tiwari, Nishidha; Tiwari, Shilpi; Thakur, Ruchi; Agrawal, Nikita; Shashikiran, N D; Singla, Shilpy

2015-01-01

Dental treatment is usually a poignant phenomenon for children. Projective scales are preferred over psychometric scales to recognize it, and to obtain the self-report from children. The aims were to evaluate treatment related fear using a newly developed fear scale for children, fear assessment picture scale (FAPS), and anxiety with colored version of modified facial affective scale (MFAS) - three faces along with physiologic responses (pulse rate and oxygen saturation) obtained by pulse oximeter before and during pulpectomy procedure. Total, 60 children of age 6-8 years who were visiting the dental hospital for the first time and needed pulpectomy treatment were selected. Children selected were of sound physical, physiological, and mental condition. Two projective scales were used; one to assess fear - FAPS and to assess anxiety - colored version of MFAS - three faces. These were co-related with the physiological responses (oxygen saturation and pulse rate) of children obtained by pulse oximeter before and during the pulpectomy procedure. Shapiro-Wilk test, McNemar's test, Wilcoxon signed ranks test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Mann-Whitney test were applied in the study. The physiological responses showed association with FAPS and MFAS though not significant. However, oxygen saturation with MFAS showed a significant change between "no anxiety" and "some anxiety" as quantified by Kruskal-Wallis test value 6.287, P = 0.043 (test is easy and fast to apply on children and reduces the chair-side time.

Maternal Accuracy and Behavior in Anticipating Children’s Responses to Novelty: Relations to Fearful Temperament and Implications for Anxiety Development

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Kiel, Elizabeth J.; Buss, Kristin A.

2009-01-01

Previous research has suggested that mothers’ behaviors may serve as a mechanism in the development from toddler fearful temperament to childhood anxiety. The current study examined the maternal characteristic of accuracy in predicting toddlers’ distress reactions to novelty in relation to temperament, parenting, and anxiety development. Ninety-three two-year-old toddlers and their mothers participated in the study. Maternal accuracy moderated the relation between fearful temperament and protective behavior, suggesting this bidirectional link may be more likely to occur when mothers are particularly attuned to their children’s fear responses. An exploratory moderated mediation analysis supported the mechanistic role of protective parenting in the relation between early fearful temperament and later anxiety. Mediation only occurred, however, when mothers displayed high accuracy. Results are discussed within the broader literature of parental influence on fearful children’s development. PMID:20436795

Biases in attention, interpretation, memory, and associations in children with varying levels of spider fear : Inter-relations and prediction of behavior

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Klein, A.M.; van Niekerk, R.; ten Brink, G.; Rapee, R.M.; Hudson, J.L.; Bögels, S.M.; Becker, E.S.; Rinck, M.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Cognitive theories suggest that cognitive biases may be related and together influence the anxiety response. However, little is known about the interrelations of cognitive bias tasks and whether they allow for an improved prediction of fear-related behavior in addition to

THE FEAR OF FEAR CONCEPT - STABILITY, RETEST ARTIFACT AND PREDICTIVE POWER

NARCIS (Netherlands)

ARRINDELL, WA

Three related issues concerning the theory, measurement and clinical utility of the fear of fear construct as operationalized by the Agoraphobic Cognitions and Bodily Sensations Questionnaires (Chambless, Caputo, Bright & Gallagher, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 52, 1090-1097, 1984)

Preventing long-lasting fear recovery using bilateral alternating sensory stimulation: A translational study.

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Wurtz, H; El-Khoury-Malhame, M; Wilhelm, F H; Michael, T; Beetz, E M; Roques, J; Reynaud, E; Courtin, J; Khalfa, S; Herry, C

2016-05-03

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a highly debilitating and prevalent psychological disorder. It is characterized by highly distressing intrusive trauma memories that are partly explained by fear conditioning. Despite efficient therapeutic approaches, a subset of PTSD patients displays spontaneous recurrence of traumatic memories after successful treatment. The development of animal behavioral models mimicking the individual variability in treatment outcome for PTSD patients represent therefore an important challenge as it allows for the identification of predicting factors of resilience or susceptibility to relapse. However, to date, only few animal behavioral models of long-lasting fear recovery have been developed and their predictive validity has not been tested directly. The objectives of this study were twofold. First we aimed to develop a simple animal behavioral model of long-lasting fear recovery based on auditory cued fear conditioning and extinction learning, which recapitulates the heterogeneity of fear responses observed in PTSD patients after successful treatment. Second we aimed at testing the predictive validity of our behavioral model and used to this purpose a translational approach based (i) on the demonstration of the efficiency of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy to reduce conditioned fear responses in PTSD patients and (ii) on the implementation in our behavioral model of an electrical bilateral alternating stimulation of the eyelid which mimics the core feature of EMDR. Our data indicate that electrical bilateral alternating stimulation of the eyelid during extinction learning alleviates long-lasting fear recovery of conditioned fear responses and dramatically reduces inter-individual variability. These results demonstrate the face and predictive validity of our animal behavioral model and provide an interesting tool to understand the neurobiological underpinnings of long-lasting fear recovery. Copyright �

Fear of food prospectively predicts drive for thinness in an eating disorder sample recently discharged from intensive treatment.

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Levinson, Cheri A; Brosof, Leigh C; Ma, Jackie; Fewell, Laura; Lenze, Eric J

2017-12-01

Fears of food are common in individuals with eating disorders and contribute to the high relapse rates. However, it is unknown how fears of food contribute to eating disorder symptoms across time, potentially contributing to an increased likelihood of relapse. Participants diagnosed with an eating disorder (N=168) who had recently completed intensive treatment were assessed after discharge and one month later regarding fear of food, eating disorder symptoms, anxiety sensitivity, and negative affect. Cross lagged path analysis was utilized to determine if fear of food predicted subsequent eating disorder symptoms one month later. Fear of food-specifically, anxiety about eating and feared concerns about eating-predicted drive for thinness, a core symptom domain of eating disorders. These relationships held while accounting for anxiety sensitivity and negative affect. There is a specific, direct relationship between anxiety about eating and feared concerns about eating and drive for thinness. Future research should test if interventions designed to target fear of food can decrease drive for thinness and thereby prevent relapse. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stress and fear responses in the teleost pallium

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Silva, Patricia Isabel da Mota E.; Martins, C.I.M.; Khan, Uniza Wahid

2015-01-01

Evolution has resulted in behavioural responses to threat which show extensive similarities between different animal species. The reaction to predator cues is one example of such prevailing responses, and functional homologies to mammalian limbic regions involved in threat-sensitive behaviour hav...... to chemical alarm cues, but this effect did not reach the level of statistical significance. Hence, limbic responses to stress and fear, akin to those seen in extant mammals, are also present in the teleost lineage...

Predictive value of stabilometry and fear of falling on falls in postmenopausal women.

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Hita-Contreras, F; Martínez-Amat, A; Lomas-Vega, R; Álvarez, P; Aránega, A; Martínez-López, E; Mendoza, N

2013-10-01

Falls are one of the leading causes of fractures and impaired quality of life in the elderly, and they are related to balance deficit and to fear of falls. The purpose of our study is to evaluate predictors of falls in the 50-65-year-old postmenopausal population. A prospective cohort study was conducted on 96 postmenopausal women. Fear of falling and postural stability were assessed by using the FES-I (Falls Efficacy Scale-International) and a force platform, respectively. Fall frequency was determined in the 12-month follow-up study period. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify predictive factors of falls. Fear of falls, the FES-I scale and four stabilometric parameters, specifically under eyes-closed condition, were significantly higher in the group of fallers. The root mean square amplitude in the medial-lateral direction with eyes closed (RMSXec) (odds ratio 5.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.6-15.5, p = 0.004) and FES-I (odds ratio 3.4, 95% CI 1.1-10.5, p = 0.026) were the best independent predictive factors of the risk of falling. RMSXec > 0.133 was the best predictive factor for falls in our group of 50-65-year-old postmenopausal women studied, and a FES-I score > 20 could predict falls in this population.

Fear of pain potentiates nocebo hyperalgesia

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Aslaksen PM

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Per M Aslaksen,1 Peter S Lyby2 1Department of Psychology, Research Group for Cognitive Neuroscience, The Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Tromsø, The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway; 2Catosenteret Rehabilitation Center, Son, Norway Abstract: Nocebo hyperalgesia has received sparse experimental attention compared to placebo analgesia. The aim of the present study was to investigate if personality traits and fear of pain could predict experimental nocebo hyperalgesia. One hundred and eleven healthy volunteers (76 females participated in an experimental study in which personality traits and fear of pain were measured prior to induction of thermal heat pain. Personality traits were measured by the Big-Five Inventory-10. Fear of pain was measured by the Fear of Pain Questionnaire III. Heat pain was induced by a PC-controlled thermode. Pain was measured by a computerized visual analog scale. Stress levels during the experiment were measured by numerical rating scales. The participants were randomized to a Nocebo group or to a no-treatment Natural History group. The results revealed that pain and stress levels were significantly higher in the Nocebo group after nocebo treatment. Mediation analysis showed that higher levels of the Fear of Pain Questionnaire III factor "fear of medical pain" significantly increased stress levels after nocebo treatment and that higher stress levels were associated with increased nocebo hyperalgesic responses. There were no significant associations between any of the personality factors and the nocebo hyperalgesic effect. The results from the present study suggest that dispositional fear of pain might be a useful predictor for nocebo hyperalgesia and emotional states concomitant with expectations of increased pain. Furthermore, measurement of traits that are specific to pain experience is probably better suited for prediction of nocebo hyperalgesic responses compared to broad measures of personality

Retrieval per se is not sufficient to trigger reconsolidation of human fear memory.

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Sevenster, Dieuwke; Beckers, Tom; Kindt, Merel

2012-03-01

Ample evidence suggests that consolidated memories, upon their retrieval, enter a labile state, in which they might be susceptible to change. It has been proposed that memory labilization allows for the integration of relevant information in the established memory trace (memory updating). Memory labilization and reconsolidation do not necessarily occur when a memory is being reactivated, but only when there is something to be learned during memory retrieval (prediction error). Thus, updating of a fear memory trace should not occur under retrieval conditions in which the outcome is fully predictable (no prediction error). Here, we addressed this issue, using a human differential fear conditioning procedure, by eliminating the very possibility of reinforcement of the reminder cue. A previously established fear memory (picture-shock pairings) was reactivated with shock-electrodes attached (Propranolol group, n=18) or unattached (Propranolol No-Shock Expectation group, n=19). We additionally tested a placebo-control group with the shock-electrodes attached (Placebo group, n=18). Reconsolidation was not triggered when nothing could be learned during the reminder trial, as noradrenergic blockade did not affect expression of the fear memory 24h later in the Propranolol No-Shock Expectation group. Only when the outcome of the retrieval cue was not fully predictable, propranolol, contrary to placebo, reduced the startle fear response and prevented the return of fear (reinstatement) the following day. In line with previous studies, skin conductance response and shock expectancies were not affected by propranolol. Remarkably, a double dissociation emerged between the emotional (startle response) and more cognitive expression (expectancies, SCR) of the fear memory. Our findings have important implications for reconsolidation blockade as treatment strategy for emotional disorders. First, fear reducing procedures that target the emotional component of fear memory do not

Fear of cancer recurrence and its predictive factors among Iranian cancer patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alireza Mohajjel Aghdam

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Context: Fear of cancer recurrence (FOCR is one of the most important psychological problems among cancer patients. In extensive review of related literature there were no articles on FOCR among Iranian cancer patients. Aim: The aim of present study was to investigation FOCR and its predictive factors among Iranian cancer patients. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-correlational study 129 cancer patients participated. For data collection, the demographic checklist and short form of fear of progression questionnaire was used. Logistic regression was used to determine predictive factors of FOCR. Result: Mean score of FOCR among participants was 44.8 and about 50% of them had high level of FOCR. The most important worries of participants were about their family and the future of their children and their lesser worries were about the physical symptoms and fear of physical damage because of cancer treatments. Also, women, breast cancer patient, and patients with lower level of education have more FOCR. Discussion: There is immediate need for supportive care program designed for Iranian cancer patients aimed at decreasing their FOCR. Especially, breast cancer patients and the patient with low educational level need more attention.

Pilot study: is the fear response the same in anorexia nervosa as in controls?

Science.gov (United States)

Birmingham, C Laird; Sidhu, Shelley; Anderson, John

2018-03-14

To determine whether the fear response is the same in AN as in controls. We recorded the EEG in 10 participants with a history of AN and in 10 controls during a fear stimulus. The response of the brain was recorded using EEG LORETA. The recording was analyzed for a marked increase in activity in the amygdala, uncus, insula, and anterior cingulate from 300 to 500 ms following the stimulus. The order or response of the amygdala, uncus, insula, and anterior cingulate was not significantly different in AN and controls. These results suggest that the brain's response to a fear stimulus is not significantly different in AN and controls. Level 3, case-control study.

Sex differences in the behavioural and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal response to contextual fear conditioning in rats.

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Daviu, Núria; Andero, Raül; Armario, Antonio; Nadal, Roser

2014-11-01

In recent years, special attention is being paid to sex differences in susceptibility to disease. In this regard, there is evidence that male rats present higher levels of both cued and contextual fear conditioning than females. However, little is known about the concomitant hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis response to those situations which are critical in emotional memories. Here, we studied the behavioural and HPA responses of male and female Wistar rats to context fear conditioning using electric footshock as the aversive stimulus. Fear-conditioned rats showed a much greater ACTH and corticosterone response than those merely exposed to the fear conditioning chamber without receiving shocks. Moreover, males presented higher levels of freezing whereas HPA axis response was greater in females. Accordingly, during the fear extinction tests, female rats consistently showed less freezing and higher extinction rate, but greater HPA activation than males. Exposure to an open-field resulted in lower activity/exploration in fear-conditioned males, but not in females, suggesting greater conditioned cognitive generalization in males than females. It can be concluded that important sex differences in fear conditioning are observed in both freezing and HPA activation, but the two sets of variables are affected in the opposite direction: enhanced behavioural impact in males, but enhanced HPA responsiveness in females. Thus, the role of sex differences on fear-related stimuli may depend on the variables chosen to evaluate it, the greater responsiveness of the HPA axis in females perhaps being an important factor to be further explored. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sources, responses and moderators of childbirth fear in Australian women: a qualitative investigation.

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Fenwick, J; Toohill, J; Creedy, D K; Smith, J; Gamble, J

2015-01-01

around 20% of women suffer childbirth fear causing them significant distress and often leading to requests for caesarean section. In Sweden, fearful pregnant women are offered counselling; however, in Australia, no dedicated service caters for the specific needs of these women. Indeed scant research has been conducted in Australia and little is known about women's concerns and if these align to those reported in the international literature. to describe the sources, responses and moderators of childbirth fear in a group of pregnant women assessed as having high levels of childbirth fear. comparative analysis was used to identify common concepts and generate themes that represented women's perspectives of childbirth fear. Data consisted of 43 tape recorded telephone conversations with highly fearful pregnant women who were participating in a large randomised controlled trial known as BELIEF (Birth Emotions, Looking to Improve Expectant Fear). women's fears were conceptualised into three themes: fear stimuli; fear responses; and fear moderators. Lack of confidence to birth, fear of the unknown, internalising other women's negative stories, perineal tearing and labour pain were common concerns for first time mothers. For multiparous women, not having had personal feelings resolved following their previous birth and negative experiences of last birth influenced current expectations for their upcoming birth. Themes common to both groups were: unmet information and support needs, feelings of loss of control and lack of input in to decision-making. Some women however, chose to avoid birth planning in order to cope during pregnancy. Australian women had similar childbirth concerns to those reported in the international literature. However unique to this study was finding two opposing discourses; one of preoccupation with negative events and the other; avoidance of planning for labour and birth. Provision of woman centred maternity models that minimise obstetric

Gradients of fear: How perception influences fear generalization.

Science.gov (United States)

Struyf, Dieter; Zaman, Jonas; Hermans, Dirk; Vervliet, Bram

2017-06-01

The current experiment investigated whether overgeneralization of fear could be due to an inability to perceptually discriminate the initial fear-evoking stimulus from similar stimuli, as fear learning-induced perceptual impairments have been reported but their influence on generalization gradients remain to be elucidated. Three hundred and sixty-eight healthy volunteers participated in a differential fear conditioning paradigm with circles of different sizes as conditioned stimuli (CS), of which one was paired to an aversive IAPS picture. During generalization, each subject was presented with one of 10 different sized circles including the CSs, and were asked to categorize the stimulus as either a CS or as novel after fear responses were recorded. Linear mixed models were used to investigate differences in fear generalization gradients depending on the participant's perception of the test stimulus. We found that the incorrect perception of a novel stimulus as the initial fear-evoking stimulus strongly boosted fear responses. The current findings demonstrate that a significant number of novel stimuli used to assess generalization are incorrectly identified as the initial fear-evoking stimulus, providing a perceptual account for the observed overgeneralization in panic and anxiety disorders. Accordingly, enhancing perceptual processing may be a promising treatment for targeting excessive fear generalization. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Self-Report and Psychophysiological Responses to Fear Appeals

Science.gov (United States)

Ordonana, Juan R.; Gonzalez-Javier, Francisca; Espin-Lopez, Laura; Gomez-Amor, Jesus

2009-01-01

This study was designed to assess the relationship between self-report and psychophysiological responses to fear appeals and behavioral changes elicited by these. Ninety-two subjects watched one of four messages that varied in level of threat (high vs. low) and efficacy (high vs. low). Concomitantly, psychophysiological measures (heart rate and…

Hippocampal Processing of Ambiguity Enhances Fear Memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Amadi, Ugwechi; Lim, Seh Hong; Liu, Elizabeth; Baratta, Michael V; Goosens, Ki A

2017-02-01

Despite the ubiquitous use of Pavlovian fear conditioning as a model for fear learning, the highly predictable conditions used in the laboratory do not resemble real-world conditions, in which dangerous situations can lead to unpleasant outcomes in unpredictable ways. In the current experiments, we varied the timing of aversive events after predictive cues in rodents and discovered that temporal ambiguity of aversive events greatly enhances fear. During fear conditioning with unpredictably timed aversive events, pharmacological inactivation of the dorsal hippocampus or optogenetic silencing of cornu ammonis 1 cells during aversive negative prediction errors prevented this enhancement of fear without affecting fear learning for predictable events. Dorsal hippocampal inactivation also prevented ambiguity-related enhancement of fear during auditory fear conditioning under a partial-reinforcement schedule. These results reveal that information about the timing and occurrence of aversive events is rapidly acquired and that unexpectedly timed or omitted aversive events generate hippocampal signals to enhance fear learning.

Failure to condition to a cue is associated with sustained contextual fear

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Baas, J. M. P.; van Ooijen, L.; Goudriaan, A.; Kenemans, J. L.

2008-01-01

The acquisition of a conditioned fear response is adaptive, as it enables the organism to appropriately respond to predictors of aversive events. Consequently, the absence of predictive cues can be used as a signal for safety. We aimed to study whether deficient fear conditioning might lead to

Individual differences in learning predict the return of fear.

Science.gov (United States)

Gershman, Samuel J; Hartley, Catherine A

2015-09-01

Using a laboratory analogue of learned fear (Pavlovian fear conditioning), we show that there is substantial heterogeneity across individuals in spontaneous recovery of fear following extinction training. We propose that this heterogeneity might stem from qualitative individual differences in the nature of extinction learning. Whereas some individuals tend to form a new memory during extinction, leaving their fear memory intact, others update the original threat association with new safety information, effectively unlearning the fear memory. We formalize this account in a computational model of fear learning and show that individuals who, according to the model, are more likely to form new extinction memories tend to show greater spontaneous recovery compared to individuals who appear to only update a single memory. This qualitative variation in fear and extinction learning may have important implications for understanding vulnerability and resilience to fear-related psychiatric disorders.

Lack of predictive power of trait fear and anxiety for conditioned pain modulation (CPM).

Science.gov (United States)

Horn-Hofmann, Claudia; Priebe, Janosch A; Schaller, Jörg; Görlitz, Rüdiger; Lautenbacher, Stefan

2016-12-01

In recent years the association of conditioned pain modulation (CPM) with trait fear and anxiety has become a hot topic in pain research due to the assumption that such variables may explain the low CPM efficiency in some individuals. However, empirical evidence concerning this association is still equivocal. Our study is the first to investigate the predictive power of fear and anxiety for CPM by using a well-established psycho-physiological measure of trait fear, i.e. startle potentiation, in addition to two self-report measures of pain-related trait anxiety. Forty healthy, pain-free participants (female: N = 20; age: M = 23.62 years) underwent two experimental blocks in counter-balanced order: (1) a startle paradigm with affective picture presentation and (2) a CPM procedure with hot water as conditioning stimulus (CS) and contact heat as test stimulus (TS). At the end of the experimental session, pain catastrophizing (PCS) and pain anxiety (PASS) were assessed. PCS score, PASS score and startle potentiation to threatening pictures were entered as predictors in a linear regression model with CPM magnitude as criterion. We were able to show an inhibitory CPM effect in our sample: pain ratings of the heat stimuli were significantly reduced during hot water immersion. However, CPM was neither predicted by self-report of pain-related anxiety nor by startle potentiation as psycho-physiological measure of trait fear. These results corroborate previous negative findings concerning the association between trait fear/anxiety and CPM efficiency and suggest that shifting the focus from trait to state measures might be promising.

Neural correlates of fear-induced sympathetic response associated with the peripheral temperature change rate.

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Yoshihara, Kazufumi; Tanabe, Hiroki C; Kawamichi, Hiroaki; Koike, Takahiko; Yamazaki, Mika; Sudo, Nobuyuki; Sadato, Norihiro

2016-07-01

Activation of the sympathetic nervous system is essential for coping with environmental stressors such as fearful stimuli. Recent human imaging studies demonstrated that activity in some cortical regions, such as the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and anterior insula cortex (aIC), is related to sympathetic activity. However, little is known about the functional brain connectivity related to sympathetic response to fearful stimuli. The participants were 32 healthy, right-handed volunteers. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to examine brain activity when watching horror and control movies. Fingertip temperature was taken during the scanning as a measure of sympathetic response. The movies were watched a second time, and the degree of fear (9-point Likert-type scale) was evaluated every three seconds. The brain activity of the ACC, bilateral aIC, and bilateral anterior prefrontal cortex (aPFC) was correlated with the change rate of fingertip temperature, with or without fearful stimuli. Functional connectivity analysis revealed significantly greater positive functional connectivity between the amygdala and the ACC and between the amygdala and the aIC when watching the horror movie than when watching the control movie. Whole-brain psycho-physiological interaction (PPI) analysis revealed that the functional connectivity between the left amygdala and the ACC was modulated according to the fear rating. Our results indicate that the increased functional connectivity between the left amygdala and the ACC represents a sympathetic response to fearful stimuli. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Subconscious responses to fear-appeal health warnings: An exploratory study of cigarette packaging

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Christo Boshoff

2017-04-01

Aim: In this exploratory study, the ability of fear-based pictures and text messages on cigarette packaging to create emotional arousal among consumers is explored. Methods: Galvanic skin response and eye-tracking methodologies were used. Results: The results indicate that both fear-based pictures and fear-based text messages activated arousal among consumers. Conclusion: The extent of arousal is influenced (at least to some extent by both gender and whether or not the viewer is a smoker.

Stimulus fear relevance and the speed, magnitude, and robustness of vicariously learned fear.

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Dunne, Güler; Reynolds, Gemma; Askew, Chris

2017-08-01

Superior learning for fear-relevant stimuli is typically indicated in the laboratory by faster acquisition of fear responses, greater learned fear, and enhanced resistance to extinction. Three experiments investigated the speed, magnitude, and robustness of UK children's (6-10 years; N = 290; 122 boys, 168 girls) vicariously learned fear responses for three types of stimuli. In two experiments, children were presented with pictures of novel animals (Australian marsupials) and flowers (fear-irrelevant stimuli) alone (control) or together with faces expressing fear or happiness. To determine learning speed the number of stimulus-face pairings seen by children was varied (1, 10, or 30 trials). Robustness of learning was examined via repeated extinction procedures over 3 weeks. A third experiment compared the magnitude and robustness of vicarious fear learning for snakes and marsupials. Significant increases in fear responses were found for snakes, marsupials and flowers. There was no indication that vicarious learning for marsupials was faster than for flowers. Moreover, vicariously learned fear was neither greater nor more robust for snakes compared to marsupials, or for marsupials compared to flowers. These findings suggest that for this age group stimulus fear relevance may have little influence on vicarious fear learning. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Increases in extracellular zinc in the amygdala in acquisition and recall of fear experience and their roles in response to fear.

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Takeda, A; Tamano, H; Imano, S; Oku, N

2010-07-14

The amygdala is enriched with histochemically reactive zinc, which is dynamically coupled with neuronal activity and co-released with glutamate. The dynamics of the zinc in the amygdala was analyzed in rats, which were subjected to inescapable stress, to understand the role of the zinc in emotional behavior. In the communication box, two rats were subjected to foot shock stress and anxiety stress experiencing emotional responses of foot-shocked rat under amygdalar perfusion. Extracellular zinc was increased by foot shock stress, while decreased by anxiety stress, suggesting that the differential changes in extracellular zinc are associated with emotional behavior. In rats conditioned with foot shock, furthermore, extracellular zinc was increased again in the recall of fear (foot shock) in the same box without foot shock. When this recall was performed under perfusion with CaEDTA, a membrane-impermeable zinc chelator, to examine the role of the increase in extracellular zinc, the time of freezing behavior was more increased, suggesting that zinc released in the lateral amygdala during the recall of fear participates in freezing behavior. To examine the role of the increase in extracellular zinc during fear conditioning, fear conditioning was also performed under perfusion with CaEDTA. The time of freezing behavior was more increased in the contextual recall, suggesting that zinc released in the lateral nucleus during fear conditioning also participates in freezing behavior in the recall. In brain slice experiment, CaEDTA enhanced presynaptic activity (exocytosis) in the lateral nucleus after activation of the entorhinal cortex. The present paper demonstrates that zinc released in the lateral amygdala may participate in emotional behavior in response to fear. Copyright 2010 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fearing shades of grey: individual differences in fear responding towards generalisation stimuli.

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Arnaudova, Inna; Krypotos, Angelos-Miltiadis; Effting, Marieke; Kindt, Merel; Beckers, Tom

2017-09-01

Individual differences in fear generalisation have been proposed to play a role in the aetiology and/or maintenance of anxiety disorders, but few data are available to directly support that claim. The research that is available has focused mostly on generalisation of peripheral and central physiological fear responses. Far less is known about the generalisation of avoidance, the behavioural component of fear. In two experiments, we evaluated how neuroticism, a known vulnerability factor for anxiety, modulates an array of fear responses, including avoidance tendencies, towards generalisation stimuli (GS). Participants underwent differential fear conditioning, in which one conditioned stimulus (CS+) was repeatedly paired with an aversive outcome (shock; unconditioned stimulus, US), whereas another was not (CS-). Fear generalisation was observed across measures in Experiment 1 (US expectancy and evaluative ratings) and Experiment 2 (US expectancy, evaluative ratings, skin conductance, startle responses, safety behaviours), with overall highest responding to the CS+, lowest to the CS- and intermediate responding to the GSs. Neuroticism had very little impact on fear generalisation (but did affect GS recognition rates in Experiment 1), in line with the idea that fear generalisation is largely an adaptive process.

The effects of verbal information and approach-avoidance training on children's fear-related responses.

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Lester, Kathryn J; Lisk, Stephen C; Mikita, Nina; Mitchell, Sophie; Huijding, Jorg; Rinck, Mike; Field, Andy P

2015-09-01

This study examined the effects of verbal information and approach-avoidance training on fear-related cognitive and behavioural responses about novel animals. One hundred and sixty children (7-11 years) were randomly allocated to receive: a) positive verbal information about one novel animal and threat information about a second novel animal (verbal information condition); b) approach-avoidance training in which they repeatedly pushed away (avoid) or pulled closer (approach) pictures of the animals (approach-avoidance training), c) a combined condition in which verbal information was given prior to approach-avoidance training (verbal information + approach-avoidance training) and d) a combined condition in which approach-avoidance training was given prior to verbal information (approach-avoidance training + verbal information). Threat and positive information significantly increased and decreased fear beliefs and avoidance behaviour respectively. Approach-avoidance training was successful in training the desired behavioural responses but had limited effects on fear-related responses. Verbal information and both combined conditions resulted in significantly larger effects than approach-avoidance training. We found no evidence for an additive effect of these pathways. This study used a non-clinical sample and focused on novel animals rather than animals about which children already had experience or established fears. The study also compared positive information/approach with threat information/avoid training, limiting specific conclusions regarding the independent effects of these conditions. The present study finds little evidence in support of a possible causal role for behavioural response training in the aetiology of childhood fear. However, the provision of verbal information appears to be an important pathway involved in the aetiology of childhood fear. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Learning-dependent and -independent enhancement of mitral/tufted cell glomerular odor responses following olfactory fear conditioning in awake mice.

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Ross, Jordan M; Fletcher, Max L

2018-04-18

Associative fear learning produces fear toward the conditioned stimulus (CS) and often generalization, the expansion of fear from the CS to similar, unlearned stimuli. However, how fear learning affects early sensory processing of learned and unlearned stimuli in relation to behavioral fear responses to these stimuli remains unclear. We subjected male and female mice expressing the fluorescent calcium indicator GCaMP3 in olfactory bulb mitral and tufted cells to a classical olfactory fear conditioning paradigm. We then used awake, in vivo calcium imaging to quantify learning-induced changes in glomerular odor responses, which constitute the first site of olfactory processing in the brain. The results demonstrate that odor-shock pairing non-specifically enhances glomerular odor representations in a learning-dependent manner and increases representational similarity between the CS and non-conditioned odors, potentially priming the system towards generalization of learned fear. Additionally, CS-specific glomerular enhancements remain even when associative learning is blocked, suggesting two separate mechanisms lead to enhanced glomerular responses following odor-shock pairings. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT In the olfactory bulb (OB), odors are uniquely coded in a spatial map that represents odor identity, making the OB a unique model system for investigating how learned fear alters sensory processing. Classical fear conditioning causes fear of the conditioned stimulus (CS) and of neutral stimuli, known as generalization. Combining fear conditioning with fluorescent calcium imaging of OB glomeruli, we found enhanced glomerular responses of the CS as well as neutral stimuli in awake mice, which mirrors fear generalization. We report that CS and neutral stimuli enhancements are, respectively, learning- independent and learning-dependent. Together, these results reveal distinct mechanisms leading to enhanced OB processing of fear-inducing stimuli and provide important

Psychophysiological and self-reported reactivity associated with social anxiety and public speaking fear symptoms: Effects of fear versus distress.

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Panayiotou, Georgia; Karekla, Maria; Georgiou, Dora; Constantinou, Elena; Paraskeva-Siamata, Michaela

2017-09-01

This study examines psychophysiological and subjective reactivity to anxiety-provoking situations in relation to social anxiety and public speaking fear. We hypothesized that social anxiety symptoms would be associated with similar reactivity across types of imaginary anxiety scenes and not specifically to social anxiety-related scenes. This would be attributed to co-existing depression symptoms. Public speaking fear was expected to be associated with more circumscribed reactivity to survival-threat scenes, due to its association with fearfulness. Community participants imagined standardized anxiety situations, including social anxiety and animal fear scenes, while their physiological reactivity and self-reported emotions were assessed. Findings supported that social anxiety was associated with undifferentiated physiological reactivity across anxiety-provoking situations, except with regards to skin conductance level, which was higher during social anxiety imagery. Public speaking fear was associated with increased reactivity to animal phobia and panic scenes. Covariance analyses indicated that the lack of response specificity associated with social anxiety could be attributed to depression levels, while the specificity associated with public speaking fear could be explained by fearfulness. Findings highlight the need to assess not only primary anxiety symptoms but also depression and fearfulness, which likely predict discrepant reactions of individuals to anxiogenic situations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fear, anger, and risk.

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Lerner, J S; Keltner, D

2001-07-01

Drawing on an appraisal-tendency framework (J. S. Lerner & D. Keltner, 2000), the authors predicted and found that fear and anger have opposite effects on risk perception. Whereas fearful people expressed pessimistic risk estimates and risk-averse choices, angry people expressed optimistic risk estimates and risk-seeking choices. These opposing patterns emerged for naturally occurring and experimentally induced fear and anger. Moreover, estimates of angry people more closely resembled those of happy people than those of fearful people. Consistent with predictions, appraisal tendencies accounted for these effects: Appraisals of certainty and control moderated and (in the case of control) mediated the emotion effects. As a complement to studies that link affective valence to judgment outcomes, the present studies highlight multiple benefits of studying specific emotions.

Beyond extinction: erasing human fear responses and preventing the return of fear

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Kindt, M.; Soeter, M.; Vervliet, B.

2009-01-01

Animal studies have shown that fear memories can change when recalled, a process referred to as reconsolidation. We found that oral administration of the beta-adrenergic receptor antagonist propranolol before memory reactivation in humans erased the behavioral expression of the fear memory 24 h

Anticipatory fear and helplessness predict PTSD and depression in domestic violence survivors.

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Salcioglu, Ebru; Urhan, Sevim; Pirinccioglu, Tugba; Aydin, Sule

2017-01-01

Embracing the conceptual framework of contemporary learning theory, this study tested the hypothesis that anticipatory fear due to a sense of ongoing threat to safety and sense of helplessness in life would be the strongest determinants of PTSD and depression in domestic violence survivors. Participants were 220 domestic violence survivors recruited consecutively from 12 shelters for women in Turkey (response rate 70%). They were assessed with the Semi-Structured Interview for Survivors of Domestic Violence, Traumatic Stress Symptom Checklist, Depression Rating Scale, and Fear and Sense of Control Scale. Survivors were exposed to 21 (SD = 6.7) physical, psychological, and sexual violence stressors over 11.3 (SD = 8.8) years. They reported high levels of peritrauma perceived distress of and lack of control over stressor events. Approximately 10 months after trauma, many feared reliving the same domestic violence events, felt helpless, feared for their life, and felt in danger. PTSD and depression rates were 48.2% and 32.7%, respectively. The strongest predictors of PTSD and depression were fear due to a sense of ongoing threat to safety and sense of helplessness in life, which explained the largest amount of variances in these psychiatric conditions. The findings support the contemporary learning theory of traumatic stress and are consistent with findings of studies involving earthquake, war, and torture survivors. They imply that trauma-focused interventions designed to overcome fear, reduce helplessness, and restore sense of control over one's life would be effective in PTSD and depression in domestic violence survivors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Heightened fear in response to a safety cue and extinguished fear cue in a rat model of maternal immune activation

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Susan eSangha

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Maternal immune activation during pregnancy is an environmental risk factor for psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia and autism in the offspring. Hence, changes in an array of behaviors, including behavioral flexibility, consistent with altered functioning of cortico-limbic circuits have been reported in rodent models of maternal immune activation. Surprisingly, previous studies have not examined the effect of maternal immune activation on the extinction of fear conditioning which depends on cortico-limbic circuits. Thus, we tested the effects of treating pregnant Long Evans rats with the viral mimetic polyI:C (gestational day 15; 4 mg/kg; i.v. on fear conditioning and extinction in the male offspring using two different tasks. In the first experiment, we observed no effect of polyI:C treatment on the acquisition or extinction of a classically conditioned fear memory in a non-discriminative auditory cue paradigm. However, polyI:C-treated offspring did increase contextual freezing during the recall of fear extinction in this non-discriminative paradigm. The second experiment utilized a recently developed task to explicitly test the ability of rats to discriminate among cues signifying fear, reward, and safety; a task that requires behavioral flexibility. To our surprise, polyI:C-treated rats acquired the task in a manner similar to saline-treated rats. However, upon subsequent extinction training, they showed significantly faster extinction of the freezing response to the fear cue. In contrast, during the extinction recall test, polyI:C-treated offspring showed enhanced freezing behavior before and after presentation of the fear cue, suggesting an impairment in their ability to regulate fear behavior. These behavioral results are integrated into the literature suggesting impairments in cortico-limbic brain function in the offspring of rats treated with polyI:C during pregnancy.

The effects of verbal information and approach-avoidance training on children's fear-related responses

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Lester, Kathryn J.; Lisk, Stephen C.; Mikita, Nina; Mitchell, Sophie; Huijding, Jorg; Rinck, Mike; Field, Andy P.

2015-01-01

Background and objectives This study examined the effects of verbal information and approach-avoidance training on fear-related cognitive and behavioural responses about novel animals. Methods One hundred and sixty children (7–11 years) were randomly allocated to receive: a) positive verbal information about one novel animal and threat information about a second novel animal (verbal information condition); b) approach-avoidance training in which they repeatedly pushed away (avoid) or pulled closer (approach) pictures of the animals (approach-avoidance training), c) a combined condition in which verbal information was given prior to approach-avoidance training (verbal information + approach-avoidance training) and d) a combined condition in which approach-avoidance training was given prior to verbal information (approach-avoidance training + verbal information). Results Threat and positive information significantly increased and decreased fear beliefs and avoidance behaviour respectively. Approach-avoidance training was successful in training the desired behavioural responses but had limited effects on fear-related responses. Verbal information and both combined conditions resulted in significantly larger effects than approach-avoidance training. We found no evidence for an additive effect of these pathways. Limitations This study used a non-clinical sample and focused on novel animals rather than animals about which children already had experience or established fears. The study also compared positive information/approach with threat information/avoid training, limiting specific conclusions regarding the independent effects of these conditions. Conclusions The present study finds little evidence in support of a possible causal role for behavioural response training in the aetiology of childhood fear. However, the provision of verbal information appears to be an important pathway involved in the aetiology of childhood fear. PMID:25698069

Stress Enables Reinforcement-Elicited Serotonergic Consolidation of Fear Memory.

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Baratta, Michael V; Kodandaramaiah, Suhasa B; Monahan, Patrick E; Yao, Junmei; Weber, Michael D; Lin, Pei-Ann; Gisabella, Barbara; Petrossian, Natalie; Amat, Jose; Kim, Kyungman; Yang, Aimei; Forest, Craig R; Boyden, Edward S; Goosens, Ki A

2016-05-15

Prior exposure to stress is a risk factor for developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in response to trauma, yet the mechanisms by which this occurs are unclear. Using a rodent model of stress-based susceptibility to PTSD, we investigated the role of serotonin in this phenomenon. Adult mice were exposed to repeated immobilization stress or handling, and the role of serotonin in subsequent fear learning was assessed using pharmacologic manipulation and western blot detection of serotonin receptors, measurements of serotonin, high-speed optogenetic silencing, and behavior. Both dorsal raphe serotonergic activity during aversive reinforcement and amygdala serotonin 2C receptor (5-HT2CR) activity during memory consolidation were necessary for stress enhancement of fear memory, but neither process affected fear memory in unstressed mice. Additionally, prior stress increased amygdala sensitivity to serotonin by promoting surface expression of 5-HT2CR without affecting tissue levels of serotonin in the amygdala. We also showed that the serotonin that drives stress enhancement of associative cued fear memory can arise from paired or unpaired footshock, an effect not predicted by theoretical models of associative learning. Stress bolsters the consequences of aversive reinforcement, not by simply enhancing the neurobiological signals used to encode fear in unstressed animals, but rather by engaging distinct mechanistic pathways. These results reveal that predictions from classical associative learning models do not always hold for stressed animals and suggest that 5-HT2CR blockade may represent a promising therapeutic target for psychiatric disorders characterized by excessive fear responses such as that observed in PTSD. Copyright © 2016 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hope of Success and Fear of Failure Predicting Academic Procrastination Students Who Working on a Thesis

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Sari Zakiah Akmal

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Students, who are working on the thesis, have some difficulties caused by internal and external factors. Those problems can disrupt the completion of their thesis, such as the tendency to do academic procrastination. Increasing achievement motivation can reduce academic procrastination. This study aims to look at the role of achievement motivation (hope of success and fear of failure in predicting academic procrastination. The study used a quantitative approach by distributing academic procrastination and achievement motivation questionnaires. The study involved 182 students who were working on a thesis as samples, which were obtained by using accidental sampling technique. Data were analyzed using multiple regressions. It showed that the hope of success and fear of failure have a significant role in predicting academic procrastination (R2 = 13.8%, F = 14,356, p <0.05. The hope of success can decrease academic procrastination, while fear of failure can improve it. Thus, interventions to reduce academic procrastination can be delivered by increasing students hope of success.

The influence of serotonin on fear learning.

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Catherine Hindi Attar

Full Text Available Learning of associations between aversive stimuli and predictive cues is the basis of Pavlovian fear conditioning and is driven by a mismatch between expectation and outcome. To investigate whether serotonin modulates the formation of such aversive cue-outcome associations, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI and dietary tryptophan depletion to reduce brain serotonin (5-HT levels in healthy human subjects. In a Pavlovian fear conditioning paradigm, 5-HT depleted subjects compared to a non-depleted control group exhibited attenuated autonomic responses to cues indicating the upcoming of an aversive event. These results were closely paralleled by reduced aversive learning signals in the amygdala and the orbitofrontal cortex, two prominent structures of the neural fear circuit. In agreement with current theories of serotonin as a motivational opponent system to dopamine in fear learning, our data provide first empirical evidence for a role of serotonin in representing formally derived learning signals for aversive events.

Vicarious Fear Learning Depends on Empathic Appraisals and Trait Empathy.

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Olsson, Andreas; McMahon, Kibby; Papenberg, Goran; Zaki, Jamil; Bolger, Niall; Ochsner, Kevin N

2016-01-01

Empathy and vicarious learning of fear are increasingly understood as separate phenomena, but the interaction between the two remains poorly understood. We investigated how social (vicarious) fear learning is affected by empathic appraisals by asking participants to either enhance or decrease their empathic responses to another individual (the demonstrator), who received electric shocks paired with a predictive conditioned stimulus. A third group of participants received no appraisal instructions and responded naturally to the demonstrator. During a later test, participants who had enhanced their empathy evinced the strongest vicarious fear learning as measured by skin conductance responses to the conditioned stimulus in the absence of the demonstrator. Moreover, this effect was augmented in observers high in trait empathy. Our results suggest that a demonstrator's expression can serve as a "social" unconditioned stimulus (US), similar to a personally experienced US in Pavlovian fear conditioning, and that learning from a social US depends on both empathic appraisals and the observers' stable traits. © The Author(s) 2015.

Development of fear and guilt in young children: stability over time and relations with psychopathology.

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Baker, Erika; Baibazarova, Eugenia; Ktistaki, Georgia; Shelton, Katherine H; van Goozen, Stephanie H M

2012-08-01

Extremes in fearful temperament have long been associated with later psychopathology and risk pathways. Whereas fearful children are inhibited and anxious and avoid novel events, fearless individuals are disinhibited and more likely to engage in aggressive behavior. However, very few studies have examined fear in infants from a multimethod and prospective longitudinal perspective. This study had the following objectives: to examine behavioral, maternal reported, and physiological indices of fearful temperament in infancy, together with their relations and stability over time; and to establish whether early indices of fear predict fear later in toddlerhood. We also examined the association between behavioral and physiological measures of fear and guilt and whether fear in infancy predicts guilt in toddlers. Finally, we investigated infant risk factors for later psychopathology. We recorded skin conductance level (SCL) and heart rate (HR) and observed children's responses during a Laboratory Temperament Assessment Battery fear paradigm across the first 3 years of life and during a guilt induction procedure at age 3 (N = 70). The results indicate that different measures of infant fear were associated across time. Observed fearlessness in infancy predicted observed fearlessness and low levels of SCL arousal to fear and guilt in toddlers. Low levels of HR and SCL to fear in infancy predicted low levels of physiological arousal to the same situation and to guilt 2 years later. Fear and guilt were significantly associated across measures. Finally, toddlers with clinically significant internalizing problems at age 3 were already notably more fearful in Year 1 as reflected by their significantly higher HR levels. The results indicated that assessments of children in infancy are predictive of how these children react 2 years later and therefore lend support to the idea that the emotional thermostat is set in the first 3 years of life. They also showed, for the first time

Neural response patterns in spider, blood-injection-injury and social fearful individuals: new insights from a simultaneous EEG/ECG-fMRI study.

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Michałowski, Jarosław M; Matuszewski, Jacek; Droździel, Dawid; Koziejowski, Wojciech; Rynkiewicz, Andrzej; Jednoróg, Katarzyna; Marchewka, Artur

2017-06-01

In the present simultaneous EEG/ECG-fMRI study we compared the temporal and spatial characteristics of the brain responses and the cardiac activity during fear picture processing between spider, blood-injection-injury (BII) and social fearful as well as healthy (non-fearful) volunteers. All participants were presented with two neutral and six fear-related blocks of pictures: two social, two spider and two blood/injection fear blocks. In a social fear block neutral images were occasionally interspersed with photographs of angry faces and social exposure scenes. In spider and blood/injection fear blocks neutral pictures were interspersed with spider fear-relevant and blood/injection pictures, respectively. When compared to healthy controls the social fear group responded with increased activations in the anterior orbital, middle/anterior cingulate and middle/superior temporal areas for pictures depicting angry faces and with a few elevated superior frontal activations for social exposure scenes. In the blood/injection fear group, heart rate was decreased and the activity in the middle/inferior frontal and visual processing regions was increased for blood/injection pictures. The HR decrease for blood/injection pictures correlated with increased frontal responses. In the spider fear group, spider fear-relevant pictures triggered increased activations within a broad subcortical and cortical neural fear network. The HR response for spider fear-relevant stimuli was increased and correlated with an increased insula and hippocampus activity. When compared to healthy controls, all fear groups showed higher LPP amplitudes for their feared cues and an overall greater P1 hypervigilance effect. Contrasts against the fear control groups showed that the increased responses for fear-specific stimuli are mostly related to specific fears and not to general anxiety proneness. The results suggest different engagement of cognitive evaluation and down-regulation strategies and an overall

Optimism as a predictor of the effects of laboratory-induced stress on fears and hope.

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Kimhi, Shaul; Eshel, Yohanan; Shahar, Eldad

2013-01-01

The objective of the current study is to explore optimism as a predictor of personal and collective fear, as well as hope, following laboratory-induced stress. Students (N = 107; 74 female, 33 male) were assigned randomly to either the experimental (stress--political violence video clip) or the control group (no-stress--nature video clip). Questionnaires of fear and hope were administered immediately after the experiment (Time 1) and 3 weeks later (Time 2). Structural equation modeling indicated the following: (a) Optimism significantly predicted both fear and hope in the stress group at Time 1, but not in the no-stress group. (b) Optimism predicted hope but not fear at Time 2 in the stress group. (c) Hope at Time 1 significantly predicted hope at Time 2, in both the stress and the no-stress groups. (d) Gender did not predict significantly fear at Time 1 in the stress group, despite a significant difference between genders. This study supports previous studies indicating that optimism plays an important role in people's coping with stress. However, based on our research the data raise the question of whether optimism, by itself, or environmental stress, by itself, may accurately predict stress response.

Fears, Uncertainties, and Hopes: Patient-Initiated Actions and Doctors’ Responses During Oncology Interviews*

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Beach, Wayne A.; Dozier, David M.

2015-01-01

New cancer patients frequently raise concerns about fears, uncertainties, and hopes during oncology interviews. This study sought to understand when and how patients raise their concerns, how doctors responded to these patient-initiated actions, and implications for communication satisfaction. A sub-sampling of video recorded and transcribed encounters was investigated involving 44 new patients and 14 oncologists. Patients completed pre-post self-report measures about fears, uncertainties, and hopes as well as post-evaluations of interview satisfaction. Conversation Analysis (CA) was employed to initially identify pairs of patient-initiated and doctor-responsive actions. A coding scheme was subsequently developed, and two independent coding teams, comprised of two coders each, reliably identified patient-initiated and doctor-responsive social actions. Interactional findings reveal that new cancer patients initiate actions much more frequently than previous research had identified, concerns are usually raised indirectly, and with minimal emotion. Doctors tend to respond to these concerns immediately, but with even less affect, and rarely partner with patients. From pre-post results it was determined that the higher patients’ reported fears, the higher their post-visit fears and lower their satisfaction. Patients with high uncertainty were highly proactive (e.g., asked more questions), yet reported even greater uncertainties following encounters. Hopeful patients also exited interviews with high hopes. Overall, new patients were very satisfied: Oncology interviews significantly decreased patients’ fears and uncertainties, while increasing hopes. Discussion raises key issues for improving communication and managing quality cancer care. PMID:26134261

Development of fear acquisition and extinction in children: effects of age and anxiety.

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Jovanovic, Tanja; Nylocks, Karin Maria; Gamwell, Kaitlyn L; Smith, Ami; Davis, Telsie A; Norrholm, Seth Davin; Bradley, Bekh

2014-09-01

Development of anxiety disorders is associated with neurobiological changes in areas that are a critical part of the fear neurocircuitry. Fear conditioning paradigms can offer insight into the mechanisms underlying the neurobiological ontogeny of anxiety. A small number of studies have focused on the effects of age and anxiety separately in school age children. The present study aimed to investigate these effects in 8-13 year old children with higher and lower trait anxiety. We examined differential fear conditioning and extinction using skin conductance responses and fear-potentiated startle in 60 children recruited from a low-income urban population. The results indicated that children under 10 years of age show poor discrimination of conditioned stimuli, and that anxiety increases fear responses during fear acquisition. After controlling for age and trauma exposure, fear-potentiated startle to the safety cue predicted child anxiety levels suggesting that impaired safety signal learning may be a risk factor for anxiety disorders in adulthood. Identifying risk phenotypes in children may provide opportunities for early intervention and prevention of illness. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effect of vicarious fear learning on children's heart rate responses and attentional bias for novel animals.

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Reynolds, Gemma; Field, Andy P; Askew, Chris

2014-10-01

Research with children has shown that vicarious learning can result in changes to 2 of Lang's (1968) 3 anxiety response systems: subjective report and behavioral avoidance. The current study extended this research by exploring the effect of vicarious learning on physiological responses (Lang's final response system) and attentional bias. The study used Askew and Field's (2007) vicarious learning procedure and demonstrated fear-related increases in children's cognitive, behavioral, and physiological responses. Cognitive and behavioral changes were retested 1 week and 1 month later, and remained elevated. In addition, a visual search task demonstrated that fear-related vicarious learning creates an attentional bias for novel animals, which is moderated by increases in fear beliefs during learning. The findings demonstrate that vicarious learning leads to lasting changes in all 3 of Lang's anxiety response systems and is sufficient to create attentional bias to threat in children. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Costs of fear: Behavioral and life-history responses to risk and their demographic consequences vary across species

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LaManna, Joseph A.; Martin, Thomas E.

2016-01-01

Behavioural responses to reduce predation risk might cause demographic ‘costs of fear’. Costs differ among species, but a conceptual framework to understand this variation is lacking. We use a life-history framework to tie together diverse traits and life stages to better understand interspecific variation in responses and costs. We used natural and experimental variation in predation risk to test phenotypic responses and associated demographic costs for 10 songbird species. Responses such as increased parental attentiveness yielded reduced development time and created benefits such as reduced predation probability. Yet, responses to increased risk also created demographic costs by reducing offspring production in the absence of direct predation. This cost of fear varied widely across species, but predictably with the probability of repeat breeding. Use of a life-history framework can aid our understanding of potential demographic costs from predation, both from responses to perceived risk and from direct predation mortality.

Fear across the senses: brain responses to music, vocalizations and facial expressions.

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Aubé, William; Angulo-Perkins, Arafat; Peretz, Isabelle; Concha, Luis; Armony, Jorge L

2015-03-01

Intrinsic emotional expressions such as those communicated by faces and vocalizations have been shown to engage specific brain regions, such as the amygdala. Although music constitutes another powerful means to express emotions, the neural substrates involved in its processing remain poorly understood. In particular, it is unknown whether brain regions typically associated with processing 'biologically relevant' emotional expressions are also recruited by emotional music. To address this question, we conducted an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging study in 47 healthy volunteers in which we directly compared responses to basic emotions (fear, sadness and happiness, as well as neutral) expressed through faces, non-linguistic vocalizations and short novel musical excerpts. Our results confirmed the importance of fear in emotional communication, as revealed by significant blood oxygen level-dependent signal increased in a cluster within the posterior amygdala and anterior hippocampus, as well as in the posterior insula across all three domains. Moreover, subject-specific amygdala responses to fearful music and vocalizations were correlated, consistent with the proposal that the brain circuitry involved in the processing of musical emotions might be shared with the one that have evolved for vocalizations. Overall, our results show that processing of fear expressed through music, engages some of the same brain areas known to be crucial for detecting and evaluating threat-related information. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Fear of Success: A Personality Trait or a Response to Occupational Deviance and Role Overload?

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Bremer, Teresa Hargrave; Wittig, Michele Andrisin

1980-01-01

Clarifies the extent to which an individual's fear of success scores may vary with the presence or absence of occupational deviance and/or role overload in stimulus materials describing situations of female competitive success. Results suggest that fear of success is a misnomer for responses to women's role descriptions. (Author/JLF)

Emotional expectations influence neural sensitivity to fearful faces in humans:An event-related potential study

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2010-01-01

The present study tested whether neural sensitivity to salient emotional facial expressions was influenced by emotional expectations induced by a cue that validly predicted the expression of a subsequently presented target face. Event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited by fearful and neutral faces were recorded while participants performed a gender discrimination task under cued (‘expected’) and uncued (‘unexpected’) conditions. The behavioral results revealed that accuracy was lower for fearful compared with neutral faces in the unexpected condition, while accuracy was similar for fearful and neutral faces in the expected condition. ERP data revealed increased amplitudes in the P2 component and 200–250 ms interval for unexpected fearful versus neutral faces. By contrast, ERP responses were similar for fearful and neutral faces in the expected condition. These findings indicate that human neural sensitivity to fearful faces is modulated by emotional expectations. Although the neural system is sensitive to unpredictable emotionally salient stimuli, sensitivity to salient stimuli is reduced when these stimuli are predictable.

Learning to avoid spiders: fear predicts performance, not competence.

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Luo, Xijia; Becker, Eni S; Rinck, Mike

2018-01-05

We used an immersive virtual environment to examine avoidance learning in spider-fearful participants. In 3 experiments, participants were asked to repeatedly lift one of 3 virtual boxes, under which either a toy car or a spider appeared and then approached the participant. Participants were not told that the probability of encountering a spider differed across boxes. When the difference was large (Exps. 1 and 2), spider-fearfuls learned to avoid spiders by lifting the few-spiders-box more often and the many-spiders-box less often than non-fearful controls did. However, they hardly managed to do so when the probability differences were small (Exp. 3), and they did not escape from threat more quickly (Exp. 2). In contrast to the observed performance differences, spider-fearfuls and non-fearfuls showed equal competence, that is comparable post-experimental knowledge about the probability to encounter spiders under the 3 boxes. The limitations and implications of the present study are discussed.

Growing up to be fearful? Social evaluative fears during adolescence

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Sumter, Sindy Resita

2010-01-01

This thesis studies the normal developmental pattern of social evaluative fears from childhood to adolescence. We have investigated age differences in self-reported social fears and physical responses during a public speaking task. In addition, youth's perceptions of speaking in public were studied

Effect of Vicarious Fear Learning on Children’s Heart Rate Responses and Attentional Bias for Novel Animals

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2014-01-01

Research with children has shown that vicarious learning can result in changes to 2 of Lang’s (1968) 3 anxiety response systems: subjective report and behavioral avoidance. The current study extended this research by exploring the effect of vicarious learning on physiological responses (Lang’s final response system) and attentional bias. The study used Askew and Field’s (2007) vicarious learning procedure and demonstrated fear-related increases in children’s cognitive, behavioral, and physiological responses. Cognitive and behavioral changes were retested 1 week and 1 month later, and remained elevated. In addition, a visual search task demonstrated that fear-related vicarious learning creates an attentional bias for novel animals, which is moderated by increases in fear beliefs during learning. The findings demonstrate that vicarious learning leads to lasting changes in all 3 of Lang’s anxiety response systems and is sufficient to create attentional bias to threat in children. PMID:25151521

Endogenous salivary α-amylase does not interact with skin conductance response during fear extinction in posttraumatic stress disorder.

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Zuj, Daniel V; Palmer, Matthew A; Malhi, Gin S; Bryant, Richard A; Felmingham, Kim L

2018-04-01

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is associated with elevated noradrenergic signaling, which has an impact on emotional learning and memory. Fear extinction is thought to underlie the processes of exposure therapy, however the relationship between noradrenaline and extinction in PTSD is unclear. Participants with PTSD (n = 21), trauma-exposure without PTSD (TC; n = 36), and non-trauma-exposed controls (NTC; n = 27) completed a fear conditioning and extinction paradigm, and conditioned fear was indexed by skin conductance response (SCR). Salivary α-amylase (sAA) collected at baseline and immediately post-fear acquisition was used as an index of noradrenaline, and we examined whether sAA in response to fear acquisition was a moderator between fear extinction and PTSD symptoms. While there was a significant increase in sAA from baseline to post-fear acquisition, this was not modulated by group. Compared to TC and NTC, the PTSD group displayed a slower decline in SCRs during early extinction, which generalized across stimulus type, and was not moderated by sAA. These findings suggest that the relationship between fear extinction and PTSD symptoms does not change as a function of sAA levels; however previous research suggests other processes of fear learning may be associated with noradrenergic activity in PTSD. Crown Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Flexibility in the face of fear: Hippocampal-prefrontal regulation of fear and avoidance.

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Moscarello, Justin M; Maren, Stephen

2018-02-01

Generating appropriate defensive behaviors in the face of threat is essential to survival. Although many of these behaviors are 'hard-wired', they are also flexible. For example, Pavlovian fear conditioning generates learned defensive responses, such as conditioned freezing, that can be suppressed through extinction. The expression of extinguished responses is highly context-dependent, allowing animals to engage behavioral responses appropriate to the contexts in which threats are encountered. Likewise, animals and humans will avoid noxious outcomes if given the opportunity. In instrumental avoidance learning, for example, animals overcome conditioned defensive responses, including freezing, in order to actively avoid aversive stimuli. Recent work has greatly advanced understanding of the neural basis of these phenomena and has revealed common circuits involved in the regulation of fear. Specifically, the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex play pivotal roles in gating fear reactions and instrumental actions, mediated by the amygdala and nucleus accumbens, respectively. Because an inability to adaptively regulate fear and defensive behavior is a central component of many anxiety disorders, the brain circuits that promote flexible responses to threat are of great clinical significance.

Fears of institutionalized mentally retarded adults.

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Sternlicht, M

1979-01-01

The patterns of fears of institutionalized mentally retarded adults were studied in a sample of i2 moderately retarded men and women between the ages of 21-49. The direct questioning method was employed. Two interviews were held, two weeks apart; the first interview elicited the Ss' fears, while the second concerned the fears of their friends. A total of 146 responses were obtained, and these were categorized according to the types of fears: supernatural-natural events, animals, physical injury, psychological stress, egocentric responses, and no fears. The Ss displayed a higher percentage of fears in the preoperational stage than in the concrete operational stage. In a comparison of male to female fears, only one category, that of fears of animals, reached significance. The study suggested that the same developmental trend of fears that appears in normal children appears in the retarded as well, and these fears follow Piaget's level of cognitive development, proceeding from egocentric perceptions of causality to realistic cause and effect thinking.

Right mesial temporal lobe epilepsy impairs empathy-related brain responses to dynamic fearful faces.

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Toller, Gianina; Adhimoolam, Babu; Grunwald, Thomas; Huppertz, Hans-Jürgen; Kurthen, Martin; Rankin, Katherine P; Jokeit, Hennric

2015-03-01

Unilateral mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) has been associated with reduced amygdala responsiveness to fearful faces. However, the effect of unilateral MTLE on empathy-related brain responses in extra-amygdalar regions has not been investigated. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we measured empathy-related brain responses to dynamic fearful faces in 34 patients with unilateral MTLE (18 right sided), in an epilepsy (extra-MTLE; n = 16) and in a healthy control group (n = 30). The primary finding was that right MTLE (RMTLE) was associated with decreased activity predominantly in the right amygdala and also in bilateral periaqueductal gray (PAG) but normal activity in the right anterior insula. The results of the extra-MTLE group demonstrate that these reduced amygdala and PAG responses go beyond the attenuation caused by antiepileptic and antidepressant medication. These findings clearly indicate that RMTLE affects the function of mesial temporal and midbrain structures that mediate basic interoceptive input necessary for the emotional awareness of empathic experiences of fear. Together with the decreased empathic concern found in the RMTLE group, this study provides neurobehavioral evidence that patients with RMTLE are at increased risk for reduced empathy towards others' internal states and sheds new light on the nature of social-cognitive impairments frequently accompanying MTLE.

A NMDA receptor antagonist, MK-801 impairs consolidating extinction of auditory conditioned fear responses in a Pavlovian model.

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Jun-Li Liu

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: In auditory fear conditioning, repeated presentation of the tone in the absence of shock leads to extinction of the acquired fear responses. The glutamate N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR is thought to be involved in the extinction of the conditioned fear responses, but its detailed role in initiating and consolidating or maintaining the fear extinction memory is unclear. Here we investigated this issue by using a NMDAR antagonist, MK-801. METHODS/MAIN FINDINGS: The effects of immediate (beginning at 10 min after the conditioning and delayed (beginning at 24 h after conditioning extinctions were first compared with the finding that delayed extinction caused a better and long-lasting (still significant on the 20(th day after extinction depression on the conditioned fear responses. In a second experiment, MK-801 was intraperitoneally (i.p. injected at 40 min before, 4 h or 12 h after the delayed extinction, corresponding to critical time points for initiating, consolidating or maintaining the fear extinction memory. i.p. injection of MK-801 at either 40 min before or 4 h after delayed extinction resulted in an impairment of initiating and consolidating fear extinction memory, which caused a long lasting increased freezing score that was still significant on the 7th day after extinction, compared with extinction group. However, MK-801 administered at 12 h after the delayed extinction, when robust consolidation has been occurred and stabilized, did not affect the established extinction memory. Furthermore, the changed freezing behaviors was not due to an alteration in general anxiety levels, since MK-801 treatment had no effect on the percentage of open-arm time or open-arm entries in an Elevated Plus Maze (EPM task. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our data suggested that the activation of NMDARs plays important role in initiation and consolidation but not maintenance of fear extinction memory. Together with the fact that NMDA receptor is

Temporal properties of fear extinction--does time matter?

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Golkar, Armita; Bellander, Martin; Öhman, Arne

2013-02-01

Fear extinction can be defined as the weakening of the expression of a conditioned response (CR) by extended experience of nonreinforcement. Conceptually, two distinct models have been invoked to account for extinction. R. A. Rescorla and A. R. Wagner (1972, A theory of Pavlovian conditioning: Variations in the effectiveness of reinforcement and nonreinforcement, in A. H. B. W. F. Prokasy (Ed.), Classical conditioning: II. Current research and theory, pp. 64-99, New York, NY, Appleton-Century-Crofts) postulated that the number of exposure trials is the primary determinant of CR decrement, whereas C. R. Gallistel and J. Gibbon (2000, Time, rate, and conditioning, Psychological Review, Vol. 107, pp. 289-344) proposed that the decisive event is the cumulated exposure time to the nonreinforced conditioned stimulus (CS) elapsed after the last CS reinforcement. We evaluated these two accounts in a human differential fear conditioning study in which CR was measured with the fear-potentiated startle response. Cumulated duration of nonreinforcement fails to explain our findings, whereas the number of trials appeared critical. In fact, many CS trials with a duration shorter than the acquisition CS duration facilitated within-session extinction, but this effect did not predict the recovery of fear. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).

Preventing the spread of genital warts: using fear appeals to promote self-protective behaviors.

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Witte, K; Berkowitz, J M; Cameron, K A; McKeon, J K

1998-10-01

A fear appeal campaign to decrease the spread of genital warts was conducted and evaluated. Theoretically guided by the Extended Parallel Process Model, this field study illustrated why fear appeal campaigns often appear to fail in public health arenas. Five hypotheses, which predicted when and under what conditions fear appeal campaigns would fail or succeed, were tested and supported. The results demonstrated that fear appeals can be powerful persuasive devices if they induce strong perceptions of threat and fear (which motivate action) and if they induce strong perceptions of efficacy with regard to a recommended response (which channels the action in a health protective direction). Recommendations to researchers and public health practitioners are offered.

Thinking while drinking: Fear of negative evaluation predicts drinking behaviors of students with social anxiety.

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Villarosa-Hurlocker, Margo C; Whitley, Robert B; Capron, Daniel W; Madson, Michael B

2018-03-01

College students with social anxiety disorder experience more alcohol-related negative consequences, regardless of the amount of alcohol they consume. Social anxiety refers to psychological distress and physiological arousal in social situations due to an excessive fear of negative evaluation by others. The current study examined within-group differences in alcohol-related negative consequences of students who met or exceeded clinically-indicated social anxiety symptoms. In particular, we tested a sequential mediation model of the cognitive (i.e., fear of negative evaluation) and behavioral (protective behavioral strategies) mechanisms for the link between social anxiety disorder subtypes (i.e., interaction and performance-type) and alcohol-related negative consequences. Participants were 412 traditional-age college student drinkers who met or exceeded the clinically-indicated threshold for social anxiety disorder and completed measures of fear of negative evaluation, protective behavioral strategies (controlled consumption and serious harm reduction), and alcohol-related negative consequences. Fear of negative evaluation and serious harm reduction strategies sequentially accounted for the relationship between interaction social anxiety disorder and alcohol-related negative consequences, such that students with more severe interaction social anxiety symptoms reported more fear of negative evaluation, which was related to more serious harm reduction strategies, which predicted fewer alcohol-related negative consequences. Future directions and implications are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Involvement of TRPV1 channels in the periaqueductal grey on the modulation of innate fear responses.

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Aguiar, Daniele C; Almeida-Santos, Ana F; Moreira, Fabricio A; Guimarães, Francisco S

2015-04-01

The transient receptor potential vanilloid type-1 channel (TRPV1) is expressed in the midbrain periaqueductal grey (PAG), a region of the brain related to aversive responses. TRPV1 antagonism in the dorsolateral PAG (dlPAG) induces anxiolytic-like effects in models based on conflict situations. No study, however, has investigated whether these receptors could contribute to fear responses to proximal threat. Thus, we tested the hypothesis that TRPV1 in the PAG could mediate fear response in rats exposed to a predator. We verified whether exposure to a live cat (a natural predator) would activate TRPV1-expressing neurons in the PAG. Double-staining immunohistochemistry was used as a technique to detect c-Fos, a marker of neuronal activation, and TRPV1 expression. We also investigated whether intra-dlPAG injections of the TRPV1 antagonist, capsazepine (CPZ), would attenuate the behavioural consequences of predator exposure. Exposure to a cat increased c-Fos expression in TRPV1-positive neurons, mainly in the dorsal columns of the PAG, suggesting that TRPV1-expressing neurons are activated by threatening stimuli. Accordingly, local injection of CPZ inhibited the fear responses. These data support the hypothesis that TRPV1 channels mediate fear reactions in the dlPAG. This may have an implication for the development of TRPV1-antagonists as potential drugs for the treatment of certain psychiatric disorders.

Discrimination of Fearful and Angry Emotional Voices in Sleeping Human Neonates: a Study of the Mismatch Brain Responses

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Dandan eZhang

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Appropriate processing of human voices with different threat-related emotions is of evolutionarily adaptive value for the survival of individuals. Nevertheless, it is still not clear whether the sensitivity to threat-related information is present at birth. Using an oddball paradigm, the current study investigated the neural correlates underlying automatic processing of emotional voices of fear and anger in sleeping neonates. Event-related potential data showed that the frontocentral scalp distribution of the neonatal brain could discriminate fearful voices from angry voices; the mismatch response (MMR was larger in response to the deviant stimuli of anger, compared with the standard stimuli of fear. Furthermore, this fear-anger MMR discrimination was observed only when neonates were in active sleep state. Although the neonates’ sensitivity to threat-related voices is not likely associated with a conceptual understanding of fearful and angry emotions, this special discrimination in early life may provide a foundation for later emotion and social cognition development.

Enhanced discriminative fear learning of phobia-irrelevant stimuli in spider-fearful individuals

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Carina eMosig

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Avoidance is considered as a central hallmark of all anxiety disorders. The acquisition and expression of avoidance which leads to the maintenance and exacerbation of pathological fear is closely linked to Pavlovian and operant conditioning processes. Changes in conditionability might represent a key feature of all anxiety disorders but the exact nature of these alterations might vary across different disorders. To date, no information is available on specific changes in conditionability for disorder-irrelevant stimuli in specific phobia (SP. The first aim of this study was to investigate changes in fear acquisition and extinction in spider-fearful individuals as compared to non-fearful participants by using the de novo fear conditioning paradigm. Secondly, we aimed to determine whether differences in the magnitude of context-dependent fear retrieval exist between spider-fearful and non-fearful individuals. Our findings point to an enhanced fear discrimination in spider-fearful individuals as compared to non-fearful individuals at both the physiological and subjective level. The enhanced fear discrimination in spider-fearful individuals was neither mediated by increased state anxiety, depression, nor stress tension. Spider-fearful individuals displayed no changes in extinction learning and/or fear retrieval. Surprisingly, we found no evidence for context-dependent modulation of fear retrieval in either group. Here we provide first evidence that spider-fearful individuals show an enhanced discriminative fear learning of phobia-irrelevant (de novo stimuli. Our findings provide novel insights into the role of fear acquisition and expression for the development and maintenance of maladaptive responses in the course of SP.

Systemic or Intra-Amygdala Injection of a Benzodiazepine (Midazolam) Impairs Extinction but Spares Re-Extinction of Conditioned Fear Responses

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Hart, Genevra; Harris, Justin A.; Westbrook, R. Frederick

2009-01-01

Rats were subjected to one or two cycles of fear conditioning and extinction, injected with a benzodiazepine, midazolam, before the first or second extinction, and tested for long-term inhibition of fear responses (freezing). In Experiment 1, inhibition of context-conditioned fear was spared when midazolam was injected before the second…

Neurobiology of Fear and Specific Phobias

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Garcia, René

2017-01-01

Fear, which can be expressed innately or after conditioning, is triggered when a danger or a stimulus predicting immediate danger is perceived. Its role is to prepare the body to face this danger. However, dysfunction in fear processing can lead to psychiatric disorders in which fear outweighs the danger or possibility of harm. Although recognized…

From Pavlov to PTSD: the extinction of conditioned fear in rodents, humans, and anxiety disorders.

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VanElzakker, Michael B; Dahlgren, M Kathryn; Davis, F Caroline; Dubois, Stacey; Shin, Lisa M

2014-09-01

Nearly 100 years ago, Ivan Pavlov demonstrated that dogs could learn to use a neutral cue to predict a biologically relevant event: after repeated predictive pairings, Pavlov's dogs were conditioned to anticipate food at the sound of a bell, which caused them to salivate. Like sustenance, danger is biologically relevant, and neutral cues can take on great salience when they predict a threat to survival. In anxiety disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), this type of conditioned fear fails to extinguish, and reminders of traumatic events can cause pathological conditioned fear responses for decades after danger has passed. In this review, we use fear conditioning and extinction studies to draw a direct line from Pavlov to PTSD and other anxiety disorders. We explain how rodent studies have informed neuroimaging studies of healthy humans and humans with PTSD. We describe several genes that have been linked to both PTSD and fear conditioning and extinction and explain how abnormalities in fear conditioning or extinction may reflect a general biomarker of anxiety disorders. Finally, we explore drug and neuromodulation treatments that may enhance therapeutic extinction in anxiety disorders. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Response-Specific Sex Difference in the Retention of Fear Extinction

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Voulo, Meagan E.; Parsons, Ryan G.

2017-01-01

Fear conditioning studies in rodents allow us to assess vulnerability factors which might underlie fear-based psychopathology such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Despite PTSD being more prevalent in females than males, very few fear conditioning studies in rodents have tested females. Our study assessed fear conditioning and extinction…

Distinguishing Fear Versus Distress Symptomatology in Pediatric OCD.

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Rozenman, Michelle; Peris, Tara; Bergman, R Lindsey; Chang, Susanna; O'Neill, Joseph; McCracken, James T; Piacentini, John

2017-02-01

Prior research has identified OCD subtypes or "clusters" of symptoms that differentially relate to clinical features of the disorder. Given the high comorbidity between OCD and anxiety, OCD symptom clusters may more broadly associate with fear and/or distress internalizing constructs. This study examines fear and distress dimensions, including physical concerns (fear), separation anxiety (fear), perfectionism (distress), and anxious coping (distress), as predictors of previously empirically-derived OCD symptom clusters in a sample of 215 youth diagnosed with primary OCD (ages 7-17, mean age = 12.25). Self-reported separation fears predicted membership in Cluster 1 (aggressive, sexual, religious, somatic obsessions, and checking compulsions) while somatic/autonomic fears predicted membership in Cluster 2 (symmetry obsessions and ordering, counting, repeating compulsions). Results highlight the diversity of pediatric OCD symptoms and their differential association with fear, suggesting the need to carefully assess both OCD and global fear constructs that might be directly targeted in treatment.

Attentional Control and Fear Extinction in Subclinical Fear: An Exploratory Study

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Eduard Forcadell

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Attentional control (AC and fear extinction learning are known to be involved in pathological anxiety. In this study we explored whether individual differences in non-emotional AC were associated with individual differences in the magnitude and gradient of fear extinction (learning and recall. In 50 individuals with fear of spiders, we collected measures of non-emotional AC by means of self-report and by assessing the functioning of the major attention networks (executive control, orienting, and alerting. The participants then underwent a paradigm assessing fear extinction learning and extinction recall. The two components of the orienting network functioning (costs and benefits were significantly associated with fear extinction gradient over and above the effects of trait anxiety. Specifically, participants with enhanced orienting costs (i.e., difficulties in disengaging attention from cues not relevant for the task showed faster extinction learning, while those with enhanced orienting benefits (i.e., attention facilitated by valid cues exhibited faster extinction recall as measured by fear-potentiated startle and Unconditioned Stimulus expectancies, respectively. Our findings suggest that, in non-emotional conditions, the orienting component of attention may be predictive of fear extinction. They also show that the use of fear extinction gradients and the exploration of individual differences in non-emotional AC (using performance-based measures of attentional network functioning can provide a better understanding of individual differences in fear learning. Our findings also may help to understand differences in exposure therapy outcomes.

Preventing the Development of Observationally Learnt Fears in Children by Devaluing the Model's Negative Response.

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Reynolds, Gemma; Field, Andy P; Askew, Chris

2015-10-01

Vicarious learning has become an established indirect pathway to fear acquisition. It is generally accepted that associative learning processes underlie vicarious learning; however, whether this association is a form of conditioned stimulus-unconditioned stimulus (CS-US) learning or stimulus-response (CS-CR) learning remains unclear. Traditionally, these types of learning can be dissociated in a US revaluation procedure. The current study explored the effects of post-vicarious learning US revaluation on acquired fear responses. Ninety-four children (46 males and 48 females) aged 6 to 10 years first viewed either a fear vicarious learning video or a neutral vicarious learning video followed by random allocation to one of three US revaluation conditions: inflation; deflation; or control. Inflation group children were presented with still images of the adults in the video and told that the accompanying sound and image of a very fast heart rate monitor belonged to the adult. The deflation group were shown the same images but with the sound and image of a normal heart rate. The control group received no US revaluation. Results indicated that inflating how scared the models appeared to be did not result in significant increases in children's fear beliefs, avoidance preferences, avoidance behavior or heart rate for animals above increases caused by vicarious learning. In contrast, US devaluation resulted in significant decreases in fear beliefs and avoidance preferences. Thus, the findings provide evidence that CS-US associations underpin vicarious learning and suggest that US devaluation may be a successful method for preventing children from developing fear beliefs following a traumatic vicarious learning episode with a stimulus.

Where There is Smoke There is Fear-Impaired Contextual Inhibition of Conditioned Fear in Smokers.

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Haaker, Jan; Lonsdorf, Tina B; Schümann, Dirk; Bunzeck, Nico; Peters, Jan; Sommer, Tobias; Kalisch, Raffael

2017-07-01

The odds-ratio of smoking is elevated in populations with neuropsychiatric diseases, in particular in the highly prevalent diagnoses of post-traumatic stress and anxiety disorders. Yet, the association between smoking and a key dimensional phenotype of these disorders-maladaptive deficits in fear learning and fear inhibition-is unclear. We therefore investigated acquisition and memory of fear and fear inhibition in healthy smoking and non-smoking participants (N=349, 22% smokers). We employed a well validated paradigm of context-dependent fear and safety learning (day 1) including a memory retrieval on day 2. During fear learning, a geometrical shape was associated with an aversive electrical stimulation (classical fear conditioning, in danger context) and fear responses were extinguished within another context (extinction learning, in safe context). On day 2, the conditioned stimuli were presented again in both contexts, without any aversive stimulation. Autonomic physiological measurements of skin conductance responses as well as subjective evaluations of fear and expectancy of the aversive stimulation were acquired. We found that impairment of fear inhibition (extinction) in the safe context during learning (day 1) was associated with the amount of pack-years in smokers. During retrieval of fear memories (day 2), smokers showed an impairment of contextual (safety context-related) fear inhibition as compared with non-smokers. These effects were found in physiological as well as subjective measures of fear. We provide initial evidence that smokers as compared with non-smokers show an impairment of fear inhibition. We propose that smokers have a deficit in integrating contextual signs of safety, which is a hallmark of post-traumatic stress and anxiety disorders.

Fear of Failure, Self-Handicapping, and Negative Emotions in Response to Failure

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Bartels, Jared M.; Herman, William E.

2011-01-01

Research suggests that students who fear failure are likely to utilize cognitive strategies such as self-handicapping that serve to perpetuate failure. Such devastating motivational dispositions clearly limit academic success. The present study examined negative emotional responses to scenarios involving academic failure among a sample of…

BDNFval66met affects neural activation pattern during fear conditioning and 24 h delayed fear recall.

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Lonsdorf, Tina B; Golkar, Armita; Lindström, Kara M; Haaker, Jan; Öhman, Arne; Schalling, Martin; Ingvar, Martin

2015-05-01

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), the most abundant neutrophin in the mammalian central nervous system, is critically involved in synaptic plasticity. In both rodents and humans, BDNF has been implicated in hippocampus- and amygdala-dependent learning and memory and has more recently been linked to fear extinction processes. Fifty-nine healthy participants, genotyped for the functional BDNFval66met polymorphism, underwent a fear conditioning and 24h-delayed extinction protocol while skin conductance and blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) responses (functional magnetic resonance imaging) were acquired. We present the first report of neural activation pattern during fear acquisition 'and' extinction for the BDNFval66met polymorphism using a differential conditioned stimulus (CS)+ > CS- comparison. During conditioning, we observed heightened allele dose-dependent responses in the amygdala and reduced responses in the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex in BDNFval66met met-carriers. During early extinction, 24h later, we again observed heightened responses in several regions ascribed to the fear network in met-carriers as opposed to val-carriers (insula, amygdala, hippocampus), which likely reflects fear memory recall. No differences were observed during late extinction, which likely reflects learned extinction. Our data thus support previous associations of the BDNFval66met polymorphism with neural activation in the fear and extinction network, but speak against a specific association with fear extinction processes. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

An empirical analysis of Moscovitch's reconceptualised model of social anxiety: How is it different from fear of negative evaluation?

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Kizilcik, Isilay N; Gregory, Bree; Baillie, Andrew J; Crome, Erica

2016-01-01

Cognitive-behavioural models propose that excessive fear of negative evaluation is central to social anxiety. Moscovitch (2009) instead proposes that perceived deficiencies in three self attributes: fears of showing signs of anxiety, deficits in physical appearance, or deficits in social competence are at the core of social anxiety. However, these attributes are likely to overlap with fear of negative evaluation. Responses to an online survey of 286 participants with a range of social anxiety severity were analysed using hierarchical multiple regression to identify the overall unique predictive value of Moscovitch's model. Altogether, Moscovitch's model provided improvements in the prediction of safety behaviours, types of fears and cognitions; however only the fear of showing anxiety subscale provided unique information. This research supports further investigations into the utility of this revised model, particularly related to utility of explicitly assessing and addressing fears of showing anxiety. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

From Pavlov to PTSD: The extinction of conditioned fear in rodents, humans, and in anxiety disorders

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VanElzakker, Michael B.; Dahlgren, M. Kathryn; Davis, F. Caroline; Dubois, Stacey; Shin, Lisa M.

2014-01-01

Nearly 100 years ago, Ivan Pavlov demonstrated that dogs could learn to use a neutral cue to predict a biologically relevant event: after repeated predictive pairings, Pavlov's dogs were conditioned to anticipate food at the sound of a bell, which caused them to salivate. Like sustenance, danger is biologically relevant, and neutral cues can take on great salience when they predict a threat to survival. In anxiety disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), this type of conditioned fear fails to extinguish, and reminders of traumatic events can cause pathological conditioned fear responses for decades after danger has passed. In this review, we use fear conditioning and extinction studies to draw a direct line from Pavlov to PTSD and other anxiety disorders. We explain how rodent studies have informed neuroimaging studies of healthy humans and humans with PTSD. We describe several genes that have been linked to both PTSD and fear conditioning and extinction and explain how abnormalities in fear conditioning or extinction may reflect a general biomarker of anxiety disorders. Finally, we explore drug and neuromodulation treatments that may enhance therapeutic extinction in anxiety disorders. PMID:24321650

Learning to fear a second-order stimulus following vicarious learning

OpenAIRE

Reynolds, G; Field, AP; Askew, C

2015-01-01

Vicarious fear learning refers to the acquisition of fear via observation of the fearful responses of others. The present study aims to extend current knowledge by exploring whether second-order vicarious fear learning can be demonstrated in children. That is, whether vicariously learnt fear responses for one stimulus can be elicited in a second stimulus associated with that initial stimulus. Results demonstrated that children’s (5–11 years) fear responses for marsupials and caterpillars incr...

Fear versus humor: the impact of sensation seeking on physiological, cognitive, and emotional responses to antialcohol abuse messages.

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Lee, Moon J; Shin, Mija

2011-01-01

This study investigates the differences in physiological, cognitive, and emotional responses to existing emotional antialcohol abuse advertisements (fear vs. humor appeal) between high and low sensation seekers. A 2 (Message Type) x 2 (Sensation-Seeking Tendency) x 4 (Message Repetition) mixed-model experiment with repeated measures was conducted with 71 college students. The results, based on self-reports, indicated that fear messages generated more interest and perceived danger of excessive drinking regardless of sensation-seeking tendency, whereas humorous messages were rated as more likeable than fear messages, and the difference was bigger among low sensation seekers than among high sensation seekers. One interesting finding was that for both fear and humor appeals, low sensation seekers showed greater emotional responses (greater corrugators activities and greater zygomatic activities) than high sensation seekers overall. The implications of the current study as well as suggestions for future study were discussed.

The importance of coping, threat appraisal, and beliefs in understanding and responding to fear of victimization: applications to a male prisoner sample.

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Ireland, Jane L

2011-08-01

The current study explores conceptualizations of victimization by men, focusing on threat appraisal, coping appraisal, and beliefs, and seeking to apply protection motivation theory, the applied fear response model, and social cognition. Five hundred and sixty-six male prisoners, comprising adults and adolescents, completed a measure of victimization and perpetration (DIPC-SCALED) and of fear, appraisal, and beliefs (TAB). It was predicted that increased threat appraisal and ineffective coping appraisal would predict increased fear of victimization, particularly among the mutual perpetrator/victim group. This group was expected to select strategies for managing the threat of victimization, which carried more risk to them (e.g., such as an aggressive reaction) and to present with beliefs supporting the use of aggression as a response to victimization. Fear of victimization was predicted by threat and coping appraisal although the deficit for victims appeared in coping appraisal only. Mutual perpetrator/victims presented with a specific difficulty in appraising their ability to cope with threat. Differences in beliefs supporting an aggressive response to threat were also noted across perpetrator and/or victimization groups. The article concludes by outlining the implications for theory and clinical practice.

A model of amygdala-hippocampal-prefrontal interaction in fear conditioning and extinction in animals

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Moustafa, Ahmed A.; Gilbertson, Mark W.; Orr, Scott P.; Herzallah, Mohammad M.; Servatius, Richard. J.; Myers, Catherine E.

2012-01-01

Empirical research has shown that the amygdala, hippocampus, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) are involved in fear conditioning. However, the functional contribution of each brain area and the nature of their interactions are not clearly understood. Here, we extend existing neural network models of the functional roles of the hippocampus in classical conditioning to include interactions with the amygdala and prefrontal cortex. We apply the model to fear conditioning, in which animals learn physiological (e.g. heart rate) and behavioral (e.g. freezing) responses to stimuli that have been paired with a highly aversive event (e.g. electrical shock). The key feature of our model is that learning of these conditioned responses in the central nucleus of the amygdala is modulated by two separate processes, one from basolateral amygdala and signaling a positive prediction error, and one from the vmPFC, via the intercalated cells of the amygdala, and signaling a negative prediction error. In addition, we propose that hippocampal input to both vmPFC and basolateral amygdala is essential for contextual modulation of fear acquisition and extinction. The model is sufficient to account for a body of data from various animal fear conditioning paradigms, including acquisition, extinction, reacquisition, and context specificity effects. Consistent with studies on lesioned animals, our model shows that damage to the vmPFC impairs extinction, while damage to the hippocampus impairs extinction in a different context (e.g., a different conditioning chamber from that used in initial training in animal experiments). We also discuss model limitations and predictions, including the effects of number of training trials on fear conditioning. PMID:23164732

Learning to fear a second-order stimulus following vicarious learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Reynolds, Gemma; Field, Andy P; Askew, Chris

2017-04-01

Vicarious fear learning refers to the acquisition of fear via observation of the fearful responses of others. The present study aims to extend current knowledge by exploring whether second-order vicarious fear learning can be demonstrated in children. That is, whether vicariously learnt fear responses for one stimulus can be elicited in a second stimulus associated with that initial stimulus. Results demonstrated that children's (5-11 years) fear responses for marsupials and caterpillars increased when they were seen with fearful faces compared to no faces. Additionally, the results indicated a second-order effect in which fear-related learning occurred for other animals seen together with the fear-paired animal, even though the animals were never observed with fearful faces themselves. Overall, the findings indicate that for children in this age group vicariously learnt fear-related responses for one stimulus can subsequently be observed for a second stimulus without it being experienced in a fear-related vicarious learning event. These findings may help to explain why some individuals do not recall involvement of a traumatic learning episode in the development of their fear of a specific stimulus.

How trait anxiety, interpretation bias and memory affect acquired fear in children learning about new animals.

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Field, Zoë C; Field, Andy P

2013-06-01

Cognitive models of vulnerability to anxiety propose that information processing biases such as interpretation bias play a part in the etiology and maintenance of anxiety disorders. However, at present little is known about the role of memory in information processing accounts of child anxiety. The current study investigates the relationships between interpretation biases, memory and fear responses when learning about new stimuli. Children (aged 8-11 years) were presented with ambiguous information regarding a novel animal, and their fear, interpretation bias, and memory for the information was measured. The main findings were: (1) trait anxiety and interpretation bias significantly predicted acquired fear; (2) interpretation bias did not significantly mediate the relationship between trait anxiety and acquired fear; (3) interpretation bias appeared to be a more important predictor of acquired fear than trait anxiety per se; and (4) the relationship between interpretation bias and acquired fear was not mediated by the number of negative memories but was mediated by the number of positive and false-positive memories. The findings suggest that information processing models of child anxiety need to explain the role of positive memory in the formation of fear responses.

Skin Conductance Responses and Neural Activations During Fear Conditioning and Extinction Recall Across Anxiety Disorders.

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Marin, Marie-France; Zsido, Rachel G; Song, Huijin; Lasko, Natasha B; Killgore, William D S; Rauch, Scott L; Simon, Naomi M; Milad, Mohammed R

2017-06-01

The fear conditioning and extinction neurocircuitry has been extensively studied in healthy and clinical populations, with a particular focus on posttraumatic stress disorder. Despite significant overlap of symptoms between posttraumatic stress disorder and anxiety disorders, the latter has received less attention. Given that dysregulated fear levels characterize anxiety disorders, examining the neural correlates of fear and extinction learning may shed light on the pathogenesis of underlying anxiety disorders. To investigate the psychophysiological and neural correlates of fear conditioning and extinction recall in anxiety disorders and to document how these features differ as a function of multiple diagnoses or anxiety severity. This investigation was a cross-sectional, case-control, functional magnetic resonance imaging study at an academic medical center. Participants were healthy controls and individuals with at least 1 of the following anxiety disorders: generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, specific phobia, and panic disorder. The study dates were between March 2013 and May 2015. Two-day fear conditioning and extinction paradigm. Skin conductance responses, blood oxygenation level-dependent responses, trait anxiety scores from the State Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait Form, and functional connectivity. This study included 21 healthy controls (10 women) and 61 individuals with anxiety disorders (36 women). P values reported for the neuroimaging results are all familywise error corrected. Skin conductance responses during extinction recall did not differ between individuals with anxiety disorders and healthy controls (ηp2 = 0.001, P = .79), where ηp2 is partial eta squared. The anxiety group had lower activation of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) during extinction recall (ηp2 = 0.178, P = .02). A similar hypoactive pattern was found during early conditioning (ηp2 = 0.106, P = .009). The vmPFC hypoactivation

A new mode of fear expression: perceptual bias in height fear.

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Teachman, Bethany A; Stefanucci, Jeanine K; Clerkin, Elise M; Cody, Meghan W; Proffitt, Dennis R

2008-04-01

Emotion and psychopathology researchers have described the fear response as consisting of four main components--subjective affect, physiology, cognition, and behavior. The current study provides evidence for an additional component in the domain of height fear (perception) and shows that it is distinct from measures of cognitive processing. Individuals High (N = 35) and Low (N = 36) in acrophobic symptoms looked over a two-story balcony ledge and estimated its vertical extent using a direct height estimation task (visual matching), and an indirect task (size estimation); the latter task seems to exhibit little influence from cognitive factors. In addition, implicit and explicit measures of cognitive processing were obtained. Results indicated that, as expected, the High Fear group showed greater relative, implicit height fear associations and explicit threat cognitions. Of primary interest, the High (compared to Low) Fear group estimated the vertical extent to be higher, and judged target sizes to be greater, even when controlling for the cognitive bias measures. These results suggest that emotional factors such as fear are related to perception. (Copyright) 2008 APA.

Specific and social fears in children and adolescents: separating normative fears from problem indicators and phobias.

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Laporte, Paola P; Pan, Pedro M; Hoffmann, Mauricio S; Wakschlag, Lauren S; Rohde, Luis A; Miguel, Euripedes C; Pine, Daniel S; Manfro, Gisele G; Salum, Giovanni A

2017-01-01

To distinguish normative fears from problematic fears and phobias. We investigated 2,512 children and adolescents from a large community school-based study, the High Risk Study for Psychiatric Disorders. Parent reports of 18 fears and psychiatric diagnosis were investigated. We used two analytical approaches: confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)/item response theory (IRT) and nonparametric receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. According to IRT and ROC analyses, social fears are more likely to indicate problems and phobias than specific fears. Most specific fears were normative when mild; all specific fears indicate problems when pervasive. In addition, the situational fear of toilets and people who look unusual were highly indicative of specific phobia. Among social fears, those not restricted to performance and fear of writing in front of others indicate problems when mild. All social fears indicate problems and are highly indicative of social phobia when pervasive. These preliminary findings provide guidance for clinicians and researchers to determine the boundaries that separate normative fears from problem indicators in children and adolescents, and indicate a differential severity threshold for specific and social fears.

Appealing to fear: A Meta-Analysis of Fear Appeal Effectiveness and Theories

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Tannenbaum, Melanie B.; Hepler, Justin; Zimmerman, Rick S.; Saul, Lindsey; Jacobs, Samantha; Wilson, Kristina; Albarracin, Dolores

2018-01-01

Fear appeals are a polarizing issue, with proponents confident in their efficacy and opponents confident that they backfire. We present the results of a comprehensive meta-analysis investigating fear appeals’ effectiveness for influencing attitudes, intentions, and behaviors. We tested predictions from a large number of theories, the majority of which have never been tested meta-analytically until now. Studies were included if they contained a treatment group exposed to a fear appeal, a valid comparison group, a manipulation of depicted fear, a measure of attitudes, intentions, or behaviors concerning the targeted risk or recommended solution, and adequate statistics to calculate effect sizes. The meta-analysis included 127 papers (9% unpublished) yielding 248 independent samples (NTotal = 27,372) collected from diverse populations. Results showed a positive effect of fear appeals on attitudes, intentions, and behaviors, with the average effect on a composite index being random-effects d¯ = 0.29. Moderation analyses based on prominent fear appeal theories showed that the effectiveness of fear appeals increased when the message included efficacy statements, depicted high susceptibility and severity, recommended one-time only (vs. repeated) behaviors, and targeted audiences that included a larger percentage of female message recipients. Overall, we conclude that (a) fear appeals are effective at positively influencing attitude, intentions, and behaviors, (b) there are very few circumstances under which they are not effective, and (c) there are no identified circumstances under which they backfire and lead to undesirable outcomes. PMID:26501228

An experimental demonstration that fear, but not disgust, is associated with return of fear in phobias.

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Edwards, Sarah; Salkovskis, Paul M

2006-01-01

It has been suggested that disgust, rather than anxiety, may be important in some phobias. Correlational studies have been ambiguous, indicating either that disgust increases phobic anxiety or that phobic anxiety potentiates disgust. In the experimental study reported here, disgust and phobic anxiety were manipulated in the context of habituation to phobic stimuli. Spider fearful participants were randomly allocated to conditions in which neutral, disgusting, and phobic anxiety provoking stimuli were introduced into a video-based spider phobic habituation sequence. Exposure to the phobic stimulus resulted in a return of self-reported fear and disgust levels. However, exposure to disgusting stimulus increased disgust levels, but not anxiety levels. Results are most consistent with the hypothesis that fear enhances the disgust response in phobias, but that disgust alone does not enhance the fear response. Previously observed links between disgust and spider phobia may be a consequence of fear enhancing disgust.

Prior fear conditioning does not impede enhanced active avoidance in serotonin transporter knockout rats.

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Schipper, Pieter; Henckens, Marloes J A G; Borghans, Bart; Hiemstra, Marlies; Kozicz, Tamas; Homberg, Judith R

2017-05-30

Stressors can be actively or passively coped with, and adequate adaption of the coping response to environmental conditions can reduce their potential deleterious effects. One major factor influencing stress coping behaviour is serotonin transporter (5-HTT) availability. Abolishment of 5-HTT is known to impair fear extinction but facilitates acquisition of signalled active avoidance (AA), a behavioural task in which an animal learns to avoid an aversive stimulus that is predicted by a cue. Flexibility in adapting coping behaviour to the nature of the stressor shapes resilience to stress-related disorders. Therefore, we investigated the relation between 5-HTT expression and ability to adapt a learned coping response to changing environmental conditions. To this end, we first established and consolidated a cue-conditioned passive fear response in 5-HTT -/- and wildtype rats. Next, we used the conditioned stimulus (CS) to signal oncoming shocks during signalled AA training in 5-HTT -/- and wildtype rats to study their capability to acquire an active coping response to the CS following fear conditioning. Finally, we investigated the behavioural response to the CS in a novel environment and measured freezing, exploration and self-grooming, behaviours reflective of stress coping strategy. We found that fear conditioned and sham conditioned 5-HTT -/- animals acquired the signalled AA response faster than wildtypes, while prior conditioning briefly delayed AA learning similarly in both genotypes. Subsequent exposure to the CS in the novel context reduced freezing and increased locomotion in 5-HTT -/- compared to wildtype rats. This indicates that improved AA performance in 5-HTT -/- rats resulted in a weaker residual passive fear response to the CS in a novel context. Fear conditioning prior to AA training did not affect freezing upon re-encountering the CS, although it did reduce locomotion in 5-HTT -/- rats. We conclude that independent of 5-HTT signalling, prior fear

Fear of moving outdoors and development of outdoor walking difficulty in older people

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rantakokko, Merja; Mänty, Minna; Iwarsson, Susanne

2009-01-01

To study which individual characteristics and environmental factors correlate with fear of moving outdoors and whether fear of moving outdoors predicts development of mobility limitation.......To study which individual characteristics and environmental factors correlate with fear of moving outdoors and whether fear of moving outdoors predicts development of mobility limitation....

The Fear of Positive Evaluation Scale: assessing a proposed cognitive component of social anxiety.

Science.gov (United States)

Weeks, Justin W; Heimberg, Richard G; Rodebaugh, Thomas L

2008-01-01

Cognitive-behavioral models propose that fear of negative evaluation is the core feature of social anxiety disorder. However, it may be that fear of evaluation in general is important in social anxiety, including fears of positive as well as negative evaluation. To test this hypothesis, we developed the Fear of Positive Evaluation Scale (FPES) and conducted analyses to examine the psychometric properties of the FPES, as well as test hypotheses regarding the construct of fear of positive evaluation (FPE). Responses from a large (n = 1711) undergraduate sample were utilized. The reliability, construct validity, and factorial validity of the FPES were examined; the distinction of FPE from fear of negative evaluation was evaluated utilizing confirmatory factor analysis; and the ability of FPE to predict social interaction anxiety above and beyond fear of negative evaluation was assessed. Results provide preliminary support for the psychometric properties of the FPES and the validity of the construct of FPE. The implications of FPE with respect to the study and treatment of social anxiety disorder are discussed.

Specific and social fears in children and adolescents: separating normative fears from problem indicators and phobias

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paola P. Laporte

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Objective: To distinguish normative fears from problematic fears and phobias. Methods: We investigated 2,512 children and adolescents from a large community school-based study, the High Risk Study for Psychiatric Disorders. Parent reports of 18 fears and psychiatric diagnosis were investigated. We used two analytical approaches: confirmatory factor analysis (CFA/item response theory (IRT and nonparametric receiver operating characteristic (ROC curve. Results: According to IRT and ROC analyses, social fears are more likely to indicate problems and phobias than specific fears. Most specific fears were normative when mild; all specific fears indicate problems when pervasive. In addition, the situational fear of toilets and people who look unusual were highly indicative of specific phobia. Among social fears, those not restricted to performance and fear of writing in front of others indicate problems when mild. All social fears indicate problems and are highly indicative of social phobia when pervasive. Conclusion: These preliminary findings provide guidance for clinicians and researchers to determine the boundaries that separate normative fears from problem indicators in children and adolescents, and indicate a differential severity threshold for specific and social fears.

The relation between fearfulness in young and stress-response in adult laying hens, on individual and group level.

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de Haas, Elske N; Kops, Marjolein S; Bolhuis, J Elizabeth; Groothuis, Ton G G; Ellen, Esther D; Rodenburg, T Bas

2012-10-10

Fearfulness of an individual can affect its sensitivity to stress, while at the same time the social situation in which an animal lives can affect its fear level. It is however unknown what the long-term effects of high fearfulness on sensitivity to stress are, on individual or group level in laying hens. We hypothesize that increased fearfulness at a young age results in increased sensitivity to stress at an adult age, and that this relation can differ between groups, due to differences in group composition. Therefore, we studied the relation between fearfulness in an Open Field (OF) test at six weeks of age and plasma-corticosterone (CORT) levels after a 5-min Manual Restraint test (MR) at 33 weeks of age, and assessed behavior in the home pen. We used birds from a low mortality line, selected for four generations on low mortality due to feather pecking and cannibalism and a control line (n=153 in total, eight pens/line). These lines are known to differ in fearfulness and stress physiology. Chicks from the low mortality line were more active in the OF compared to chicks from the control line. Chicks that showed a fearful response (no walking, no vocalizing) in the OF test had higher CORT at 33 weeks of age than chicks that walked and/or vocalized in the OF test and had higher activity in the home pen as adults. On group level, a passive response in the OF was related to high CORT levels after MR. Presence of at least one fearful bird in a group led to higher CORT in the other group mates compared to birds from groups with no fearful birds present. Birds from groups in which more than 50% of birds had severe comb lesions had higher CORT levels compared to birds from groups with less than 50% of birds affected. High fearfulness of laying hen chicks can on individual level have a long-term effect on stress sensitivity. The presence of fearful birds in a group as well as signs of social instability in a group, indicated by comb lesions, can affect sensitivity to

Repeated Recall and PKM? Maintain Fear Memories in Juvenile Rats

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Oliver, Chicora F.; Kabitzke, Patricia; Serrano, Peter; Egan, Laura J.; Barr, Gordon A.; Shair, Harry N.; Wiedenmayer, Christoph

2016-01-01

We examined the neural substrates of fear memory formation and maintenance when repeated recall was used to prevent forgetting in young animals. In contrast to adult rats, juveniles failed to show contextual fear responses at 4 d post-fear conditioning. Reconsolidation sessions 3 and 6 d after conditioning restored contextual fear responses in…

Glycyrrhizin Treatment Facilitates Extinction of Conditioned Fear Responses After a Single Prolonged Stress Exposure in Rats

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Shuhua Lai

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Background/Aims: Impaired fear memory extinction is widely considered a key mechanism of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD. Recent studies have suggested that neuroinflammation after a single prolonged stress (SPS exposure may play a critical role in the impaired fear memory extinction. Studies have shown that high mobility group box chromosomal protein 1 (HMGB-1 is critically involved in neuroinflammation. However, the role of HMGB-1 underlying the development of impairment of fear memory extinction is still not known. Methods: Thus, we examined the levels of HMGB-1 in the basolateral amygdala (BLA following SPS using Western blot and evaluated the levels of microglia and astrocytes activation in the BLA after SPS using immunohistochemical staining. We then examined the effects of pre-SPS intra-BLA administration of glycyrrhizin, an HMGB1 inhibitor, or LPS-RS, a competitive TLR4 antagonist, on subsequent post-SPS fear extinction. Results: We found that SPS treatment prolonged the extinction of contextual fear memory after the SPS. The impairment of SPS-induced extinction of contextual fear memory was associated with increased HMGB1 and Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4 levels in the BLA. Additionally, the impairment of SPS-induced extinction of contextual fear memory was associated with increased activation of microglia and astrocyte in the BLA. Intra-BLA administrations of glycyrrhizin (HMGB-1 inhibitor or LPS-RS (TLR4 antagonist can prevent the development of SPS-induced fear extinction impairment. Conclusion: Taken together, these results suggested that SPS treatment may not only produce short term effects on the HMGB1/TLR4-mediated pro-inflammation, but alter the response of microglia and astrocytes to the exposure to fear associated contextual stimuli.

Glycyrrhizin Treatment Facilitates Extinction of Conditioned Fear Responses After a Single Prolonged Stress Exposure in Rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Shuhua; Wu, Gangwei; Jiang, Zhixian

2018-01-01

Impaired fear memory extinction is widely considered a key mechanism of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Recent studies have suggested that neuroinflammation after a single prolonged stress (SPS) exposure may play a critical role in the impaired fear memory extinction. Studies have shown that high mobility group box chromosomal protein 1 (HMGB-1) is critically involved in neuroinflammation. However, the role of HMGB-1 underlying the development of impairment of fear memory extinction is still not known. Thus, we examined the levels of HMGB-1 in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) following SPS using Western blot and evaluated the levels of microglia and astrocytes activation in the BLA after SPS using immunohistochemical staining. We then examined the effects of pre-SPS intra-BLA administration of glycyrrhizin, an HMGB1 inhibitor, or LPS-RS, a competitive TLR4 antagonist, on subsequent post-SPS fear extinction. We found that SPS treatment prolonged the extinction of contextual fear memory after the SPS. The impairment of SPS-induced extinction of contextual fear memory was associated with increased HMGB1 and Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) levels in the BLA. Additionally, the impairment of SPS-induced extinction of contextual fear memory was associated with increased activation of microglia and astrocyte in the BLA. Intra-BLA administrations of glycyrrhizin (HMGB-1 inhibitor) or LPS-RS (TLR4 antagonist) can prevent the development of SPS-induced fear extinction impairment. Taken together, these results suggested that SPS treatment may not only produce short term effects on the HMGB1/TLR4-mediated pro-inflammation, but alter the response of microglia and astrocytes to the exposure to fear associated contextual stimuli. © 2018 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.

Instructed fear learning, extinction, and recall: additive effects of cognitive information on emotional learning of fear.

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Javanbakht, Arash; Duval, Elizabeth R; Cisneros, Maria E; Taylor, Stephan F; Kessler, Daniel; Liberzon, Israel

2017-08-01

The effects of instruction on learning of fear and safety are rarely studied. We aimed to examine the effects of cognitive information and experience on fear learning. Fourty healthy participants, randomly assigned to three groups, went through fear conditioning, extinction learning, and extinction recall with two conditioned stimuli (CS+). Information was presented about the presence or absence of conditioned stimulus-unconditioned stimulus (CS-US) contingency at different stages of the experiment. Information about the CS-US contingency prior to fear conditioning enhanced fear response and reduced extinction recall. Information about the absence of CS-US contingency promoted extinction learning and recall, while omission of this information prior to recall resulted in fear renewal. These findings indicate that contingency information can facilitate fear expression during fear learning, and can facilitate extinction learning and recall. Information seems to function as an element of the larger context in which conditioning occurs.

Exposure and non-fear emotions: A randomized controlled study of exposure-based and rescripting-based imagery in PTSD treatment.

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Langkaas, Tomas Formo; Hoffart, Asle; Øktedalen, Tuva; Ulvenes, Pål G; Hembree, Elizabeth A; Smucker, Mervin

2017-10-01

Interventions involving rescripting-based imagery have been proposed as a better approach than exposure-based imagery when posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with emotions other than fear. Prior research led to the study's hypotheses that (a) higher pretreatment non-fear emotions would predict relatively better response to rescripting as compared to exposure, (b) rescripting would be associated with greater reduction in non-fear emotions, and (c) pretreatment non-fear emotions would predict poor response to exposure. A clinically representative sample of 65 patients presenting a wide range of traumas was recruited from patients seeking and being offered PTSD treatment in an inpatient setting. Subjects were randomly assigned to 10 weeks of treatment involving either rescripting-based imagery (Imagery Rescripting; IR) or exposure-based imagery (Prolonged Exposure; PE). Patients were assessed on outcome and emotion measures at pretreatment, posttreatment and 12 months follow-up. Comparison to control benchmarks indicated that both treatments were effective, but no outcome differences between them appeared. None of the initial hypotheses were supported. The results from this study challenge previous observations and hypotheses about exposure mainly being effective for fear-based PTSD and strengthen the notion that exposure-based treatment is a generally effective treatment for all types of PTSD. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Falls and fear of falling predict future falls and related injuries in ambulatory individuals with spinal cord injury: a longitudinal observational study

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Vivien Jørgensen

2017-04-01

Conclusion: Ambulatory individuals have a high risk of falling and of fall-related injuries. Fall history, fear of falling and walking speed could predict recurrent falls and injurious falls. Further studies with larger samples are needed to validate these findings. [Jørgensen V, Butler Forslund E, Opheim A, Franzén E, Wahman K, Hultling C, Seiger Å, Ståhle A, Stanghelle JK, Roaldsen KS (2017 Falls and fear of falling predict future falls and related injuries in ambulatory individuals with spinal cord injury: a longitudinal observational study. Journal of Physiotherapy 63: 108–113

The fragrant power of collective fear.

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Roa Harb

Full Text Available Fear is a well-characterized biological response to threatening or stressful situations in humans and other social animals. Importantly, fearful stimuli in the natural environment are likely to be encountered concurrently by a group of animals. The modulation of fear acquisition and fear memory by a group as opposed to an individual experience, however, remains largely unknown. Here, we demonstrate a robust reduction in fear memory to an aversive event undertaken in a group despite similar fear learning between individually- and group-conditioned rats. This reduction persists outside the group confines, appears to be a direct outcome of group cognizance and is counteracted by loss of olfactory signaling among the group members. These results show that a group experience of fear can be protective and suggest that distinct neural pathways from those classically studied in individuals modulate collective fear memories.

Fear and disgust in women: Differentiation of cardiovascular regulation patterns.

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Comtesse, Hannah; Stemmler, Gerhard

2017-02-01

Both fear and disgust facilitate avoidance of threat. From a functional view, however, cardiovascular responses to fear and disgust should differ as they prepare for appropriate behavior to protect from injury and infection, respectively. Therefore, we examined the cardiovascular responses to fear and contamination-related disgust in comparison to an emotionally neutral state induced with auditory scripts and film clips in female participants. Ten emotion and motivation self-reports and ninecardiovascular response factors derived from 23 cardiovascular variables served as dependent variables. Self-reports confirmed the specific induction of fear and disgust. In addition, fear and disgust differed in their cardiovascular response patterning. For fear, we observed specific increases in factors indicating vasoconstriction and cardiac pump function. For disgust, we found specific increases in vagal cardiac control and decreases in myocardial contractility. These findings provide support for the cardiovascular specificity of fear and disgust and are discussed in terms of a basic emotions approach. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

The central amygdala circuits in fear regulation

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Li, Bo

The amygdala is essential for fear learning and expression. The central amygdala (CeA), once viewed as a passive relay between the amygdala complex and downstream fear effectors, has emerged as an active participant in fear conditioning. However, how the CeA contributes to the learning and expression of fear remains unclear. Our recent studies in mice indicate that fear conditioning induces robust plasticity of excitatory synapses onto inhibitory neurons in the lateral subdivision of CeA (CeL). In particular, this plasticity is cell-type specific and is required for the formation of fear memory. In addition, sensory cues that predict threat can cause activation of the somatostatin-positive CeL neurons, which is sufficient to drive freezing behavior. Here I will report our recent findings regarding the circuit and cellular mechanisms underlying CeL function in fear processing.

Duration of inhibition of ventral tegmental area dopamine neurons encodes a level of conditioned fear.

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Mileykovskiy, Boris; Morales, Marisela

2011-05-18

It is widely accepted that midbrain dopamine (DA) neurons encode actual and expected reward values by phasic alterations in firing rate. However, how DA neurons encode negative events in the environment is still unclear because some DA neurons appear to be depressed and others excited by aversive stimuli. Here, we show that exposing fear-conditioned rats to stimuli predicting electrical shock elicited three types of biphasic responses, each of which contained an inhibitory pause, in neurochemically identified ventral tegmental area (VTA) DA neurons. The duration of the inhibitory pause in these responses of VTA DA neurons was in direct proportion to the increase in respiratory rate reflecting the level of conditioned fear. Our results suggest that the duration of inhibition of VTA DA neurons encodes negative emotional values of signals predicting aversive events in the environment.

Bilateral Alternating Auditory Stimulations Facilitate Fear Extinction and Retrieval

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Sarah Boukezzi

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Disruption of fear conditioning, its extinction and its retrieval are at the core of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD. Such deficits, especially fear extinction delay, disappear after alternating bilateral stimulations (BLS during eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR therapy. An animal model of fear recovery, based on auditory cued fear conditioning and extinction learning, recently showed that BLS facilitate fear extinction and fear extinction retrieval. Our goal was to determine if these previous results found in animals can be reproduced in humans. Twenty-two healthy participants took part in a classical fear conditioning, extinction, and extinction recall paradigm. Behavioral responses (fear expectations as well as psychophysiological measures (skin conductance responses, SCRs were recorded. The results showed a significant fear expectation decrease during fear extinction with BLS. Additionally, SCR for fear extinction retrieval were significantly lower with BLS. Our results demonstrate the importance of BLS to reduce negative emotions, and provide a successful model to further explore the neural mechanisms underlying the sole BLS effect in the EMDR.

Effects of chemogenetic excitation or inhibition of the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray on the acquisition and extinction of Pavlovian fear conditioning.

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Arico, Carolyn; Bagley, Elena E; Carrive, Pascal; Assareh, Neda; McNally, Gavan P

2017-10-01

The midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG) has been implicated in the generation and transmission of a prediction error signal that instructs amygdala-based fear and extinction learning. However, the PAG also plays a key role in the expression of conditioned fear responses. The evidence for a role of the PAG in fear learning and extinction learning has been obtained almost exclusively using PAG-dependent fear responses. It is less clear whether the PAG regulates fear learning when other measures of learned fear are used. Here we combined a chemogenetic approach, permitting excitation or inhibition of neurons in the ventrolateral PAG (VLPAG), with conditioned suppression as the measure of learned fear to assess the role of VLPAG in the acquisition and extinction of fear learning. We show that chemogenetic excitation of VLPAG (with some encroachment on lateral PAG [LPAG]) impairs acquisition of fear and, conversely, chemogenetic inhibition impairs extinction of fear. These effects on fear and extinction learning were specific to the combination of DREADD expression and injection of CNO because they were observed relative to both eYFP controls injected with CNO as well as DREADD expressing controls injected with vehicle. Taken together, these results show that activity of L/VLPAG neurons regulates both the acquisition and extinction of Pavlovian fear learning. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Distinct Contributions of Median Raphe Nucleus to Contextual Fear Conditioning and Fear-Potentiated Startle

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Silva, R. C. B.; Cruz, A. P. M.; Avanzi, V.; Landeira-Fernandez, J.; Brandão, M. L.

2002-01-01

Ascending 5-HT projections from the median raphe nucleus (MRN), probably to the hippocampus, are implicated in the acquisition of contextual fear (background stimuli), as assessed by freezing behavior. Foreground cues like light, used as a conditioned stimulus (CS) in classical fear conditioning, also cause freezing through thalamic transmission to the amygdala. As the MRN projects to the hippocampus and amygdala, the role of this raphe nucleus in fear conditioning to explicit cues remains to be explained. Here we analyzed the behavior of rats with MRN electrolytic lesions in a contextual conditioning situation and in a fear-potentiated startle procedure. The animals received MRN electrolytic lesions either before or on the day after two consecutive training sessions in which they were submitted to 10 conditioning trials, each in an experimental chamber (same context) where they. received foot-shocks (0.6 mA, 1 sec) paired to a 4-sec light CS. Seven to ten days later, the animals were submitted to testing sessions for assessing conditioned fear when they were placed for five shocks, and the duration of contextual freezing was recorded. The animals were then submitted to a fear-potentiated startle in response to a 4-sec light-CS, followed by white noise (100 dB, 50 ms). Control rats (sham) tested in the same context showed more freezing than did rats with pre- or post-training MRN lesions. Startle was clearly potentiated in the presence of light CS in the sham-lesioned animals. Whereas pretraining lesions reduced both freezing and fear-potentiated startle, the post-training lesions reduced only freezing to context, without changing the fear-potentiated startle. In a second experiment, neurotoxic lesions of the MRN with local injections of N-methyl-D-aspartate or the activation of 5-HT1A somatodendritic auto-receptors of the MRN by microinjections of the 5-HT1A receptor agonist 8-hydroxy- 2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin (8-OH-DPAT) before the training sessions also

Remembering the object you fear: brain potentials during recognition of spiders in spider-fearful individuals.

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Michalowski, Jaroslaw M; Weymar, Mathias; Hamm, Alfons O

2014-01-01

In the present study we investigated long-term memory for unpleasant, neutral and spider pictures in 15 spider-fearful and 15 non-fearful control individuals using behavioral and electrophysiological measures. During the initial (incidental) encoding, pictures were passively viewed in three separate blocks and were subsequently rated for valence and arousal. A recognition memory task was performed one week later in which old and new unpleasant, neutral and spider pictures were presented. Replicating previous results, we found enhanced memory performance and higher confidence ratings for unpleasant when compared to neutral materials in both animal fearful individuals and controls. When compared to controls high animal fearful individuals also showed a tendency towards better memory accuracy and significantly higher confidence during recognition of spider pictures, suggesting that memory of objects prompting specific fear is also facilitated in fearful individuals. In line, spider-fearful but not control participants responded with larger ERP positivity for correctly recognized old when compared to correctly rejected new spider pictures, thus showing the same effects in the neural signature of emotional memory for feared objects that were already discovered for other emotional materials. The increased fear memory for phobic materials observed in the present study in spider-fearful individuals might result in an enhanced fear response and reinforce negative beliefs aggravating anxiety symptomatology and hindering recovery.

Fear of death.

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Penson, Richard T; Partridge, Rosamund A; Shah, Muhammad A; Giansiracusa, David; Chabner, Bruce A; Lynch, Thomas J

2005-02-01

Shortly before his death in 1995, Kenneth B. Schwartz, a cancer patient at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) founded The Kenneth B. Schwartz Center at MGH. The Schwartz Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and advancing compassionate health care delivery, which provides hope to the patient and support to caregivers and encourages the healing process. The center sponsors the Schwartz Center Rounds, a monthly multidisciplinary forum where caregivers reflect on important psychosocial issues faced by patients, their families, and their caregivers, and gain insight and support from fellow staff members. For many, cancer is synonymous with death. Fearing death is a rational response. For too long, medicine has ignored this primeval fear. Increasingly, clinicians recognize and address end-of-life issues, facing patients' and our own emotional vulnerabilities in order to connect and explore problems and fears. Listening and learning from the patient guides us as we acknowledge much of the mystery that still surrounds the dying process. Rarely is there a simple or right answer. An empathetic response to suffering patients is the best support. Support is vital in fostering the adjustment of patients. A silent presence may prove more helpful than well-meant counsel for many patients. Through an examination of eight caregiver narratives of their patients' experiences, the role of the health care provider in the dying process, particularly in regard to challenging fear, is reviewed.

Evaluating differences in Pavlovian fear acquisition and extinction as predictors of outcome from cognitive behavioural therapy for anxious children.

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Waters, Allison M; Pine, Daniel S

2016-07-01

Extinction is a key theoretical model of exposure-based treatments, such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). This study examined whether individual differences in physiological responses and subjective stimulus evaluations as indices of fear extinction predicted response to CBT. Thirty-two nonanxious comparisons and 44 anxious, 7-to-13-year-old children completed a Pavlovian conditioning and extinction task. Anxious children then completed group-based CBT. Skin conductance responses (SCRs) as well as subjective arousal and valence evaluations were measured in response to a conditioned stimulus paired with an aversive tone (CS+) and another conditioned stimulus presented alone (CS-). Both stimuli were presented alone during extinction. Diagnostic and symptom measures were completed before and after treatment. Like nonanxious comparisons, treatment responders did not acquire conditioned negative stimulus evaluations and displayed elevated SCRs that declined significantly across extinction trials. Nonresponders, by contrast, showed elevated negative stimulus evaluations of both CSs that were sensitive to extinction trials but showed no change in SCRs during extinction. Change in physiological but not evaluative indices of fear extinction predicted better treatment outcomes. Individual differences in evaluative and physiological indices of fear extinction might moderate response to CBT. © 2016 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Social transmission of Pavlovian fear: fear-conditioning by-proxy in related female rats.

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Jones, Carolyn E; Riha, Penny D; Gore, Andrea C; Monfils, Marie-H

2014-05-01

Pairing a previously neutral conditioned stimulus (CS; e.g., a tone) to an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US; e.g., a foot-shock) leads to associative learning such that the tone alone will elicit a conditioned response (e.g., freezing). Individuals can also acquire fear from a social context, such as through observing the fear expression of a conspecific. In the current study, we examined the influence of kinship/familiarity on social transmission of fear in female rats. Rats were housed in triads with either sisters or non-related females. One rat from each cage was fear conditioned to a tone CS+ shock US. On day two, the conditioned rat was returned to the chamber accompanied by one of her cage mates. Both rats were allowed to behave freely, while the tone was played in the absence of the foot-shock. The previously untrained rat is referred to as the fear-conditioned by-proxy (FCbP) animal, as she would freeze based on observations of her cage-mate's response rather than due to direct personal experience with the foot-shock. The third rat served as a cage-mate control. The third day, long-term memory tests to the CS were performed. Consistent with our previous application of this paradigm in male rats (Bruchey et al. in Behav Brain Res 214(1):80-84, 2010), our results revealed that social interactions between the fear conditioned and FCbP rats on day two contribute to freezing displayed by the FCbP rats on day three. In this experiment, prosocial behavior occurring at the termination of the cue on day two was significantly greater between sisters than their non-sister counterparts, and this behavior resulted in increased freezing on day three. Our results suggest that familiarity and/or kinship influences the social transmission of fear in female rats.

A Fear Management Approach to Counter-Terrorism

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Tinka Veldhuis

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Spreading fear is the essence of terrorism. Terrorists exploit fear by terrorising the target audience into concessions. Understanding how feelings of fear influence the way people feel, think and act is therefore an important starting point to explore how individuals and societies can learn how to cope with fear of terrorism. In this Policy Brief, Research Fellows Prof. Dr. Edwin Bakker and Dr. Tinka Veldhuis explore the dynamics of fear in response to terrorism, and emphasise the importance of integrating initiatives to manage fear of terrorism and reduce its negative consequences into overarching counter-terrorism strategies. It argues that societies can benefit greatly from promoting resilience and a fear management approach to counter-terrorism.

Do Jews and Arabs Differ in Their Fear of Terrorism and Crime?

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Shechory Bitton, Mally; Silawi, Yousef

2016-10-01

The current study was carried out with the aim of supplementing the existing literature and broadening the understanding of the determinants of two powerful types of fear, fear of terrorism and fear of crime, by comparing their presence among Jews and Arabs in Israel. Based on an overview of factors influencing fear of victimization, the study focused on individual variables (ethnicity, sex, age, objective, and subjective exposure) as well as on neighborhood disorder and social integration. The sample consisted of 375 Israeli students (191 Jews and 184 Arabs). Predictions of fear of terrorism and crime were conducted with two multiple regressions. Fear of terrorism was significantly predicted by gender (women more than men), higher self exposure to terror, and higher neighborhood disorder. The only interaction found with regard to exposure to incidents showed that previous victimization predicts only fear of terrorism and only among Arabs who were themselves affected or exposed to the victimization of others. Fear of crime was predicted by sector (Jews more than Arabs), gender (women more than men), higher neighborhood disorder, and lower social integration. As far as known, this is the first attempt to examine differences between Jews and Arabs with regard to these two types of fear and to predict their causes. The findings help gain a better understanding as to how people perceive the threat of crime and terrorism, in general and in the Arab-Jewish context in particular. The findings also enable an understanding of the complexity of living under ongoing terrorism threats. The results are discussed in accordance with the literature, concluding with the need for further research that will take into account the wider cultural and social context.

5-HTTLPR differentially predicts brain network responses to emotional faces

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Fisher, Patrick M; Grady, Cheryl L; Madsen, Martin K

2015-01-01

The effects of the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism on neural responses to emotionally salient faces have been studied extensively, focusing on amygdala reactivity and amygdala-prefrontal interactions. Despite compelling evidence that emotional face paradigms engage a distributed network of brain regions...... to fearful faces was significantly greater in S' carriers compared to LA LA individuals. These findings provide novel evidence for emotion-specific 5-HTTLPR effects on the response of a distributed set of brain regions including areas responsive to emotionally salient stimuli and critical components...... involved in emotion, cognitive and visual processing, less is known about 5-HTTLPR effects on broader network responses. To address this, we evaluated 5-HTTLPR differences in the whole-brain response to an emotional faces paradigm including neutral, angry and fearful faces using functional magnetic...

Developmental aspects of fear: Comparing the acquisition and generalization of conditioned fear in children and adults.

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Schiele, Miriam A; Reinhard, Julia; Reif, Andreas; Domschke, Katharina; Romanos, Marcel; Deckert, Jürgen; Pauli, Paul

2016-05-01

Most research on human fear conditioning and its generalization has focused on adults whereas only little is known about these processes in children. Direct comparisons between child and adult populations are needed to determine developmental risk markers of fear and anxiety. We compared 267 children and 285 adults in a differential fear conditioning paradigm and generalization test. Skin conductance responses (SCR) and ratings of valence and arousal were obtained to indicate fear learning. Both groups displayed robust and similar differential conditioning on subjective and physiological levels. However, children showed heightened fear generalization compared to adults as indexed by higher arousal ratings and SCR to the generalization stimuli. Results indicate overgeneralization of conditioned fear as a developmental correlate of fear learning. The developmental change from a shallow to a steeper generalization gradient is likely related to the maturation of brain structures that modulate efficient discrimination between danger and (ambiguous) safety cues. © 2016 The Authors. Developmental Psychobiology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The basolateral amygdala can mediate the effects of fear memory on sleep independently of fear behavior and the peripheral stress response.

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Wellman, Laurie L; Fitzpatrick, Mairen E; Hallum, Olga Y; Sutton, Amy M; Williams, Brook L; Sanford, Larry D

2017-01-01

Fear conditioning associated with inescapable shock training (ST) and fearful context re-exposure (CR) alone can produce significant behavioral fear, a stress response and alterations in subsequent REM sleep. These alterations may vary among animals and are mediated by the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala (BLA). Here, we used the GABA A agonist, muscimol (Mus), to inactivate BLA prior to CR and examined the effects on sleep, freezing and stress-induced hyperthermia (SIH). Wistar rats (n=28) were implanted with electrodes for recording sleep, data loggers for recording core body temperature, and with cannulae aimed bilaterally into BLA. After recovery, the animals were habituated to the injection procedure and baseline sleep was recorded. On experimental day 1, rats received ST (20 footshocks, 0.8mA, 0.5s duration, 60s interstimulus interval). On experimental day 7, the rats received microinjections (0.5μl) into BLA of either Mus (1.0μM; n=13) or vehicle (Veh; n=15) prior to CR (CR1). On experimental day 21, the animals experienced a second CR (CR2) without Mus. For analysis, the rats were separated into 4 groups: (Veh-vulnerable (Veh-Vul; n=8), Veh-resilient (Veh-Res; n=7), Mus-vulnerable (Mus-Vul; n=7), and Mus-resilient (Mus-Res; n=6)) based on whether or not REM was decreased, compared to baseline, during the first 4h following ST. Pre-CR1 inactivation of BLA did not alter freezing or SIH, but did block the reduction in REM in the Mus-Vul group compared to the Veh-Vul group. These data indicate that BLA is an important region for mediating the effects of fearful memories on sleep. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Oxytocin differentially modulates pavlovian cue and context fear acquisition.

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Cavalli, Juliana; Ruttorf, Michaela; Pahi, Mario Rosero; Zidda, Francesca; Flor, Herta; Nees, Frauke

2017-06-01

Fear acquisition and extinction have been demonstrated as core mechanisms for the development and maintenance of mental disorders, with different contributions of processing cues vs contexts. The hypothalamic peptide oxytocin (OXT) may have a prominent role in this context, as it has been shown to affect fear learning. However, investigations have focused on cue conditioning, and fear extinction. Its differential role for cue and context fear acquisition is still not known. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo (PLC)-controlled design, we administered an intranasal dose of OXT or PLC before the acquisition of cue and context fear conditioning in healthy individuals (n = 52), and assessed brain responses, skin conductance responses and self-reports (valence/arousal/contingency). OXT compared with PLC significantly induced decreased responses in the nucleus accumbens during early cue and context acquisition, and decreased responses of the anterior cingulate cortex and insula during early as well as increased hippocampal response during late context, but not cue acquisition. The OXT group additionally showed significantly higher arousal in late cue and context acquisition. OXT modulates various aspects of cue and context conditioning, which is relevant from a mechanism-based perspective and might have implications for the treatment of fear and anxiety. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press.

The Prelimbic Cortex Directs Attention toward Predictive Cues during Fear Learning

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Sharpe, Melissa J.; Killcross, Simon

2015-01-01

The prelimbic cortex is argued to promote conditioned fear expression, at odds with appetitive research implicating this region in attentional processing. Consistent with an attentional account, we report that the effect of prelimbic lesions on fear expression depends on the degree of competition between contextual and discrete cues. Further, when…

Ongoing neurogenesis in the adult dentate gyrus mediates behavioral responses to ambiguous threat cues.

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Lucas R Glover

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Fear learning is highly adaptive if utilized in appropriate situations but can lead to generalized anxiety if applied too widely. A role of predictive cues in inhibiting fear generalization has been suggested by stress and fear learning studies, but the effects of partially predictive cues (ambiguous cues and the neuronal populations responsible for linking the predictive ability of cues and generalization of fear responses are unknown. Here, we show that inhibition of adult neurogenesis in the mouse dentate gyrus decreases hippocampal network activation and reduces defensive behavior to ambiguous threat cues but has neither of these effects if the same negative experience is reliably predicted. Additionally, we find that this ambiguity related to negative events determines their effect on fear generalization, that is, how the events affect future behavior under novel conditions. Both new neurons and glucocorticoid hormones are required for the enhancement of fear generalization following an unpredictably cued threat. Thus, adult neurogenesis plays a central role in the adaptive changes resulting from experience involving unpredictable or ambiguous threat cues, optimizing behavior in novel and uncertain situations.

Heritability of fear: Ukrainian experience

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O.V. Filiptsova

2014-10-01

Conclusions: The conducted research demonstrated genetic component presence for nine types of fear – psychic disorder development, complications in personal life, making responsible decisions, senility, closed spaces, sexual dysfunction, suicide commission, speaking in public, and aggressive behavior possibility to relatives. It helps to consider these fear perspectives for further molecular-genetic analysis in Ukraine.

Contextual fear conditioning in virtual reality is affected by 5HTTLPR and NPSR1 polymorphisms: effects on fear-potentiated startle

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Evelyn eGlotzbach-Schoon

2013-04-01

Full Text Available The serotonin (5-HT and neuropeptide S (NPS systems are discussed as important genetic modulators of fear and sustained anxiety contributing to the etiology of anxiety disorders. Sustained anxiety is a crucial characteristic of most anxiety disorders which likely develops through context conditioning. This study investigated if and how genetic alterations of the 5-HT and the NPS systems as well as their interaction modulate contextual fear conditioning; specifically, function polymorphic variants in the genes coding for the 5-HT transporter (5HTT and the NPS receptor (NPSR1 were studied. A large group of healthy volunteers was therefore stratified for 5HTTLPR (S+ vs. LL carriers and NPSR1 rs324981 (T+ vs. AA carriers polymorphisms resulting in four genotype groups (S+/T+, S+/AA, LL/T+, LL/AA of 20 participants each. All participants underwent contextual fear conditioning and extinction using a virtual reality paradigm. During acquisition, one virtual office room (anxiety context, CXT+ was paired with an unpredictable electric stimulus (unconditioned stimulus, US, whereas another virtual office room was not paired with any US (safety context, CXT-. During extinction no US was administered. Anxiety responses were quantified by fear-potentiated startle and ratings. Most importantly, we found a gene × gene interaction on fear-potentiated startle. Only carriers of both risk alleles (S+/T+ exhibited higher startle responses in CXT+ compared to CXT-. In contrast, anxiety ratings were only influenced by the NPSR1 polymorphism with AA carriers showing higher anxiety ratings in CXT+ as compared to CXT-. Our results speak in favor of a two level account of fear conditioning with diverging effects on implicit vs. explicit fear responses. Contextual fear reflected in potentiated startle responses may be an endophenotype for anxiety disorders.

Modification of Fear Memory by Pharmacological and Behavioural Interventions during Reconsolidation.

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Thome, Janine; Koppe, Georgia; Hauschild, Sophie; Liebke, Lisa; Schmahl, Christian; Lis, Stefanie; Bohus, Martin

2016-01-01

Dysfunctional fear responses play a central role in many mental disorders. New insights in learning and memory suggest that pharmacological and behavioural interventions during the reconsolidation of reactivated fear memories may increase the efficacy of therapeutic interventions. It has been proposed that interventions applied during reconsolidation may modify the original fear memory, and thus prevent the spontaneous recovery and reinstatement of the fear response. We investigated whether pharmacological (propranolol) and behavioural (reappraisal, multisensory stimulation) interventions reduce fear memory, and prevent reinstatement of fear in comparison to a placebo control group. Eighty healthy female subjects underwent a differential fear conditioning procedure with three stimuli (CS). Two of these (CS+) were paired with an electric shock on day 1. On day 2, 20 subjects were pseudo-randomly assigned to either the propranolol or placebo condition, or underwent one of the two behavioural interventions after one of the two CS+ was reactivated. On day 3, all subjects underwent an extinction phase, followed by a reinstatement test. Dependent variables were US expectancy ratings, fear-potentiated startle, and skin conductance response. Differential fear responses to the reactivated and non-reactivated CS+ were observed only in the propranolol condition. Here, the non-reactivated CS+ evoked stronger fear-potentiated startle-responses compared to the placebo group. None of the interventions prevented the return of the extinguished fear response after re-exposure to the unconditioned stimulus. Our data are in line with an increasing body of research stating that the occurrence of reconsolidation may be constrained by boundary conditions such as subtle differences in experimental manipulations and instructions. In conclusion, our findings do not support a beneficial effect in using reconsolidation processes to enhance effects of psychotherapeutic interventions. This

Modification of Fear Memory by Pharmacological and Behavioural Interventions during Reconsolidation

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Thome, Janine; Koppe, Georgia; Hauschild, Sophie; Liebke, Lisa; Schmahl, Christian; Lis, Stefanie; Bohus, Martin

2016-01-01

Background Dysfunctional fear responses play a central role in many mental disorders. New insights in learning and memory suggest that pharmacological and behavioural interventions during the reconsolidation of reactivated fear memories may increase the efficacy of therapeutic interventions. It has been proposed that interventions applied during reconsolidation may modify the original fear memory, and thus prevent the spontaneous recovery and reinstatement of the fear response. Methods We investigated whether pharmacological (propranolol) and behavioural (reappraisal, multisensory stimulation) interventions reduce fear memory, and prevent reinstatement of fear in comparison to a placebo control group. Eighty healthy female subjects underwent a differential fear conditioning procedure with three stimuli (CS). Two of these (CS+) were paired with an electric shock on day 1. On day 2, 20 subjects were pseudo-randomly assigned to either the propranolol or placebo condition, or underwent one of the two behavioural interventions after one of the two CS+ was reactivated. On day 3, all subjects underwent an extinction phase, followed by a reinstatement test. Dependent variables were US expectancy ratings, fear-potentiated startle, and skin conductance response. Results Differential fear responses to the reactivated and non-reactivated CS+ were observed only in the propranolol condition. Here, the non-reactivated CS+ evoked stronger fear-potentiated startle-responses compared to the placebo group. None of the interventions prevented the return of the extinguished fear response after re-exposure to the unconditioned stimulus. Conclusions Our data are in line with an increasing body of research stating that the occurrence of reconsolidation may be constrained by boundary conditions such as subtle differences in experimental manipulations and instructions. In conclusion, our findings do not support a beneficial effect in using reconsolidation processes to enhance effects of

Triggers of fear: perceptual cues versus conceptual information in spider phobia.

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Peperkorn, Henrik M; Alpers, Georg W; Mühlberger, Andreas

2014-07-01

Fear reactions in spider-phobic patients can be activated by specific perceptual cues or by conceptual fear-related information. Matching perceptual fear cues and fear-related information were expected to result in maximal fear responses, perceptual fear cues alone in less fear, and information alone in the weakest responses. We used virtual reality to manipulate the available cues and information. Forty-eight phobic patients and 48 healthy participants were repeatedly exposed to either a perceptual cue, information, or a combination of both. In conditions with a fear-relevant perceptual cue, phobic patients reported increased fear compared to the condition with information only. Across exposures trials, these reactions diminished. Skin conductance in phobic patients was significantly higher in the combined than in the cue or the information condition. Perceptual cues are essential for phobic fear reactions in spider phobia. In combination with fear-relevant information, perceptual cues activate an intense and persistent fear reaction. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Does fear extinction in the laboratory predict outcomes of exposure therapy? A treatment analog study.

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Forcadell, Eduard; Torrents-Rodas, David; Vervliet, Bram; Leiva, David; Tortella-Feliu, Miquel; Fullana, Miquel A

2017-11-01

Fear extinction models have a key role in our understanding of anxiety disorders and their treatment with exposure therapy. Here, we tested whether individual differences in fear extinction learning and fear extinction recall in the laboratory were associated with the outcomes of an exposure therapy analog (ETA). Fifty adults with fear of spiders participated in a two-day fear-learning paradigm assessing fear extinction learning and fear extinction recall, and then underwent a brief ETA. Correlational analyses indicated that enhanced extinction learning was associated with better ETA outcome. Our results partially support the idea that individual differences in fear extinction learning may be associated with exposure therapy outcome, but suggest that further research in this area is needed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Disgust domains in the prediction of contamination fear.

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Olatunji, BO; Sawchuk, CN; Lohr, JM; de Jong, PJ

Previous research has shown a relationship between the emotion of disgust and the fear of contamination. Heightened sensitivity to disgust and increased concerns over contamination has been observed in various disorders, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and specific phobias. However,

Neural correlates of fear: insights from neuroimaging

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Garfinkel SN

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Sarah N Garfinkel,1,2 Hugo D Critchley1,2 1Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, 2Department of Psychiatry, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK Abstract: Fear anticipates a challenge to one's well-being and is a reaction to the risk of harm. The expression of fear in the individual is a constellation of physiological, behavioral, cognitive, and experiential responses. Fear indicates risk and will guide adaptive behavior, yet fear is also fundamental to the symptomatology of most psychiatric disorders. Neuroimaging studies of normal and abnormal fear in humans extend knowledge gained from animal experiments. Neuroimaging permits the empirical evaluation of theory (emotions as response tendencies, mental states, and valence and arousal dimensions, and improves our understanding of the mechanisms of how fear is controlled by both cognitive processes and bodily states. Within the human brain, fear engages a set of regions that include insula and anterior cingulate cortices, the amygdala, and dorsal brain-stem centers, such as periaqueductal gray matter. This same fear matrix is also implicated in attentional orienting, mental planning, interoceptive mapping, bodily feelings, novelty and motivational learning, behavioral prioritization, and the control of autonomic arousal. The stereotyped expression of fear can thus be viewed as a special construction from combinations of these processes. An important motivator for understanding neural fear mechanisms is the debilitating clinical expression of anxiety. Neuroimaging studies of anxiety patients highlight the role of learning and memory in pathological fear. Posttraumatic stress disorder is further distinguished by impairment in cognitive control and contextual memory. These processes ultimately need to be targeted for symptomatic recovery. Neuroscientific knowledge of fear has broader relevance to understanding human and societal behavior. As yet, only some of

Effect of vicarious fear learning on children's heart rate responses and attentional bias for novel animals

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Reynolds, G; Field, AP; Askew, C

2014-01-01

Research with children has shown that vicarious learning can result in changes to 2 of Lang's (1968) 3 anxiety response systems: subjective report and behavioral avoidance. The current study extended this research by exploring the effect of vicarious learning on physiological responses (Lang's final response system) and attentional bias. The study used Askew and Field's (2007) vicarious learning procedure and demonstrated fear-related increases in children's cognitive, behavioral, and physiol...

Impact of Psychopathy on Moral Judgments about Causing Fear and Physical Harm.

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Elise M Cardinale

Full Text Available Psychopathy is a personality variable associated with persistent immoral behaviors. Despite this, attempts to link moral reasoning deficits to psychopathic traits have yielded mixed results with many findings supporting intact moral reasoning in individuals with psychopathic traits. Abundant evidence shows that psychopathy impairs responses to others' emotional distress. However, most studies of morality and psychopathy focus on judgments about causing others physical harm. Results of such studies may be inconsistent because physical harm is an imperfect proxy for emotional distress. No previous paradigm has explicitly separated judgments about physical harm and emotional distress and assessed how psychopathy affects each type of judgment. In three studies we found that psychopathy impairs judgments about causing others emotional distress (specifically fear but minimally affects judgments about causing physical harm and that judgments about causing fear predict instrumental aggression in psychopathy. These findings are consistent with reports linking psychopathy to insensitivity to others' fear, and suggest that sensitivity to others' fear may play a fundamental role in the types of moral decision-making impaired by psychopathy.

Zinc Transporter 3 Is Involved in Learned Fear and Extinction, but Not in Innate Fear

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Martel, Guillaume; Hevi, Charles; Friebely, Olivia; Baybutt, Trevor; Shumyatsky, Gleb P.

2010-01-01

Synaptically released Zn[superscript 2+] is a potential modulator of neurotransmission and synaptic plasticity in fear-conditioning pathways. Zinc transporter 3 (ZnT3) knock-out (KO) mice are well suited to test the role of zinc in learned fear, because ZnT3 is colocalized with synaptic zinc, responsible for its transport to synaptic vesicles,…

Encoding of Discriminative Fear Memory by Input-Specific LTP in the Amygdala.

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Kim, Woong Bin; Cho, Jun-Hyeong

2017-08-30

In auditory fear conditioning, experimental subjects learn to associate an auditory conditioned stimulus (CS) with an aversive unconditioned stimulus. With sufficient training, animals fear conditioned to an auditory CS show fear response to the CS, but not to irrelevant auditory stimuli. Although long-term potentiation (LTP) in the lateral amygdala (LA) plays an essential role in auditory fear conditioning, it is unknown whether LTP is induced selectively in the neural pathways conveying specific CS information to the LA in discriminative fear learning. Here, we show that postsynaptically expressed LTP is induced selectively in the CS-specific auditory pathways to the LA in a mouse model of auditory discriminative fear conditioning. Moreover, optogenetically induced depotentiation of the CS-specific auditory pathways to the LA suppressed conditioned fear responses to the CS. Our results suggest that input-specific LTP in the LA contributes to fear memory specificity, enabling adaptive fear responses only to the relevant sensory cue. VIDEO ABSTRACT. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Social anxiety and eating disorder comorbidity: The role of negative social evaluation fears

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Levinson, Cheri A.; Rodebaugh, Thomas L.

2011-01-01

Social anxiety and eating disorders are highly comorbid. However, it is unknown how specific domains of social anxiety relate to disordered eating. We provide data on these relationships and investigate social appearance anxiety and fear of negative evaluation as potential vulnerabilities linking social anxiety with eating disorders. Specifically, we examined five domains of social anxiety: Social interaction anxiety, fear of scrutiny, fear of positive evaluation, fear of negative evaluation, and social appearance anxiety. Results indicated that social appearance anxiety predicted body dissatisfaction, bulimia symptoms, shape concern, weight concern, and eating concern over and above fear of scrutiny, social interaction anxiety, and fear of positive evaluation. Fear of negative evaluation uniquely predicted drive for thinness and restraint. Structural equation modeling supported a model in which social appearance anxiety and fear of negative evaluation are vulnerabilities for both social anxiety and eating disorder symptoms. Interventions that target these negative social evaluation fears may help prevent development of eating disorders. PMID:22177392

Noradrenergic enhancement of amygdala responses to fear

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Onur, Oezguer A; Walter, Henrik; Schlaepfer, Thomas E; Rehme, Anne K; Schmidt, Christoph; Keysers, Christian; Maier, Wolfgang; Hurlemann, René

Multiple lines of evidence implicate the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and the noradrenergic (norepinephrine, NE) system in responding to stressful stimuli such as fear signals, suggesting hyperfunction of both in the development of stress-related pathologies including anxiety disorders. However, no

Insights on the host stress, fear and growth responses to the deoxynivalenol feed contaminant in broiler chickens.

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Ghareeb, Khaled; Awad, Wageha A; Sid-Ahmed, Omer E; Böhm, Josef

2014-01-01

Mycotoxins pose an important danger to human and animal health. Poultry feeds are frequently contaminated with deoxynivalenol (DON) mycotoxin. It is thus of great importance to evaluate the effects of DON on the welfare related parameters in poultry industry. In the present study, the effects of contamination of broiler diet with 10 mg DON/kg feed on plasma corticosterone and heterophil to lymphocyte (H/L) ratio as indicators of stress, tonic immobility duration as an index for fear response and growth performance of broiler chickens were studied. In addition, the effect of a microbial feed additive either alone or in combination with DON contamination on these different aspects was also evaluated. The results showed that DON feeding significantly affected the welfare related parameters of broiler chickens. The feeding of DON contaminated diet resulted in an elevation of plasma corticosterone, higher H/L ratio and increased the fear levels as indicated by longer duration of tonic immobility reaction. Furthermore, DON reduced the body weight and body weight gain during the starter phase definitely at the second and third week. However, during grower phase, feeding of DON decreased the body weight at the fourth week and reduced the body gain at the fifth week. Addition of the microbial feed additive, a commercial antidote for DON mycotoxin, was able to overcome DON effects on stress index (H/L ratio), fearfulness and growth parameters of broilers. In conclusion, we showed for the first time that the DON feeding increased the underlying fearfulness and physiological stress responses of broilers and resulted in a reduction in the welfare status as indicated by higher plasma corticosterone, higher H/L ratio and higher fearfulness. Additionally, feeding the microbial feed additive was effective in reducing the adverse effects of DON on the bird's welfare and can improve the performance of broiler chickens.

Insights on the host stress, fear and growth responses to the deoxynivalenol feed contaminant in broiler chickens.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Khaled Ghareeb

Full Text Available Mycotoxins pose an important danger to human and animal health. Poultry feeds are frequently contaminated with deoxynivalenol (DON mycotoxin. It is thus of great importance to evaluate the effects of DON on the welfare related parameters in poultry industry. In the present study, the effects of contamination of broiler diet with 10 mg DON/kg feed on plasma corticosterone and heterophil to lymphocyte (H/L ratio as indicators of stress, tonic immobility duration as an index for fear response and growth performance of broiler chickens were studied. In addition, the effect of a microbial feed additive either alone or in combination with DON contamination on these different aspects was also evaluated. The results showed that DON feeding significantly affected the welfare related parameters of broiler chickens. The feeding of DON contaminated diet resulted in an elevation of plasma corticosterone, higher H/L ratio and increased the fear levels as indicated by longer duration of tonic immobility reaction. Furthermore, DON reduced the body weight and body weight gain during the starter phase definitely at the second and third week. However, during grower phase, feeding of DON decreased the body weight at the fourth week and reduced the body gain at the fifth week. Addition of the microbial feed additive, a commercial antidote for DON mycotoxin, was able to overcome DON effects on stress index (H/L ratio, fearfulness and growth parameters of broilers. In conclusion, we showed for the first time that the DON feeding increased the underlying fearfulness and physiological stress responses of broilers and resulted in a reduction in the welfare status as indicated by higher plasma corticosterone, higher H/L ratio and higher fearfulness. Additionally, feeding the microbial feed additive was effective in reducing the adverse effects of DON on the bird's welfare and can improve the performance of broiler chickens.

Generalization of fear inhibition by disrupting hippocampal protein synthesis-dependent reconsolidation process.

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Yang, Chih-Hao; Huang, Chiung-Chun; Hsu, Kuei-Sen

2011-09-01

Repetitive replay of fear memories may precipitate the occurrence of post-traumatic stress disorder and other anxiety disorders. Hence, the suppression of fear memory retrieval may help prevent and treat these disorders. The formation of fear memories is often linked to multiple environmental cues and these interconnected cues may act as reminders for the recall of traumatic experiences. However, as a convenience, a simple paradigm of one cue pairing with the aversive stimulus is usually used in studies of fear conditioning in animals. Here, we built a more complex fear conditioning model by presenting several environmental stimuli during fear conditioning and characterize the effectiveness of extinction training and the disruption of reconsolidation process on the expression of learned fear responses. We demonstrate that extinction training with a single-paired cue resulted in cue-specific attenuation of fear responses but responses to other cures were unchanged. The cue-specific nature of the extinction persisted despite training sessions combined with D-cycloserine treatment reveals a significant weakness in extinction-based treatment. In contrast, the inhibition of the dorsal hippocampus (DH) but not the basolateral amygdala (BLA)-dependent memory reconsolidation process using either protein synthesis inhibitors or genetic disruption of cAMP-response-element-binding protein-mediated transcription comprehensively disrupted the learned connections between fear responses and all paired environmental cues. These findings emphasize the distinct role of the DH and the BLA in the reconsolidation process of fear memories and further indicate that the disruption of memory reconsolidation process in the DH may result in generalization of fear inhibition.

Fear conditioning-related changes in cerebellar Purkinje cell activities in goldfish

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Yoshida Masayuki

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Fear conditioning-induced changes in cerebellar Purkinje cell responses to a conditioned stimulus have been reported in rabbits. It has been suggested that synaptic long-term potentiation and the resulting increases in firing rates of Purkinje cells are related to the acquisition of conditioned fear in mammals. However, Purkinje cell activities during acquisition of conditioned fear have not been analysed, and changes in Purkinje cell activities throughout the development of conditioned fear have not yet been investigated. In the present study, we tracked Purkinje cell activities throughout a fear conditioning procedure and aimed to elucidate further how cerebellar circuits function during the acquisition and expression of conditioned fear. Methods Activities of single Purkinje cells in the corpus cerebelli were tracked throughout a classical fear conditioning procedure in goldfish. A delayed conditioning paradigm was used with cardiac deceleration as the conditioned response. Conditioning-related changes of Purkinje cell responses to a conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus were examined. Results The majority of Purkinje cells sampled responded to the conditioned stimulus by either increasing or decreasing their firing rates before training. Although there were various types of conditioning-related changes in Purkinje cells, more than half of the cells showed suppressed activities in response to the conditioned stimulus after acquisition of conditioned fear. Purkinje cells that showed unconditioned stimulus-coupled complex-spike firings also exhibited conditioning-related suppression of simple-spike responses to the conditioned stimulus. A small number of Purkinje cells showed increased excitatory responses in the acquisition sessions. We found that the magnitudes of changes in the firing frequencies of some Purkinje cells in response to the conditioned stimulus correlated with the magnitudes of the conditioned

Fear inhibition in high trait anxiety.

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Merel Kindt

Full Text Available Trait anxiety is recognized as an individual risk factor for the development of anxiety disorders but the neurobiological mechanisms remain unknown. Here we test whether trait anxiety is associated with impaired fear inhibition utilizing the AX+/BX- conditional discrimination procedure that allows for the independent evaluation of startle fear potentiation and inhibition of fear. Sixty undergraduate students participated in the study--High Trait Anxious: n = 28 and Low Trait Anxious: n = 32. We replicated earlier findings that a transfer of conditioned inhibition for startle responses requires contingency awareness. However, contrary to the fear inhibition hypothesis, our data suggest that high trait anxious individuals show a normal fear inhibition of conditioned startle responding. Only at the cognitive level the high trait anxious individuals showed evidence for impaired inhibitory learning of the threat cue. Together with other findings where impaired fear inhibition was only observed in those PTSD patients who were either high on hyperarousal symptoms or with current anxiety symptoms, we question whether impaired fear inhibition is a biomarker for the development of anxiety disorders.

Maternal Accuracy in Predicting Toddlers' Behaviors and Associations with Toddlers' Fearful Temperament

Science.gov (United States)

Kiel, Elizabeth J.; Buss, Kristin A.

2006-01-01

Past research provides associations between maternal parenting behaviors and characteristics such as depression and toddlers' fearful temperament. Less is known about how maternal cognitive characteristics and normal personality relate to fearful temperament. This study examined associations among the maternal cognitive characteristic of accuracy,…

Contextual control over expression of fear is affected by cortisol

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vanessa Anna Van Ast

2012-10-01

Full Text Available At the core of anxiety disorders is the inability to use contextual information to modulate behavioral responses to potentially threatening events. Models of the pathogenesis of anxiety disorders incorporate stress and concomitant stress hormones as important vulnerability factors, while others emphasize sex as an important factor. However, translational basic research has not yet investigated the effects of stress hormones and sex on the ability to use contextual information to modulate responses to threat. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was threefold: first, we aimed at developing an experimental paradigm specifically capable of capturing contextual modulation of the expression of fear. Second, we tested whether cortisol would alter the contextualization of fear expression. Third, we aimed at assessing whether alterations in contextualization due to cortisol were different for men and women. Healthy participants (n = 42 received placebo or hydrocortisone (20 mg prior to undergoing a newly developed differential contextual fear conditioning paradigm. The results indicated that people rapidly acquire differential contextual modulation of the expression of fear, as measured by fear potentiated startle and skin conductance responses. In addition, cortisol impaired the contextualization of fear expression leading to increased fear generalization on fear potentiated startle data in women. The opposite pattern was found in men. Finally, as assessed by skin conductance responses, cortisol impaired differential conditioning in men. The results are in line with models suggesting heightened vulnerability in women for developing anxiety disorders after stressful events.

Reactivity to unpredictable threat as a treatment target for fear-based anxiety disorders.

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Gorka, S M; Lieberman, L; Klumpp, H; Kinney, K L; Kennedy, A E; Ajilore, O; Francis, J; Duffecy, J; Craske, M G; Nathan, J; Langenecker, S; Shankman, S A; Phan, K L

2017-10-01

Heightened reactivity to unpredictable threat (U-threat) is a core individual difference factor underlying fear-based psychopathology. Little is known, however, about whether reactivity to U-threat is a stable marker of fear-based psychopathology or if it is malleable to treatment. The aim of the current study was to address this question by examining differences in reactivity to U-threat within patients before and after 12-weeks of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Participants included patients with principal fear (n = 22) and distress/misery disorders (n = 29), and a group of healthy controls (n = 21) assessed 12-weeks apart. A well-validated threat-of-shock task was used to probe reactivity to predictable (P-) and U-threat and startle eyeblink magnitude was recorded as an index of defensive responding. Across both assessments, individuals with fear-based disorders displayed greater startle magnitude to U-threat relative to healthy controls and distress/misery patients (who did not differ). From pre- to post-treatment, startle magnitude during U-threat decreased only within the fear patients who received CBT. Moreover, within fear patients, the magnitude of decline in startle to U-threat correlated with the magnitude of decline in fear symptoms. For the healthy controls, startle to U-threat across the two time points was highly reliable and stable. Together, these results indicate that startle to U-threat characterizes fear disorder patients and is malleable to treatment with CBT but not SSRIs within fear patients. Startle to U-threat may therefore reflect an objective, psychophysiological indicator of fear disorder status and CBT treatment response.

Fear of dental pain in Italian children: child personality traits and parental dental fear.

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D'Alessandro, Giovanni; Alkhamis, Nadia; Mattarozzi, Katia; Mazzetti, Michela; Piana, Gabriela

2016-06-01

Dental anxiety could impede dental treatment in children. Evidence shows that parents' fear of dentists contributes to children's anxiety towards dentists. The aim of the present study was to determine whether and to what extent: a) parents' anxiety and depression personality traits, b) parent's dental fear, and c) child personality traits can predict children's dental anxiety in an Italian population. One hundred and four children (5-14 years old) and one of their parents participated in the study. Well-known and validated questionnaires were administered to children (MCDASf, CFSS-DS, TAD) and parents (FDPQ, STAI Y1, Y2, and BDI-II). Dental anxiety is significantly associated with the anxiety personality trait and depression of the child and with parental fear of dental pain. A hierarchical regression analysis showed that, regardless of age and gender, the best predictor of child dental anxiety is parent's fear of dental pain, rather than relatively stable temperaments of the child. In line with the literature concerning adults, these findings highlight the children dental anxiety as a complex phenomena consisting of different components, including the child's personality traits (anxiety trait and depression) and parents' dental fear. Clinical implications of this evidence are discussed. © 2015 American Association of Public Health Dentistry.

Fear of success among business students.

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Rothman, M

1996-06-01

The concept of "Fear of Success" was measured with 352 male and female business students using the prompt, After first term finals, Ann(John) finds her(him)self at the top of her(his) Medical/Nursing school class. Analysis indicated a greater frequency of fear-of-success imagery among men than women and in particular to the John in Medical school and Ann in Nursing school cues. In addition, the Ann cue and the Medical school cue generated more fear-of-success responses among men than women.

The fear-avoidance model in whiplash injuries.

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Nieto, Rubén; Miró, Jordi; Huguet, Anna

2009-05-01

The aim of this work was to study whether fear of movement, and pain catastrophizing predict pain related-disability and depression in sub-acute whiplash patients. Moreover, we wanted to test if fear of movement is a mediator in the relation between catastrophizing and pain-related disability/depression as has been suggested by the fear-avoidance model [Vlaeyen JWS, Kole-Snijders AMJ, Boeren RGB, van Eek H. Fear of movement/(re)injury in chronic low back pain and its relation to behavioral performance. Pain 1995;62:363-72]. The convenience sample used was of 147 sub-acute whiplash patients (pain duration less than 3 months). Two stepwise regression analyses were performed using fear of movement and catastrophizing as the independent variables, and disability and depression as the dependent variables. After controlling for descriptive variables and pain characteristics, catastrophizing and fear of movement were found to be predictors of disability and depression. Pain intensity was a predictor of disability but not of depression. The mediation effect of fear of movement in the relationships between catastrophizing and disability, and between catastrophizing and depression was also supported. The results of this study are in accordance with the fear-avoidance model, and support a biopsychosocial perspective for whiplash disorders.

Computational search for hypotheses concerning the endocannabinoid contribution to the extinction of fear conditioning

OpenAIRE

Anastasio, Thomas J.

2013-01-01

Fear conditioning, in which a cue is conditioned to elicit a fear response, and extinction, in which a previously conditioned cue no longer elicits a fear response, depend on neural plasticity occurring within the amygdala. Projection neurons in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) learn to respond to the cue during fear conditioning, and they mediate fear responding by transferring cue signals to the output stage of the amygdala. Some BLA projection neurons retain their cue responses after extinct...

The legacy of fear: is fear impacting fatal and non-fatal drowning of African American children?

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Irwin, Carol C; Irwin, Richard L; Ryan, Timothy D; Drayer, Joris

2011-01-01

African American children’s rates for fatal and non-fatal drowning events are alarmingly elevated, with some age groups having three times the rate as compared to White peers. Adequate swimming skills are considered a protective agent toward the prevention of drowning, but marginalized youth report limited swimming ability. This research examined minority children’s and parents/caregivers’ fear of drowning as a possible variable associated with limited swimming ability. Results confirmed that there were significant racial differences concerning the fear of drowning, and adolescent African American females were notably more likely to fear drowning while swimming than any other group. The “fear of drowning” responses by parents/ caregivers of minority children were also significantly different from their White counterparts.

Low Endogenous Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 Levels Are Associated With Heightened Conditioned Fear Expression in Rats and Humans.

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Graham, Bronwyn M; Zagic, Dino; Richardson, Rick

2017-10-15

Hippocampal concentrations of the neurotrophic factor fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) are negatively associated with the expression of fear following conditioning in rats. Heightened conditioned fear expression may be a prospective risk factor for the development of human anxiety and trauma disorders. However, the relationship between conditioned fear expression and FGF2 is yet to be established in humans. Using a cross-species approach, we first investigated the relationship between serum concentrations of FGF2 and individual differences in conditioned fear expression in rats (n = 19). We then subjected 88 human participants, who were recruited from university and community advertisements, to a differential fear conditioning procedure and assessed the relationship between salivary concentrations of FGF2 and fear expression to a conditioned stimulus (CS) (a stimulus paired with a shock) and a CS that was never paired with shock. Rats with low serum levels of FGF2 exhibited significantly more freezing than rats with high serum levels of FGF2. Similarly, relative to those with high salivary FGF2, human participants with low salivary FGF2 exhibited significantly heightened skin conductance responses to the CS without shock during fear conditioning and to both the CS with shock and CS without shock during fear recall. These studies establish that peripheral markers of FGF2 concentrations are negatively associated with fear expression in both rats and humans. To the extent that conditioned fear expression predicts anxiety and trauma disorder vulnerability, FGF2 may be a clinically useful biomarker in the prediction and eventual prevention of these disorders. Copyright © 2017 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The neural circuits of innate fear: detection, integration, action, and memorization

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Silva, Bianca A.; Gross, Cornelius T.

2016-01-01

How fear is represented in the brain has generated a lot of research attention, not only because fear increases the chances for survival when appropriately expressed but also because it can lead to anxiety and stress-related disorders when inadequately processed. In this review, we summarize recent progress in the understanding of the neural circuits processing innate fear in rodents. We propose that these circuits are contained within three main functional units in the brain: a detection unit, responsible for gathering sensory information signaling the presence of a threat; an integration unit, responsible for incorporating the various sensory information and recruiting downstream effectors; and an output unit, in charge of initiating appropriate bodily and behavioral responses to the threatful stimulus. In parallel, the experience of innate fear also instructs a learning process leading to the memorization of the fearful event. Interestingly, while the detection, integration, and output units processing acute fear responses to different threats tend to be harbored in distinct brain circuits, memory encoding of these threats seems to rely on a shared learning system. PMID:27634145

AIDS prevention and college students: male and female responses to "fear-provoking" messages.

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Johnson, K; LaTour, M S

1991-01-01

This study was designed to examine the effects of fear appeals in AIDS prevention messages and to determine whether or not males and females differ in their response to these appeals. MANOVA results from a sample of 179 junior and senior business students at a mid-Atlantic urban university indicate that significant differences in message effects were associated with type of appeal, gender of the respondent, and the interaction between appeal and gender.

Component analysis and initial validity of the exercise fear avoidance scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Wingo, Brooks C; Baskin, Monica; Ard, Jamy D; Evans, Retta; Roy, Jane; Vogtle, Laura; Grimley, Diane; Snyder, Scott

2013-01-01

To develop the Exercise Fear Avoidance Scale (EFAS) to measure fear of exercise-induced discomfort. We conducted principal component analysis to determine component structure and Cronbach's alpha to assess internal consistency of the EFAS. Relationships between EFAS scores, BMI, physical activity, and pain were analyzed using multivariate regression. The best fit was a 3-component structure: weight-specific fears, cardiorespiratory fears, and musculoskeletal fears. Cronbach's alpha for the EFAS was α=.86. EFAS scores significantly predicted BMI, physical activity, and PDI scores. Psychometric properties of this scale suggest it may be useful for tailoring exercise prescriptions to address fear of exercise-related discomfort.

Fear of Success and Life Satisfaction in Terms of Self-Efficacy

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Yilmaz, Hasan

2018-01-01

The purpose of the present research is presenting the relationships between self-efficacy, fear of success and life satisfaction; and determining the predictive power fear of success and self-efficacy on life satisfaction. For this purpose, self-efficacy, fear of achievement and life satisfaction scales were implemented on 625 individuals. In the…

The Relation between the Fear-Avoidance Model and Constructs from the Social Cognitive Theory in Acute WAD.

Science.gov (United States)

Sandborgh, Maria; Johansson, Ann-Christin; Söderlund, Anne

2016-01-01

In the fear-avoidance (FA) model social cognitive constructs could add to explaining the disabling process in whiplash associated disorder (WAD). The aim was to exemplify the possible input from Social Cognitive Theory on the FA model. Specifically the role of functional self-efficacy and perceived responses from a spouse/intimate partner was studied. A cross-sectional and correlational design was used. Data from 64 patients with acute WAD were used. Measures were pain intensity measured with a numerical rating scale, the Pain Disability Index, support, punishing responses, solicitous responses, and distracting responses subscales from the Multidimensional Pain Inventory, the Catastrophizing subscale from the Coping Strategies Questionnaire, the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia, and the Self-Efficacy Scale. Bivariate correlational, simple linear regression, and multiple regression analyses were used. In the statistical prediction models high pain intensity indicated high punishing responses, which indicated high catastrophizing. High catastrophizing indicated high fear of movement, which indicated low self-efficacy. Low self-efficacy indicated high disability, which indicated high pain intensity. All independent variables together explained 66.4% of the variance in pain disability, p social environment, perceived punishing responses from a spouse/intimate partner, pain intensity, and catastrophizing. Further, results support a mediating role of self-efficacy between fear of movement and disability in WAD.

Associative learning versus fear habituation as predictors of long-term extinction retention.

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Brown, Lily A; LeBeau, Richard T; Chat, Ka Yi; Craske, Michelle G

2017-06-01

Violation of unconditioned stimulus (US) expectancy during extinction training may enhance associative learning and result in improved long-term extinction retention compared to within-session habituation. This experiment examines variation in US expectancy (i.e., expectancy violation) as a predictor of long-term extinction retention. It also examines within-session habituation of fear-potentiated startle (electromyography, EMG) and fear of conditioned stimuli (CS) throughout extinction training as predictors of extinction retention. Participants (n = 63) underwent fear conditioning, extinction and retention and provided continuous ratings of US expectancy and EMG, as well as CS fear ratings before and after each phase. Variation in US expectancy throughout extinction and habituation of EMG and fear was entered into a regression as predictors of retention and reinstatement of levels of expectancy and fear. Greater variation in US expectancy throughout extinction training was significantly predictive of enhanced extinction performance measured at retention test, although not after reinstatement test. Slope of EMG and CS fear during extinction did not predict retention of extinction. Within-session habituation of EMG and self-reported fear is not sufficient for long-term retention of extinction learning, and models emphasizing expectation violation may result in enhanced outcomes.

Enhanced fear expression in a psychopathological mouse model of trait anxiety: pharmacological interventions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simone B Sartori

Full Text Available The propensity to develop an anxiety disorder is thought to be determined by genetic and environmental factors. Here we investigated the relationship between a genetic predisposition to trait anxiety and experience-based learned fear in a psychopathological mouse model. Male CD-1 mice selectively bred for either high (HAB, or normal (NAB anxiety-related behaviour on the elevated plus maze were subjected to classical fear conditioning. During conditioning both mouse lines showed increased fear responses as assessed by freezing behaviour. However, 24 h later, HAB mice displayed more pronounced conditioned responses to both a contextual or cued stimulus when compared with NAB mice. Interestingly, 6 h and already 1 h after fear conditioning, freezing levels were high in HAB mice but not in NAB mice. These results suggest that trait anxiety determines stronger fear memory and/or a weaker ability to inhibit fear responses in the HAB line. The enhanced fear response of HAB mice was attenuated by treatment with either the α(2,3,5-subunit selective benzodiazepine partial agonist L-838,417, corticosterone or the selective neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist L-822,429. Overall, the HAB mouse line may represent an interesting model (i for identifying biological factors underlying misguided conditioned fear responses and (ii for studying novel anxiolytic pharmacotherapies for patients with fear-associated disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder and phobias.

Synchrony-desynchrony in the tripartite model of fear: Predicting treatment outcome in clinically phobic children.

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Benoit Allen, Kristy; Allen, Ben; Austin, Kristin E; Waldron, Jonathan C; Ollendick, Thomas H

2015-08-01

The tripartite model of fear posits that the fear response entails three loosely coupled components: subjective distress, behavioral avoidance, and physiological arousal. The concept of synchrony vs. desynchrony describes the degree to which changes in the activation of these components vary together (synchrony), independently, or inversely (both forms of desynchrony) over time. The present study assessed synchrony-desynchrony and its relationship to treatment outcome in a sample of 98 children with specific phobias both prior to and 1 week after receiving one-session treatment, a 3 h cognitive-behavioral intervention. The results suggest an overall pattern of desynchronous change whereby youth improved on behavioral avoidance and subjective distress following treatment, but their level of cardiovascular reactivity remained stable. However, we found evidence that synchronous change on the behavioral avoidance and subjective distress components was related to better treatment outcome, whereas desynchronous change on these components was related to poorer treatment outcome. These findings suggest that a fuller understanding of the three response systems and their interrelations in phobic youth may assist us in the assessment and treatment of these disorders, potentially leading to a more person-centered approach and eventually to enhanced treatment outcomes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Biased interpretation and memory in children with varying levels of spider fear.

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Klein, Anke M; Titulaer, Geraldine; Simons, Carlijn; Allart, Esther; de Gier, Erwin; Bögels, Susan M; Becker, Eni S; Rinck, Mike

2014-01-01

This study investigated multiple cognitive biases in children simultaneously, to investigate whether spider-fearful children display an interpretation bias, a recall bias, and source monitoring errors, and whether these biases are specific for spider-related materials. Furthermore, the independent ability of these biases to predict spider fear was investigated. A total of 121 children filled out the Spider Anxiety and Disgust Screening for Children (SADS-C), and they performed an interpretation task, a memory task, and a Behavioural Assessment Test (BAT). As expected, a specific interpretation bias was found: Spider-fearful children showed more negative interpretations of ambiguous spider-related scenarios, but not of other scenarios. We also found specific source monitoring errors: Spider-fearful children made more fear-related source monitoring errors for the spider-related scenarios, but not for the other scenarios. Only limited support was found for a recall bias. Finally, interpretation bias, recall bias, and source monitoring errors predicted unique variance components of spider fear.

Higher threat avoidance costs reduce avoidance behaviour which in turn promotes fear extinction in humans.

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Rattel, Julina A; Miedl, Stephan F; Blechert, Jens; Wilhelm, Frank H

2017-09-01

Theoretical models specifying the underlying mechanisms of the development and maintenance of anxiety and related disorders state that fear responses acquired through classical Pavlovian conditioning are maintained by repeated avoidance behaviour; thus, it is assumed that avoidance prevents fear extinction. The present study investigated behavioural avoidance decisions as a function of avoidance costs in a naturalistic fear conditioning paradigm. Ecologically valid avoidance costs - manipulated between participant groups - were represented via time-delays during a detour in a gamified computer task. After differential acquisitions of shock-expectancy to a predictive conditioned stimulus (CS+), participants underwent extinction where they could either take a risky shortcut, while anticipating shock signaled by the CS+, or choose a costly avoidance option (lengthy detour); thus, they were faced with an approach-avoidance conflict. Groups with higher avoidance costs (longer detours) showed lower proportions of avoiders. Avoiders gave heightened shock-expectancy ratings post-extinction, demonstrating 'protecting from extinction', i.e. failure to extinguish. Moreover, there was an indirect effect of avoidance costs on protection from extinction through avoidance behaviour. No moderating role of trait-anxiety was found. Theoretical implications of avoidance behaviour are discussed, considering the involvement of instrumental learning in the maintenance of fear responses. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Blocking miRNA Biogenesis in Adult Forebrain Neurons Enhances Seizure Susceptibility, Fear Memory, and Food Intake by Increasing Neuronal Responsiveness.

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Fiorenza, Anna; Lopez-Atalaya, Jose P; Rovira, Victor; Scandaglia, Marilyn; Geijo-Barrientos, Emilio; Barco, Angel

2016-04-01

The RNase Dicer is essential for the maturation of most microRNAs, a molecular system that plays an essential role in fine-tuning gene expression. To gain molecular insight into the role of Dicer and the microRNA system in brain function, we conducted 2 complementary RNA-seq screens in the hippocampus of inducible forebrain-restricted Dicer1 mutants aimed at identifying the microRNAs primarily affected by Dicer loss and their targets, respectively. Functional genomics analyses predicted the main biological processes and phenotypes associated with impaired microRNA maturation, including categories related to microRNA biology, signal transduction, seizures, and synaptic transmission and plasticity. Consistent with these predictions, we found that, soon after recombination, Dicer-deficient mice exhibited an exaggerated seizure response, enhanced induction of immediate early genes in response to different stimuli, stronger and more stable fear memory, hyperphagia, and increased excitability of CA1 pyramidal neurons. In the long term, we also observed slow and progressive excitotoxic neurodegeneration. Overall, our results indicate that interfering with microRNA biogenesis causes an increase in neuronal responsiveness and disrupts homeostatic mechanisms that protect the neuron against overactivation, which may explain both the initial and late phenotypes associated with the loss of Dicer in excitatory neurons. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Fear but not fright: re-evaluating traumatic experience attenuates anxiety-like behaviors after fear conditioning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marco eCostanzi

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Fear allows organisms to cope with dangerous situations and remembering these situations has an adaptive role preserving individuals from injury and death. However, recalling traumatic memories can induce re-experiencing the trauma, thus resulting in a maladaptive fear. A failure to properly regulate fear responses has been associated with anxiety disorders, like Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD. Thus, re-establishing the capability to regulate fear has an important role for its adaptive and clinical relevance. Strategies aimed at erasing fear memories have been proposed, although there are limits about their efficiency in treating anxiety disorders. To re-establish fear regulation, here we propose a new approach, based on the re-evaluation of the aversive value of traumatic experience. Mice were submitted to a contextual-fear-conditioning paradigm in which a neutral context was paired with an intense electric footshock. Three weeks after acquisition, conditioned mice were treated with a less intense footshock (pain threshold. The effectiveness of this procedure in reducing fear expression was assessed in terms of behavioral outcomes related to PTSD (e.g. hyper-reactivity to a neutral tone, anxiety levels in a plus maze task, social avoidance, and learning deficits in a spatial water maze and of amygdala activity by evaluating c-fos expression. Furthermore, a possible role of lateral orbitofrontal cortex (lOFC in mediating the behavioral effects induced by the re-evaluation procedure was investigated. We observed that this treatment (i significantly mitigates the abnormal behavioral outcomes induced by trauma, (ii persistently attenuates fear expression without erasing contextual memory, (iii prevents fear reinstatement, (iv reduces amygdala activity and (v requires an intact lOFC to be effective.The results suggest that an effective strategy to treat pathological anxiety should address cognitive re-evaluation of traumatic experiences

The nuclear energy: law and fear

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mezghani, A.

1996-01-01

This document mentions the feeling of fear which goes along the idea of nuclear energy, as well as ethics and law. Technological aspects, political choices and financial matters are responsible for the nuclear energy development. Then it is shown that the consequences of this development is the continuous feeling of fear and risk which goes with every nuclear activities. (TEC)

Rethinking the fear circuit: the central nucleus of the amygdala is required for the acquisition, consolidation, and expression of Pavlovian fear conditioning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wilensky, Ann E; Schafe, Glenn E; Kristensen, Morten Pilgaard

2006-01-01

of the amygdala (CE), which serves as the principal output nucleus for the expression of conditioned fear responses. In the present study, we reexamined the roles of LA and CE. Specifically, we asked whether CE, like LA, might also be involved in fear learning and memory consolidation. Using functional...... inactivation methods, we first show that CE is involved not only in the expression but also the acquisition of fear conditioning. Next, we show that inhibition of protein synthesis in CE after training impairs fear memory consolidation. These findings indicate that CE is not only involved in fear expression...... but, like LA, is also involved in the learning and consolidation of pavlovian fear conditioning....

Fear of childbirth in primiparous Italian pregnant women: The role of anxiety, depression, and couple adjustment.

Science.gov (United States)

Molgora, Sara; Fenaroli, Valentina; Prino, Laura Elvira; Rollè, Luca; Sechi, Cristina; Trovato, Annamaria; Vismara, Laura; Volpi, Barbara; Brustia, Piera; Lucarelli, Loredana; Tambelli, Renata; Saita, Emanuela

2018-04-01

The prevalence of fear of childbirth in pregnant women is described to be about 20-25%, while 6-10% of expectant mothers report a severe fear that impairs their daily activities as well as their ability to cope with labour and childbirth. Research on fear of childbirth risk factors has produced heterogeneous results while being mostly done with expectant mothers from northern Europe, northern America, and Australia. The present research investigates whether fear of childbirth can be predicted by socio-demographic variables, distressing experiences before pregnancy, medical-obstetric factors and psychological variables with a sample of 426 Italian primiparous pregnant women. Subjects, recruited between the 34th and 36th week of pregnancy, completed a questionnaire packet that included the Wijma Delivery Expectancy Questionnaire, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Dyadic Adjustment Scale, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, as well as demographic and anamnestic information. Fear of childbirth was treated as both a continuous and a dichotomous variable, in order to differentiate expectant mothers as with a severe fear of childbirth. Results demonstrate that anxiety as well as couple adjustment predicted fear of childbirth when treated as a continuous variable, while clinical depression predicted severe fear of childbirth. Findings support the key role of psychological variables in predicting fear of childbirth. Results suggest the importance of differentiating low levels of fear from intense levels of fear in order to promote adequate support interventions. Copyright © 2017 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An anxious profession in an age of fear.

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Lakeman, R

2006-08-01

This paper proposes that some practices and trends in mental health care may be considered as defensive responses to collective anxiety and fear. On a larger scale similar dynamics occur around fear of terrorism. Collectively and individually we are pulled by the defensive forces and dynamics associated with anxiety. This can in part explain the polarization that occurs around issues of definition and response to mental illness. Fear and anxiety push services towards simplistic viewpoints and futile practices. The capacity to view things from the perspective of others, embracing explanatory and therapeutic pluralism and adopting a humble attitude, may be helpful in enabling anxiety to be channelled productively.

The Effects of Prenatal Stocking Densities on the Fear Responses and Sociality of Goat (Capra hircus) Kids

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Chojnacki, Rachel M.; Vas, Judit; Andersen, Inger Lise

2014-01-01

Prenatal stress (stress experienced by a pregnant mother) and its effects on offspring have been comprehensively studied but relatively little research has been done on how prenatal social stress affects farm animals such as goats. Here, we use the operational description of ‘stress’ as “physical or perceived threats to homeostasis.” The aim of this study was to investigate the prenatal effects of different herd densities on the fear responses and sociality of goat kids. Pregnant Norwegian dairy goats were exposed to high, medium or low prenatal animal density treatments throughout gestation (1.0, 2.0 or 3.0 m2 per animal, respectively). One kid per litter was subjected to two behavioral tests at 5 weeks of age. The ‘social test’ was applied to assess the fear responses, sociality and social recognition skills when presented with a familiar and unfamiliar kid and the ‘separation test’ assessed the behavioral coping skills when isolated. The results indicate goat kids from the highest prenatal density of 1.0 m2 were more fearful than the kids from the lower prenatal densities (i.e. made more escape attempts (separation test: P kids did not differentiate between a familiar and an unfamiliar kid at 5 weeks of age and sociality was not affected by the prenatal density treatment. We conclude that high animal densities during pregnancy in goats produce offspring that have a higher level of fear, particularly in females. Behavioral changes in offspring that occur as an effect of prenatal stress are of high importance as many of the females are recruited to the breeding stock of dairy goats. PMID:24710177

Caregiver Responsiveness to the Family Bereavement Program: What predicts responsiveness? What does responsiveness predict?

OpenAIRE

Schoenfelder, Erin N.; Sandler, Irwin N.; Millsap, Roger E.; Wolchik, Sharlene A.; Berkel, Cady; Ayers, Timothy S.

2013-01-01

The study developed a multi-dimensional measure to assess participant responsiveness to a preventive intervention, and applied this measure to study how participant baseline characteristics predict responsiveness and how responsiveness predicts program outcomes. The study was conducted with caregivers who participated in the parenting-focused component of the Family Bereavement Program (FBP), a prevention program for families that have experienced parental death. The sample consisted of 89 ca...

A novel perceptual discrimination training task: Reducing fear overgeneralization in the context of fear learning.

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Ginat-Frolich, Rivkah; Klein, Zohar; Katz, Omer; Shechner, Tomer

2017-06-01

Generalization is an adaptive learning mechanism, but it can be maladaptive when it occurs in excess. A novel perceptual discrimination training task was therefore designed to moderate fear overgeneralization. We hypothesized that improvement in basic perceptual discrimination would translate into lower fear overgeneralization in affective cues. Seventy adults completed a fear-conditioning task prior to being allocated into training or placebo groups. Predesignated geometric shape pairs were constructed for the training task. A target shape from each pair was presented. Thereafter, participants in the training group were shown both shapes and asked to identify the image that differed from the target. Placebo task participants only indicated the location of each shape on the screen. All participants then viewed new geometric pairs and indicated whether they were identical or different. Finally, participants completed a fear generalization test consisting of perceptual morphs ranging from the CS + to the CS-. Fear-conditioning was observed through physiological and behavioural measures. Furthermore, the training group performed better than the placebo group on the assessment task and exhibited decreased fear generalization in response to threat/safety cues. The findings offer evidence for the effectiveness of the novel discrimination training task, setting the stage for future research with clinical populations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Maternal Accuracy and Behavior in Anticipating Children's Responses to Novelty: Relations to Fearful Temperament and Implications for Anxiety Development

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Kiel, Elizabeth J.; Buss, Kristin A.

2010-01-01

Previous research has suggested that mothers' behaviors may serve as a mechanism in the development from toddler fearful temperament to childhood anxiety. The current study examined the maternal characteristic of accuracy in predicting toddlers' distress reactions to novelty in relation to temperament, parenting, and anxiety development.…

MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF FEAR LEARNING AND MEMORY

Science.gov (United States)

Johansen, Joshua P.; Cain, Christopher K.; Ostroff, Linnaea E.; LeDoux, Joseph E.

2011-01-01

Pavlovian fear conditioning is a useful behavioral paradigm for exploring the molecular mechanisms of learning and memory because a well-defined response to a specific environmental stimulus is produced through associative learning processes. Synaptic plasticity in the lateral nucleus of the amygdala (LA) underlies this form of associative learning. Here we summarize the molecular mechanisms that contribute to this synaptic plasticity in the context of auditory fear conditioning, the form of fear conditioning best understood at the molecular level. We discuss the neurotransmitter systems and signaling cascades that contribute to three phases of auditory fear conditioning: acquisition, consolidation, and reconsolidation. These studies suggest that multiple intracellular signaling pathways, including those triggered by activation of Hebbian processes and neuromodulatory receptors, interact to produce neural plasticity in the LA and behavioral fear conditioning. Together, this research illustrates the power of fear conditioning as a model system for characterizing the mechanisms of learning and memory in mammals, and potentially for understanding fear related disorders, such as PTSD and phobias. PMID:22036561

Molecular mechanisms of fear learning and memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Johansen, Joshua P; Cain, Christopher K; Ostroff, Linnaea E; LeDoux, Joseph E

2011-10-28

Pavlovian fear conditioning is a particularly useful behavioral paradigm for exploring the molecular mechanisms of learning and memory because a well-defined response to a specific environmental stimulus is produced through associative learning processes. Synaptic plasticity in the lateral nucleus of the amygdala (LA) underlies this form of associative learning. Here, we summarize the molecular mechanisms that contribute to this synaptic plasticity in the context of auditory fear conditioning, the form of fear conditioning best understood at the molecular level. We discuss the neurotransmitter systems and signaling cascades that contribute to three phases of auditory fear conditioning: acquisition, consolidation, and reconsolidation. These studies suggest that multiple intracellular signaling pathways, including those triggered by activation of Hebbian processes and neuromodulatory receptors, interact to produce neural plasticity in the LA and behavioral fear conditioning. Collectively, this body of research illustrates the power of fear conditioning as a model system for characterizing the mechanisms of learning and memory in mammals and potentially for understanding fear-related disorders, such as PTSD and phobias. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Immediate extinction promotes the return of fear.

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Merz, Christian J; Hamacher-Dang, Tanja C; Wolf, Oliver T

2016-05-01

Accumulating evidence indicates that immediate extinction is less effective than delayed extinction in attenuating the return of fear. This line of fear conditioning research impacts the proposed onset of psychological interventions after threatening situations. In the present study, forty healthy men were investigated in a differential fear conditioning paradigm with fear acquisition in context A, extinction in context B, followed by retrieval testing in both contexts 24h later to test fear renewal. Differently coloured lights served as conditioned stimuli (CS): two CS (CS+) were paired with an electrical stimulation that served as unconditioned stimulus, the third CS was never paired (CS-). Extinction took place immediately after fear acquisition or 24h later. One CS+ was extinguished whereas the second CS+ remained unextinguished to control for different time intervals between fear acquisition and retrieval testing. Immediate extinction led to larger skin conductance responses during fear retrieval to both the extinguished and unextinguished CS relative to the CS-, indicating a stronger return of fear compared to delayed extinction. Taken together, immediate extinction is less potent than delayed extinction and is associated with a stronger renewal effect. Thus, the time-point of psychological interventions relative to the offset of threatening situations needs to be carefully considered to prevent relapses. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Contingency learning in human fear conditioning involves the ventral striatum.

Science.gov (United States)

Klucken, Tim; Tabbert, Katharina; Schweckendiek, Jan; Merz, Christian Josef; Kagerer, Sabine; Vaitl, Dieter; Stark, Rudolf

2009-11-01

The ability to detect and learn contingencies between fearful stimuli and their predictive cues is an important capacity to cope with the environment. Contingency awareness refers to the ability to verbalize the relationships between conditioned and unconditioned stimuli. Although there is a heated debate about the influence of contingency awareness on conditioned fear responses, neural correlates behind the formation process of contingency awareness have gained only little attention in human fear conditioning. Recent animal studies indicate that the ventral striatum (VS) could be involved in this process, but in human studies the VS is mostly associated with positive emotions. To examine this question, we reanalyzed four recently published classical fear conditioning studies (n = 117) with respect to the VS at three distinct levels of contingency awareness: subjects, who did not learn the contingencies (unaware), subjects, who learned the contingencies during the experiment (learned aware) and subjects, who were informed about the contingencies in advance (instructed aware). The results showed significantly increased activations in the left and right VS in learned aware compared to unaware subjects. Interestingly, this activation pattern was only found in learned but not in instructed aware subjects. We assume that the VS is not involved when contingency awareness does not develop during conditioning or when contingency awareness is unambiguously induced already prior to conditioning. VS involvement seems to be important for the transition from a contingency unaware to a contingency aware state. Implications for fear conditioning models as well as for the contingency awareness debate are discussed.

Attention regulates anger and fear to predict changes in adolescent risk-taking behaviors

Science.gov (United States)

Kim-Spoon, Jungmeen; Holmes, Christopher; Deater-Deckard, Kirby

2014-01-01

Background Regulation of negative affect is critical to healthy development in childhood and adolescence. We conducted a longitudinal study examining the moderating role of attention control in the effects of anger and fear on changes in risk-taking behaviors from early to middle adolescence. Method The sample involved participants from the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD), assessed at 9, 11, and 15 years of age. Composite scores for anger, fear, and attention control were computed using indicators from multiple informants, and risk-taking behaviors were assessed based on adolescents’ self-reports. Results Latent difference score analysis indicated significant moderating effects of attention control showing that increased anger between 9 and 11 years was related to increases in risk-taking behaviors between 11 and 15 years only for adolescents with low attention control but not for adolescents with high attention control. In contrast, significant moderating effects of attention control for the link between fear and risk-taking behaviors suggested increased fear between 9 and 11 years tended to be associated with decreases in risk-taking behaviors between 11 and 15 years only for adolescents with high attention control but not for adolescents with low attention control. Conclusions Attention control regulates the connections between negative affect such as anger and fear with changes in adolescent risk-taking behaviors. Our data suggest the protective role of strong attention control against the development of risk-taking behaviors in adolescence as it demotes the effects of anger and promotes the effects of fear. PMID:25280179

The role of fear in delusions of the paranormal.

Science.gov (United States)

Lange, R; Houran, J

1999-03-01

Based on an extended process model derived from attribution theory, we hypothesized that pervasive and persistent delusions of the paranormal are characterized by the existence of a positive (self-reinforcing), rather than a negative (self-correcting), feedback loop involving paranormal beliefs, fears, and experiences, as moderated by gender and tolerance of ambiguity. A cross-cultural sample of "international" students who reported poltergeist-like experiences showing high fear of the paranormal was identified. As in earlier research, path analysis showed statistically significant and positive effects of belief on experience and/or fear on belief. However, paranormal experience now had a positive effect on fear as well. Thus, as predicted, increased fear removes the option of neutralizing ambiguous events by labeling them as "paranormal." Although female subjects showed significantly greater fear of the paranormal than male subjects, there is no evidence that the nature of the delusional process is gender specific.

Uncertainty-Dependent Extinction of Fear Memory in an Amygdala-mPFC Neural Circuit Model

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yuzhe; Nakae, Ken; Ishii, Shin; Naoki, Honda

2016-01-01

Uncertainty of fear conditioning is crucial for the acquisition and extinction of fear memory. Fear memory acquired through partial pairings of a conditioned stimulus (CS) and an unconditioned stimulus (US) is more resistant to extinction than that acquired through full pairings; this effect is known as the partial reinforcement extinction effect (PREE). Although the PREE has been explained by psychological theories, the neural mechanisms underlying the PREE remain largely unclear. Here, we developed a neural circuit model based on three distinct types of neurons (fear, persistent and extinction neurons) in the amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). In the model, the fear, persistent and extinction neurons encode predictions of net severity, of unconditioned stimulus (US) intensity, and of net safety, respectively. Our simulation successfully reproduces the PREE. We revealed that unpredictability of the US during extinction was represented by the combined responses of the three types of neurons, which are critical for the PREE. In addition, we extended the model to include amygdala subregions and the mPFC to address a recent finding that the ventral mPFC (vmPFC) is required for consolidating extinction memory but not for memory retrieval. Furthermore, model simulations led us to propose a novel procedure to enhance extinction learning through re-conditioning with a stronger US; strengthened fear memory up-regulates the extinction neuron, which, in turn, further inhibits the fear neuron during re-extinction. Thus, our models increased the understanding of the functional roles of the amygdala and vmPFC in the processing of uncertainty in fear conditioning and extinction. PMID:27617747

Uncertainty-Dependent Extinction of Fear Memory in an Amygdala-mPFC Neural Circuit Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yuzhe; Nakae, Ken; Ishii, Shin; Naoki, Honda

2016-09-01

Uncertainty of fear conditioning is crucial for the acquisition and extinction of fear memory. Fear memory acquired through partial pairings of a conditioned stimulus (CS) and an unconditioned stimulus (US) is more resistant to extinction than that acquired through full pairings; this effect is known as the partial reinforcement extinction effect (PREE). Although the PREE has been explained by psychological theories, the neural mechanisms underlying the PREE remain largely unclear. Here, we developed a neural circuit model based on three distinct types of neurons (fear, persistent and extinction neurons) in the amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). In the model, the fear, persistent and extinction neurons encode predictions of net severity, of unconditioned stimulus (US) intensity, and of net safety, respectively. Our simulation successfully reproduces the PREE. We revealed that unpredictability of the US during extinction was represented by the combined responses of the three types of neurons, which are critical for the PREE. In addition, we extended the model to include amygdala subregions and the mPFC to address a recent finding that the ventral mPFC (vmPFC) is required for consolidating extinction memory but not for memory retrieval. Furthermore, model simulations led us to propose a novel procedure to enhance extinction learning through re-conditioning with a stronger US; strengthened fear memory up-regulates the extinction neuron, which, in turn, further inhibits the fear neuron during re-extinction. Thus, our models increased the understanding of the functional roles of the amygdala and vmPFC in the processing of uncertainty in fear conditioning and extinction.

Neural circuitry of abdominal pain-related fear learning and reinstatement in irritable bowel syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Icenhour, A; Langhorst, J; Benson, S; Schlamann, M; Hampel, S; Engler, H; Forsting, M; Elsenbruch, S

2015-01-01

Altered pain anticipation likely contributes to disturbed central pain processing in chronic pain conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but the learning processes shaping the expectation of pain remain poorly understood. We assessed the neural circuitry mediating the formation, extinction, and reactivation of abdominal pain-related memories in IBS patients compared to healthy controls (HC) in a differential fear conditioning paradigm. During fear acquisition, predictive visual cues (CS(+)) were paired with rectal distensions (US), while control cues (CS(-)) were presented unpaired. During extinction, only CSs were presented. Subsequently, memory reactivation was assessed with a reinstatement procedure involving unexpected USs. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, group differences in neural activation to CS(+) vs CS(-) were analyzed, along with skin conductance responses (SCR), CS valence, CS-US contingency, state anxiety, salivary cortisol, and alpha-amylase activity. The contribution of anxiety symptoms was addressed in covariance analyses. Fear acquisition was altered in IBS, as indicated by more accurate contingency awareness, greater CS-related valence change, and enhanced CS(+)-induced differential activation of prefrontal cortex and amygdala. IBS patients further revealed enhanced differential cingulate activation during extinction and greater differential hippocampal activation during reinstatement. Anxiety affected neural responses during memory formation and reinstatement. Abdominal pain-related fear learning and memory processes are altered in IBS, mediated by amygdala, cingulate cortex, prefrontal areas, and hippocampus. Enhanced reinstatement may contribute to hypervigilance and central pain amplification, especially in anxious patients. Preventing a 'relapse' of learned fear utilizing extinction-based interventions may be a promising treatment goal in IBS. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Fear of Ebola: The Influence of Collectivism on Xenophobic Threat Responses.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Heejung S; Sherman, David K; Updegraff, John A

2016-07-01

In response to the Ebola scare in 2014, many people evinced strong fear and xenophobia. The present study, informed by the pathogen-prevalence hypothesis, tested the influence of individualism and collectivism on xenophobic response to the threat of Ebola. A nationally representative sample of 1,000 Americans completed a survey, indicating their perceptions of their vulnerability to Ebola, ability to protect themselves from Ebola (protection efficacy), and xenophobic tendencies. Overall, the more vulnerable people felt, the more they exhibited xenophobic responses, but this relationship was moderated by individualism and collectivism. The increase in xenophobia associated with increased vulnerability was especially pronounced among people with high individualism scores and those with low collectivism scores. These relationships were mediated by protection efficacy. State-level collectivism had the same moderating effect on the association between perceived vulnerability and xenophobia that individual-level value orientation did. Collectivism-and the set of practices and rituals associated with collectivistic cultures-may serve as psychological protection against the threat of disease. © The Author(s) 2016.

Does major depressive disorder in parents predict specific fears and phobias in offspring?

Science.gov (United States)

Biel, Matthew G; Klein, Rachel G; Mannuzza, Salvatore; Roizen, Erica R; Truong, Nhan L; Roberson-Nay, Roxann; Pine, Daniel S

2008-01-01

Evidence suggests a relationship between parental depression and phobias in offspring as well as links between childhood fears and risk for major depression. This study examines the relationship between major depressive disorder (MDD) and anxiety disorders in parents and specific fears and phobias in offspring. Three hundred and eighteen children of parents with lifetime MDD, anxiety disorder, MDD+anxiety disorder, or neither were psychiatrically assessed via parent interview. Rates of specific phobias in offspring did not differ significantly across parental groups. Specific fears were significantly elevated in offspring of parents with MDD+anxiety disorder relative to the other groups (MDD, anxiety disorder, and controls, which did not differ). We failed to find increased phobias in offspring of parents with MDD without anxiety disorder. Elevated rates of specific fears in offspring of parents with MDD+anxiety disorder may be a function of more severe parental psychopathology, increased genetic loading, or unmeasured environmental influences. (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Fear extinction causes target-specific remodeling of perisomatic inhibitory synapses

Science.gov (United States)

Trouche, Stéphanie; Sasaki, Jennifer M.; Tu, Tiffany; Reijmers, Leon G.

2013-01-01

SUMMARY A more complete understanding of how fear extinction alters neuronal activity and connectivity within fear circuits may aid in the development of strategies to treat human fear disorders. Using a c-fos based transgenic mouse, we found that contextual fear extinction silenced basal amygdala (BA) excitatory neurons that had been previously activated during fear conditioning. We hypothesized that the silencing of BA fear neurons was caused by an action of extinction on BA inhibitory synapses. In support of this hypothesis, we found extinction-induced target-specific remodeling of BA perisomatic inhibitory synapses originating from parvalbumin and cholecystokinin-positive interneurons. Interestingly, the predicted changes in the balance of perisomatic inhibition matched the silent and active states of the target BA fear neurons. These observations suggest that target-specific changes in perisomatic inhibitory synapses represent a mechanism through which experience can sculpt the activation patterns within a neural circuit. PMID:24183705

Are fear memories erasable? –reconsolidation of learned fear with fear relevant and fear-irrelevant stimuli

OpenAIRE

Armita eGolkar; Martin eBellander; Andreas eOlsson; Arne eÖhman

2012-01-01

Recent advances in the field of fear learning have demonstrated that a single reminder exposure prior to extinction training can prevent the return of extinguished fear by disrupting the process of reconsolidation. These findings have however proven hard to replicate in humans. Given the significant implications of preventing the return of fear, the purpose of the present study was to further study the prerequisites for the putative effects of disrupting reconsolidation. In two experiments, w...

Rapid visuomotor processing of phobic images in spider- and snake-fearful participants.

Science.gov (United States)

Haberkamp, Anke; Schmidt, Filipp; Schmidt, Thomas

2013-10-01

This study investigates enhanced visuomotor processing of phobic compared to fear-relevant and neutral stimuli. We used a response priming design to measure rapid, automatic motor activation by natural images (spiders, snakes, mushrooms, and flowers) in spider-fearful, snake-fearful, and control participants. We found strong priming effects in all tasks and conditions; however, results showed marked differences between groups. Most importantly, in the group of spider-fearful individuals, spider pictures had a strong and specific influence on even the fastest motor responses: Phobic primes entailed the largest priming effects, and phobic targets accelerated responses, both effects indicating speeded response activation by phobic images. In snake-fearful participants, this processing enhancement for phobic material was less pronounced and extended to both snake and spider images. We conclude that spider phobia leads to enhanced processing capacity for phobic images. We argue that this is enabled by long-term perceptual learning processes. © 2013.

Multimodal assessment of long-term memory recall and reinstatement in a combined cue and context fear conditioning and extinction paradigm in humans.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan Haaker

Full Text Available Learning to predict danger via associative learning processes is critical for adaptive behaviour. After successful extinction, persisting fear memories often emerge as returning fear. Investigation of return of fear phenomena, e.g. reinstatement, have only recently began and to date, many critical questions with respect to reinstatement in human populations remain unresolved. Few studies have separated experimental phases in time even though increasing evidence shows that allowing for passage of time (and consolidation between experimental phases has a major impact on the results. In addition, studies have relied on a single psychophysiological dimension only (SCRs/SCL or FPS which hampers comparability between different studies that showed both differential or generalized return of fear following a reinstatement manipulation. In 93 participants, we used a multimodal approach (fear-potentiated startle, skin conductance responses, fear ratings to asses fear conditioning (day 1, extinction (day 2 as well as delayed memory recall and reinstatement (day 8 in a paradigm that probed contextual and cued fear intra-individually. Our findings show persistence of conditioning and extinction memory over time and demonstrate that reinstated fear responses were qualitatively different between dependent variables (subjective fear ratings, FPS, SCRs as well as between cued and contextual CSs. While only the arousal-related measurement (SCRs showed increasing reactions following reinstatement to the cued CSs, no evidence of reinstatement was observed for the subjective ratings and fear-related measurement (FPS. In contrast, for contextual CSs, reinstatement was evident as differential and generalized reinstatement in fear ratings as well as generally elevated physiological fear (FPS and arousal (SCRs related measurements to all contextual CSs (generalized non-differential reinstatement. Returning fear after reinstatement likely depends on a variety of variables

The Acquisition and Extinction of Fear of Painful Touch: a Novel Tactile Fear Conditioning Paradigm

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Biggs, Emma E; Meulders, Ann; Kaas, Amanda L; Goebel, R.; Vlaeyen, Johan W S

2017-01-01

Fear of touch, due to allodynia and spontaneous pain, is not well-understood. Experimental methods to advance this topic are lacking, and therefore we propose a novel tactile conditioning paradigm. Seventy-six pain-free participants underwent acquisition in both a predictable and unpredictable pain

High trait anxiety: a challenge for disrupting fear memory reconsolidation.

Science.gov (United States)

Soeter, Marieke; Kindt, Merel

2013-01-01

Disrupting reconsolidation may be promising in the treatment of anxiety disorders but the fear-reducing effects are thus far solely demonstrated in the average organism. A relevant question is whether disrupting fear memory reconsolidation is less effective in individuals who are vulnerable to develop an anxiety disorder. By collapsing data from six previous human fear conditioning studies we tested whether trait anxiety was related to the fear-reducing effects of a pharmacological agent targeting the process of memory reconsolidation--n = 107. Testing included different phases across three consecutive days each separated by 24 h. Fear responding was measured by the eye-blink startle reflex. Disrupting the process of fear memory reconsolidation was manipulated by administering the β-adrenergic receptor antagonist propranolol HCl either before or after memory retrieval. Trait anxiety uniquely predicted the fear-reducing effects of disrupting memory reconsolidation: the higher the trait anxiety, the less fear reduction. Vulnerable individuals with the propensity to develop anxiety disorders may need higher dosages of propranolol HCl or more retrieval trials for targeting and changing fear memory. Our finding clearly demonstrates that we cannot simply translate observations from fundamental research on fear reduction in the average organism to clinical practice.

Running from fear: Exercise modulation of fear extinction.

Science.gov (United States)

Tanner, Margaret K; Hake, Holly S; Bouchet, Courtney A; Greenwood, Benjamin N

2018-03-31

Extinction-based exposure therapy is the most common behavioral therapy for anxiety and trauma-related disorders, but fear tends to resurface even after successful extinction. Identification of novel strategies to enhance fear extinction and reduce fear relapse is of paramount importance to mental health. Exercise can enhance cognitive function, but it is not yet well understood whether exercise can be an effective augmentation strategy for fear extinction. In the current review, we present the current state of knowledge on the effects of exercise on fear extinction. Effects of exercise duration, explanations for conflicting results, and potential mechanisms, focusing on a hypothesized role for dopamine, are all discussed. We also provide new data suggesting that the timing in which acute exercise occurs relative to fear extinction, is a crucial variable in determining whether exercise can enhance fear extinction. Clinical implications and ideas to guide future research endeavors in this area are provided. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cortisol modifies extinction learning of recently acquired fear in men

Science.gov (United States)

Hermann, Andrea; Stark, Rudolf; Wolf, Oliver Tobias

2014-01-01

Exposure therapy builds on the mechanism of fear extinction leading to decreased fear responses. How the stress hormone cortisol affects brain regions involved in fear extinction in humans is unknown. For this reason, we tested 32 men randomly assigned to receive either 30 mg hydrocortisone or placebo 45 min before fear extinction. In fear acquisition, a picture of a geometrical figure was either partially paired (conditioned stimulus; CS+) or not paired (CS−) with an electrical stimulation (unconditioned stimulus; UCS). In fear extinction, each CS was presented again, but no UCS occurred. Cortisol increased conditioned skin conductance responses in early and late extinction. In early extinction, higher activation towards the CS− than to the CS+ was found in the amygdala, hippocampus and posterior parahippocampal gyrus. This pattern might be associated with the establishment of a new memory trace. In late extinction, the placebo compared with the cortisol group displayed enhanced CS+/CS− differentiation in the amygdala, medial frontal cortex and nucleus accumbens. A change from early deactivation to late activation of the extinction circuit as seen in the placebo group seems to be needed to enhance extinction and to reduce fear. Cortisol appears to interfere with this process thereby impairing extinction of recently acquired conditioned fear. PMID:23945999

Personality and Fear of Terrorist attacks in Ghana: The mediating ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study aimed at determining whether or not neuroticism would account for more variance in predicting risk perception and fear of terrorist attack in Ghana compared to conscientiousness. Moreover, it sought to examine the mediating effect of risk perception on the relationship between neuroticism and fear of terrorist ...

Activity of the anterior cingulate cortex and ventral hippocampus underlie increases in contextual fear generalization.

Science.gov (United States)

Cullen, Patrick K; Gilman, T Lee; Winiecki, Patrick; Riccio, David C; Jasnow, Aaron M

2015-10-01

Memories for context become less specific with time resulting in animals generalizing fear from training contexts to novel contexts. Though much attention has been given to the neural structures that underlie the long-term consolidation of a context fear memory, very little is known about the mechanisms responsible for the increase in fear generalization that occurs as the memory ages. Here, we examine the neural pattern of activation underlying the expression of a generalized context fear memory in male C57BL/6J mice. Animals were context fear conditioned and tested for fear in either the training context or a novel context at recent and remote time points. Animals were sacrificed and fluorescent in situ hybridization was performed to assay neural activation. Our results demonstrate activity of the prelimbic, infralimbic, and anterior cingulate (ACC) cortices as well as the ventral hippocampus (vHPC) underlie expression of a generalized fear memory. To verify the involvement of the ACC and vHPC in the expression of a generalized fear memory, animals were context fear conditioned and infused with 4% lidocaine into the ACC, dHPC, or vHPC prior to retrieval to temporarily inactivate these structures. The results demonstrate that activity of the ACC and vHPC is required for the expression of a generalized fear memory, as inactivation of these regions returned the memory to a contextually precise form. Current theories of time-dependent generalization of contextual memories do not predict involvement of the vHPC. Our data suggest a novel role of this region in generalized memory, which should be incorporated into current theories of time-dependent memory generalization. We also show that the dorsal hippocampus plays a prolonged role in contextually precise memories. Our findings suggest a possible interaction between the ACC and vHPC controls the expression of fear generalization. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Factors Predicting Rural Chinese Adolescents' Anxieties, Fears and Depression

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Huijun; Zhang, Ying

2008-01-01

This study examined age, gender, birth order and self-perceived level of achievement and popularity, as predictors of anxieties, fears and depression in Chinese adolescents. A sample of 398 rural Chinese adolescents participated in this study. Gender, academic performance and popularity have been found to make the greatest contributions to the…

How does consumers' knowledge about the persuasion tactics used in advertising (e.g. fear appeals) influence their psychological and behavioural responses?

OpenAIRE

Livermore, Rebecca S

2009-01-01

The rate of binge drinking in the United Kingdom still remains high, despite government efforts to warn against the short and long-term dangers. Most governmental advertising uses fear appeals to highlight these dangers but research has shown that consumer knowledge of such persuasion tactics can reduce their effectiveness. This research evaluates the effects of the persuasion knowledge model on consumersʼ responses to governmental fear appeals, specifically across the constructs of the ex...

Fear extinction causes target-specific remodeling of perisomatic inhibitory synapses.

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Trouche, Stéphanie; Sasaki, Jennifer M; Tu, Tiffany; Reijmers, Leon G

2013-11-20

A more complete understanding of how fear extinction alters neuronal activity and connectivity within fear circuits may aid in the development of strategies to treat human fear disorders. Using a c-fos-based transgenic mouse, we found that contextual fear extinction silenced basal amygdala (BA) excitatory neurons that had been previously activated during fear conditioning. We hypothesized that the silencing of BA fear neurons was caused by an action of extinction on BA inhibitory synapses. In support of this hypothesis, we found extinction-induced target-specific remodeling of BA perisomatic inhibitory synapses originating from parvalbumin and cholecystokinin-positive interneurons. Interestingly, the predicted changes in the balance of perisomatic inhibition matched the silent and active states of the target BA fear neurons. These observations suggest that target-specific changes in perisomatic inhibitory synapses represent a mechanism through which experience can sculpt the activation patterns within a neural circuit. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Fear conditioning induced by interpersonal conflicts in healthy individuals.

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Tada, Mitsuhiro; Uchida, Hiroyuki; Maeda, Takaki; Konishi, Mika; Umeda, Satoshi; Terasawa, Yuri; Nakajima, Shinichiro; Mimura, Masaru; Miyazaki, Tomoyuki; Takahashi, Takuya

2015-01-01

Psychophysiological markers have been focused to investigate the psychopathology of psychiatric disorders and personality subtypes. In order to understand neurobiological mechanisms underlying these conditions, fear-conditioning model has been widely used. However, simple aversive stimuli are too simplistic to understand mechanisms because most patients with psychiatric disorders are affected by social stressors. The objective of this study was to test the feasibility of a newly-designed conditioning experiment using a stimulus to cause interpersonal conflicts and examine associations between personality traits and response to that stimulus. Twenty-nine healthy individuals underwent the fear conditioning and extinction experiments in response to three types of stimuli: a simple aversive sound, disgusting pictures, and pictures of an actors' face with unpleasant verbal messages that were designed to cause interpersonal conflicts. Conditioned response was quantified by the skin conductance response (SCR). Correlations between the SCR changes, and personality traits measured by the Zanarini Rating Scale for Borderline Personality Disorder (ZAN-BPD) and Revised NEO Personality Inventory were explored. The interpersonal conflict stimulus resulted in successful conditioning, which was subsequently extinguished, in a similar manner as the other two stimuli. Moreover, a greater degree of conditioned response to the interpersonal conflict stimulus correlated with a higher ZAN-BPD total score. Fear conditioning and extinction can be successfully achieved, using interpersonal conflicts as a stimulus. Given that conditioned fear caused by the interpersonal conflicts is likely associated with borderline personality traits, this paradigm could contribute to further understanding of underlying mechanisms of interpersonal fear implicated in borderline personality disorder.

Fear Conditioning Induced by Interpersonal Conflicts in Healthy Individuals

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Tada, Mitsuhiro; Uchida, Hiroyuki; Maeda, Takaki; Konishi, Mika; Umeda, Satoshi; Terasawa, Yuri; Nakajima, Shinichiro; Mimura, Masaru; Miyazaki, Tomoyuki; Takahashi, Takuya

2015-01-01

Psychophysiological markers have been focused to investigate the psychopathology of psychiatric disorders and personality subtypes. In order to understand neurobiological mechanisms underlying these conditions, fear-conditioning model has been widely used. However, simple aversive stimuli are too simplistic to understand mechanisms because most patients with psychiatric disorders are affected by social stressors. The objective of this study was to test the feasibility of a newly-designed conditioning experiment using a stimulus to cause interpersonal conflicts and examine associations between personality traits and response to that stimulus. Twenty-nine healthy individuals underwent the fear conditioning and extinction experiments in response to three types of stimuli: a simple aversive sound, disgusting pictures, and pictures of an actors’ face with unpleasant verbal messages that were designed to cause interpersonal conflicts. Conditioned response was quantified by the skin conductance response (SCR). Correlations between the SCR changes, and personality traits measured by the Zanarini Rating Scale for Borderline Personality Disorder (ZAN-BPD) and Revised NEO Personality Inventory were explored. The interpersonal conflict stimulus resulted in successful conditioning, which was subsequently extinguished, in a similar manner as the other two stimuli. Moreover, a greater degree of conditioned response to the interpersonal conflict stimulus correlated with a higher ZAN-BPD total score. Fear conditioning and extinction can be successfully achieved, using interpersonal conflicts as a stimulus. Given that conditioned fear caused by the interpersonal conflicts is likely associated with borderline personality traits, this paradigm could contribute to further understanding of underlying mechanisms of interpersonal fear implicated in borderline personality disorder. PMID:25978817

Targeting memory reconsolidation to prevent the return of fear in patients with fear of flying.

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Maples-Keller, Jessica L; Price, Matthew; Jovanovic, Tanja; Norrholm, Seth D; Odenat, Lydia; Post, Loren; Zwiebach, Liza; Breazeale, Kathryn; Gross, Robin; Kim, Sae-Jin; Rothbaum, Barbara Olasov

2017-07-01

When a memory is recalled, it may again exist in a labile state and stored information becomes amenable to change, a psychobiological process known as reconsolidation. Exposure therapy for anxiety disorders involves accessing a fear memory and modifying it with less fearful information. A preclinical study reported that providing a reminder of a fear memory 10 min prior to extinction training in humans decreased fear up to 1 year later (Schiller et al., 2010). For this pilot clinical study, we used virtual reality exposure therapy (VRE) for fear of flying (FoF) to determine if using a cue to reactivate the memory of the feared stimulus 10 min prior to exposure sessions leads to fewer anxiety-related behaviors and a more durable response compared to a neutral cue. FoF participants (N = 89) received four sessions of anxiety management training followed by four sessions of VRE. Participants were randomly assigned to receive an FoF cue (reactivation group) or a neutral cue (control group) prior to the VRE sessions. Heart rate (HR) and skin conductance levels (SCLs) were collected during posttreatment and 3-month follow-up assessments as objective markers of fear responding. Treatment was effective and all clinical measures improved equally between groups at posttreatment with maintained gains through follow-ups. Significant differences were identified with regard to HR and SCL indices. These results suggest that memory reactivation prior to exposure therapy did not have an impact on clinical measures but may enhance the effect of exposure therapy at the physiological level. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Fear of nuclear war

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Radil, T.

1987-01-01

Problem of psychological consequences of nuclear war threat is considered. Two categories of persons are distinguished: persons who are not decision-making but whose life is threatened, and persons who make decisions but are not responsible for them. An active approach to problems, related to a possible nuclear disaster, appears to be a powerfull socio-political means against nuclear danger and also has both psychotherapeutic and preventive meaning from the viewpoint of at least a partial liberation and protecion of people against the fear of nuclear death. By their effective activity among people, physicians and psychologists can effectively struggle against the fear of nuclear death

Reciprocal relationship between fear of falling and depression in elderly Chinese primary care patients.

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Chou, Kee-Lee; Chi, Iris

2008-09-01

The objective of the current study is to investigate the link between depression and fear of falling in Hong Kong Chinese older adults in primary are settings. Using longitudinal data collected on 321 Chinese primary care patients 65 years of age and older, the authors investigated the reciprocal relationship between fear of falling and depression and examined whether functional disability and social functioning mediated the link between fear of falling and depression. Participants were recruited from three primary care units in Hong Kong. Subjects were assessed in Cantonese by two trained assessors with Minimum Data Set-Home Care twice over a period of one year. Findings revealed that fear of falling at baseline significantly predicted depression at 12 month follow-up assessment after age, gender, marital status, education and depression at baseline were adjusted, but depression at baseline did not predict fear of falling at 12 months after fear of falling at baseline was adjusted. Moreover, social functioning mediated the impact of fear of falling on depression. The findings presented here indicate that fear of falling potentially increases the risk of depression in Chinese older adults in primary care settings.

Fear of pain in children and adolescents with neuropathic pain and CRPS

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Simons, Laura E.

2015-01-01

A significant proportion of children and adolescents with chronic pain endorse elevated pain-related fear. Pain-related fear is associated with high levels of disability, depressive symptoms, and school impairment. Due to faulty nerve signaling, individuals with neuropathic pain and CRPS may be more prone to develop pain-related fear as they avoid use of and neglect the affected body area(s), resulting in exacerbated symptoms, muscle atrophy, maintenance of pain signaling, and ongoing pain-related disability. Not surprisingly, effective treatments for elevated pain-related fears involve exposure to previously avoided activities to down-regulate incorrect pain signaling. In the context of intensive interdisciplinary pain treatment of youth with neuropathic pain, decreasing pain-related fear is associated with improved physical and psychological functioning, while high initial pain-related fear is a risk factor for less treatment responsiveness. An innovative approach to targeting pain-related fear as well as evidence of a neural response to treatment involving decoupling of the amygdala with key fear circuits in youth with CRPS suggest breakthroughs in our ability to ameliorate these issues. PMID:26785161

High trait anxiety: a challenge for disrupting fear memory reconsolidation.

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Marieke Soeter

Full Text Available Disrupting reconsolidation may be promising in the treatment of anxiety disorders but the fear-reducing effects are thus far solely demonstrated in the average organism. A relevant question is whether disrupting fear memory reconsolidation is less effective in individuals who are vulnerable to develop an anxiety disorder. By collapsing data from six previous human fear conditioning studies we tested whether trait anxiety was related to the fear-reducing effects of a pharmacological agent targeting the process of memory reconsolidation--n = 107. Testing included different phases across three consecutive days each separated by 24 h. Fear responding was measured by the eye-blink startle reflex. Disrupting the process of fear memory reconsolidation was manipulated by administering the β-adrenergic receptor antagonist propranolol HCl either before or after memory retrieval. Trait anxiety uniquely predicted the fear-reducing effects of disrupting memory reconsolidation: the higher the trait anxiety, the less fear reduction. Vulnerable individuals with the propensity to develop anxiety disorders may need higher dosages of propranolol HCl or more retrieval trials for targeting and changing fear memory. Our finding clearly demonstrates that we cannot simply translate observations from fundamental research on fear reduction in the average organism to clinical practice.

The vicarious learning pathway to fear 40 years on.

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Askew, Chris; Field, Andy P

2008-10-01

Forty years on from the initial idea that fears could be learnt vicariously through observing other people's responses to a situation or stimulus, this review looks at the evidence for this theory as an explanatory model of clinical fear. First, we review early experimental evidence that fears can be learnt vicariously before turning to the evidence from both primate and human research that clinical fears can be acquired in this way. Finally, we review recent evidence from research on non-anxious children. Throughout the review we highlight problems and areas for future research. We conclude by exploring the likely underlying mechanisms in the vicarious learning of fear and the resulting clinical implications.

The predictive effect of fear-avoidance beliefs on low back pain among newly qualified health care workers with and without previous low back pain: a prospective cohort study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Jette Nygaard; Albertsen, Karen; Borg, Vilhelm

2009-01-01

Health care workers have a high prevalence of low back pain (LBP). Although physical exposures in the working environment are linked to an increased risk of LBP, it has been suggested that individual coping strategies, for example fear-avoidance beliefs, could also be important in the development...... and maintenance of LBP. Accordingly, the main objective of this study was to examine (1) the association between physical work load and LBP, (2) the predictive effect of fear-avoidance beliefs on the development of LBP, and (3) the moderating effect of fear-avoidance beliefs on the association between physical...

The Fear of Movement/Pain in Musculoskeletal Pain-A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Behnam Akhbari

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Objective: To investigate and review psychological influences of pain such as kinesiophobia and pain-related fear on patients with musculoskeletal pain and on rehabilitation outcomes. Materials & Methods: Fear is a universal and powerful emotion and, as a result, it can have a profound impact on human behavior. the fear-motivated behavior has the potential to adversely impact rehabilitation outcomes for patients with musculoskeletal pain. cross-sectional studies consistently documented a positive association between elevated pain-related fear and increased pain intensity and disability. in addition, several longitudinal studies indicated that elevated pain-related fear is a precursor to poor clinical outcomes. existence of catastrophizing in patients effect on the fear of movement/ (reinjury. this fear contributes to avoidance behaviors and subsequent disuse, depression, and disability. it has been established that kinesiophobia plays a negative role in the outcome of the rehabilitation of acute and chronic low back pain, chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia syndrome. Results: The recent studies suggest that physical therapists should consider the role of pain-related fear and avoidance behaviors in patients' function and they should assess these cognitive and behavioral factors. or (physical therapists should assess pain-related fear when rehabilitating certain individuals with musculoskeletal pain. currently, there is a lot of evidence for the assessment of pain-related fear in patients with musculoskeletal pain. self-report questionnaires are readily available for assessment and investigation of pain-related fear and several studies have found support for their validity and reliability. recent research indicated that besides fear-avoidance responses, endurance-related responses lead to chronic pain via physical overload. the existence of mental kinesiophobia has been established in patients with chronic stress complaints, and this

Early-life inflammation with LPS delays fear extinction in adult rodents.

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Doenni, V M; Song, C M; Hill, M N; Pittman, Q J

2017-07-01

A large body of evidence has been brought forward connecting developmental immune activation to abnormal fear and anxiety levels. Anxiety disorders have extremely high lifetime prevalence, yet susceptibility factors that contribute to their emergence are poorly understood. In this research we investigated whether an inflammatory insult early in life can alter the response to fear conditioning in adulthood. Fear learning and extinction are important and adaptive behaviors, mediated largely by the amygdala and its interconnectivity with cortico-limbic circuits. Male and female rat pups were given LPS (100μg/kg i.p.) or saline at postnatal day 14; LPS activated cFos expression in the central amygdala 2.5h after exposure, but not the basal or lateral nuclei. When tested in adulthood, acquisition of an auditory cued or contextual learned fear memory was largely unaffected as was the extinction of fear to a conditioned context. However, we detected a deficit in auditory fear extinction in male and female rats that experienced early-life inflammation, such that there is a significant delay in fear extinction processes resulting in more sustained fear behaviors in response to a conditioned cue. This response was specific to extinction training and did not persist into extinction recall. The effect could not be explained by differences in pain threshold (unaltered) or in baseline anxiety, which was elevated in adolescent females only and unaltered in adolescent males and adult males and females. This research provides further evidence for the involvement of the immune system during development in the shaping of fear and anxiety related behaviors. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Vicarious extinction learning during reconsolidation neutralizes fear memory.

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Golkar, Armita; Tjaden, Cathelijn; Kindt, Merel

2017-05-01

Previous studies have suggested that fear memories can be updated when recalled, a process referred to as reconsolidation. Given the beneficial effects of model-based safety learning (i.e. vicarious extinction) in preventing the recovery of short-term fear memory, we examined whether consolidated long-term fear memories could be updated with safety learning accomplished through vicarious extinction learning initiated within the reconsolidation time-window. We assessed this in a final sample of 19 participants that underwent a three-day within-subject fear-conditioning design, using fear-potentiated startle as our primary index of fear learning. On day 1, two fear-relevant stimuli (reinforced CSs) were paired with shock (US) and a third stimulus served as a control (CS). On day 2, one of the two previously reinforced stimuli (the reminded CS) was presented once in order to reactivate the fear memory 10 min before vicarious extinction training was initiated for all CSs. The recovery of the fear memory was tested 24 h later. Vicarious extinction training conducted within the reconsolidation time window specifically prevented the recovery of the reactivated fear memory (p = 0.03), while leaving fear-potentiated startle responses to the non-reactivated cue intact (p = 0.62). These findings are relevant to both basic and clinical research, suggesting that a safe, non-invasive model-based exposure technique has the potential to enhance the efficiency and durability of anxiolytic therapies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Oxytocin receptor neurotransmission in the dorsolateral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis facilitates the acquisition of cued fear in the fear-potentiated startle paradigm in rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Moaddab, Mahsa; Dabrowska, Joanna

2017-07-15

Oxytocin (OT) is a hypothalamic neuropeptide that modulates fear and anxiety-like behaviors. Dorsolateral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST dl ) plays a critical role in the regulation of fear and anxiety, and expresses high levels of OT receptor (OTR). However, the role of OTR neurotransmission within the BNST dl in mediating these behaviors is unknown. Here, we used adult male Sprague-Dawley rats to investigate the role of OTR neurotransmission in the BNST dl in the modulation of the acoustic startle response, as well as in the acquisition and consolidation of conditioned fear using fear potentiated startle (FPS) paradigm. Bilateral intra-BNST dl administration of OT (100 ng) did not affect the acquisition of conditioned fear response. However, intra-BNST dl administration of specific OTR antagonist (OTA), (d(CH 2 ) 5 1 , Tyr(Me) 2 , Thr 4 , Orn 8 , des-Gly-NH 2 9 )-vasotocin, (200 ng), prior to the fear conditioning session, impaired the acquisition of cued fear, without affecting a non-cued fear component of FPS. Neither OTA, nor OT affected baseline startle or shock reactivity during fear conditioning. Therefore, the observed impairment of cued fear after OTA infusion resulted from the specific effect on the formation of cued fear. In contrast to the acquisition, neither OTA nor OT affected the consolidation of FPS, when administered after the completion of fear conditioning session. Taken together, these results reveal the important role of OTR neurotransmission in the BNST dl in the formation of conditioned fear to a discrete cue. This study also highlights the role of the BNST dl in learning to discriminate between threatening and safe stimuli. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Evaluation of psychological fear in children undergoing head-up tilt test].

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Wei-Hong; Wu, Li-Jia; Wang, Cheng; Lin, Ping; Li, Fang; Zhu, Li-Ping; Ran, Jing; Zou, Run-Mei; Liu, De-Yu

2014-03-01

To investigate the effects of different tilt angles of head-up tilt test (HUTT) and different responses to HUTT on the psychological fear in children undergoing the test. HUTT was performed on children with unexplained syncope or pre-syncope (107 cases: 52 males and 55 females), aged 5.5-17.8 years (mean 12.0±2.8 years). All subjects were randomly assigned to undergo HUTT at an angle of 60°, 70° or 80°; the negative cases underwent sublingual nitroglycerin-provocation HUTT at the same tilt angle. The Wong-Baker Faces Pain Rating Scale was used for self-assessment of psychological fear in subjects during HUTT at the end point of the test. The positive rate, hemodynamic changes and distribution of response types showed no significant differences between children at tilt angles of 60°, 70° and 80° (P>0.05). The greater the tilt angle, the higher the degree of psychological fear in children undergoing the test, but there were no significant differences between them (P>0.05). The degree of psychological fear in children who showed a positive response to HUTT (n=76) was significantly higher than that in children who showed a negative response (n=31) (Pfear in children undergoing the test, and the degree of psychological fear increases in children tested at tilt angles from 60° to 80°, but the differences have no statistical significance. A positive response to HUTT can significantly increase the psychological fear in children.

Treatment of Storm Fears Using Virtual Reality and Progressive Muscle Relaxation.

Science.gov (United States)

Lima, Jessica; McCabe-Bennett, Hanna; Antony, Martin M

2018-03-01

The present study examined the efficacy of virtual reality (VR) exposure therapy for treating individuals with storm fears by comparing a one-session VR exposure treatment with a one-session progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) and psychoeducation session. It was predicted that there would be a reduction in storm-related fear post-treatment for individuals in both conditions, but that this reduction would be greater for those in the VR exposure condition. It was predicted that improvements would be maintained at 30-day follow-up only for those in the VR exposure condition. Thirty-six participants each received one of the two treatment conditions. Those in the PMR treatment group received approximately 30 minutes of PMR and approximately 15 minutes of psychoeducation regarding storms. Those in the VR treatment group received approximately 1 hour of VR exposure. Additionally, participants were asked to complete a pre-treatment and post-treatment 5-minute behavioural approach test to assess changes in storm fears. They were also asked to complete a measure assessing storm phobia. There was a significant interaction between treatment group and self-reported fear at post-treatment, such that fear decreased for both groups, although the reduction was stronger in the VR group. Results also showed that reductions in storm fear were maintained at 30-day follow-up for both groups. Although this study used a small non-clinical sample, these results offer preliminary support for the use of VR exposure therapy in the treatment of storm-related fear.

Negative appraisals and fear extinction are independently related to PTSD symptoms.

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Zuj, Daniel V; Palmer, Matthew A; Gray, Kate E; Hsu, Chia-Ming K; Nicholson, Emma L; Malhi, Gin S; Bryant, Richard A; Felmingham, Kim L

2017-08-01

Considerable research has revealed impaired fear extinction to be a significant predictor of PTSD. Fear extinction is also considered the primary mechanism of exposure therapy, and a critical factor in PTSD recovery. The cognitive theory of PTSD proposes that symptoms persist due to excessive negative appraisals about the trauma and its sequelae. Research has not yet examined the relationship between fear extinction and negative appraisals in PTSD. A cross-sectional sample of participants with PTSD (n =21), and trauma-exposed controls (n =33) underwent a standardized differential fear conditioning and extinction paradigm, with skin conductance response (SCR) amplitude serving as the index of conditioned responses. The Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory (PTCI) was used to index catastrophic negative appraisals. Participants with PTSD demonstrated a slower decrease in overall SCR responses during extinction and greater negative appraisals compared to the group. A moderation analysis revealed that both negative trauma-relevant appraisals and fear extinction learning were independently associated with PTSD symptoms, but there was no moderation interaction. The current study was limited by a modest sample size, leading to the inclusion of participants with subclinical PTSD symptoms. Further, the current study only assessed fear extinction learning; including a second day extinction recall task may show alternative effects. These findings indicate that negative appraisals and fear extinction did not interact, but had independent relationships with PTSD symptoms. Here we show for the first time in an experimental framework that negative appraisals and fear extinction play separate roles in PTSD symptoms. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reliability and validity of the Fear of Intimacy Scale in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Ingersoll, Travis S; Norvilitis, Jill M; Zhang, Jie; Jia, Shuhua; Tetewsky, Sheldon

2008-05-01

Participants in China (n = 343) and the United States (n = 283) completed measures to assess the reliability and validity of the Fear of Intimacy Scale (Descutner & Thelen, 1991) with a Chinese population. Internal consistency was strong in both cultures, and the factor structure was also similar between cultures, with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) identifying three-factor models in both samples. As evidence of convergent validity, the scale was positively correlated with depression and negatively correlated with social support and self-esteem. There were gender differences between cultures, but low levels of femininity were predictive of fear of intimacy in both cultures. The influence of individualism and collectivism varied, with high levels of individualism more predictive of a fear of intimacy in China than in the United States.

Disruption of Memory Reconsolidation Erases a Fear Memory Trace in the Human Amygdala: An 18-Month Follow-Up.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johannes Björkstrand

Full Text Available Fear memories can be attenuated by reactivation followed by disrupted reconsolidation. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging we recently showed that reactivation and reconsolidation of a conditioned fear memory trace in the basolateral amygdala predicts subsequent fear expression over two days, while reactivation followed by disrupted reconsolidation abolishes the memory trace and suppresses fear. In this follow-up study we demonstrate that the behavioral effect persists over 18 months reflected in superior reacquisition after undisrupted, as compared to disrupted reconsolidation, and that neural activity in the basolateral amygdala representing the initial fear memory predicts return of fear. We conclude that disrupting reconsolidation have long lasting behavioral effects and may permanently erase the fear component of an amygdala-dependent memory.

Stimulus fear-relevance and the vicarious learning pathway to childhood fears

OpenAIRE

Askew, C.; Dunne, G.; Ozdil, A.; Reynolds, G.; Field, A.P.

2013-01-01

Enhanced fear learning for fear-relevant stimuli has been demonstrated in procedures with adults in the laboratory. Three experiments investigated the effect of stimulus fear-relevance on vicarious fear learning in children (aged 6-11 years). Pictures of stimuli with different levels of fear-relevance (flowers, caterpillars, snakes, worms, and Australian marsupials) were presented alone or together with scared faces. In line with previous studies, children's fear beliefs and avoidance prefere...

Individual changes in dental fear among children and parents: a longitudinal study.

Science.gov (United States)

Luoto, Anni; Tolvanen, Mimmi; Rantavuori, Kari; Pohjola, Vesa; Karlsson, Linnea; Lahti, Satu

2014-11-01

The aim was to study longitudinal changes in dental fear among children and one of their parents separately for girls, boys, mothers and fathers over a 3.5-year period. 11-12-year-old children in Pori, Finland (n = 1691) and one of their parents were invited to participate in this longitudinal study. Dental fear was measured in 2001, 2003 and 2005 when the children were 11-12, 13-14 and 15-16-years-old, respectively. The participants were asked if they were afraid of dental care (1 = 'not afraid', 2 = 'slightly afraid', 3 = 'afraid to some degree', 4 = 'quite afraid', 5 = 'very afraid' and 6 = 'I don't know'). The participants' gender was also registered. Mean values of the change scores were studied. Prevalence and incidence of dental fear and changes in dichotomized dental fear (responses 4-5 = high dental fear and responses 1-3 = low dental fear) were studied using cross-tabulations and Cochran's Q test. Overall, the prevalence of dental fear slightly increased and female preponderance in dental fear became more evident during the follow-up. Of the mothers and children with high dental fear at the baseline, 24% and 56%, respectively, reported not to be fearful at the end of the follow-up. Dental fear seems to be more stable in adulthood than in childhood. Thus, it might be better to intervene in dental fear during childhood rather than during adulthood.

Making Sense of Low Back Pain and Pain-Related Fear.

Science.gov (United States)

Bunzli, Samantha; Smith, Anne; Schütze, Robert; Lin, Ivan; O'Sullivan, Peter

2017-09-01

Synopsis Pain-related fear is implicated in the transition from acute to chronic low back pain and the persistence of disabling low back pain, making it a key target for physical therapy intervention. The current understanding of pain-related fear is that it is a psychopathological problem, whereby people who catastrophize about the meaning of pain become trapped in a vicious cycle of avoidance behavior, pain, and disability, as recognized in the fear-avoidance model. However, there is evidence that pain-related fear can also be seen as a common-sense response to deal with low back pain, for example, when one is told that one's back is vulnerable, degenerating, or damaged. In this instance, avoidance is a common-sense response to protect a "damaged" back. While the fear-avoidance model proposes that when someone first develops low back pain, the confrontation of normal activity in the absence of catastrophizing leads to recovery, the pathway to recovery for individuals trapped in the fear-avoidance cycle is less clear. Understanding pain-related fear from a common-sense perspective enables physical therapists to offer individuals with low back pain and high fear a pathway to recovery by altering how they make sense of their pain. Drawing on a body of published work exploring the lived experience of pain-related fear in people with low back pain, this clinical commentary illustrates how Leventhal's common-sense model may assist physical therapists to understand the broader sense-making processes involved in the fear-avoidance cycle, and how they can be altered to facilitate fear reduction by applying strategies established in the behavioral medicine literature. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2017;47(9):628-636. Epub 13 Jul 2017. doi:10.2519/jospt.2017.7434.

Fear of Terrorism in New York After the September 11 Terrorist Attacks: Implications for Emergency Mental Health and Preparedness

Science.gov (United States)

Boscarino, Joseph A.; Figley, Charles R.; Adams, Richard E.

2009-01-01

To examine the public’s response to future terrorist attacks, we surveyed 1,001 New Yorkers in the community one year after the September 11 attacks. Overall, New Yorkers were very concerned about future terrorist attacks and also concerned about attacks involving biological or nuclear weapons. In addition, while most New Yorkers reported that if a biological or nuclear attack occurred they would evaluate available information before evacuating, a significant number reported they would immediately evacuate, regardless of police or public health communications to the contrary. The level of public concern was significantly higher on all measures among New York City and Long Island residents (downstate) compared to the rest of the state. A model predicting higher fear of terrorism indicated that downstate residents, women, those 45 to 64 years old, African Americans and Hispanics, those with less education/income, and those more likely to flee, were more fearful of future attacks. In addition, making disaster preparations and carefully evaluating emergency information also predicted a higher level of fear as well. A second model predicting who would flee suggested that those more likely to evaluate available information were less likely to immediately evacuate, while those with a higher fear of future attacks were more likely to flee the area. Given these findings and the possibility of future attacks, mental health professionals need to be more involved in preparedness efforts, especially related to the psychological impact of attacks involving weapons of mass destruction. PMID:14730761

The Fear of Pain Questionnaire (FOPQ): assessment of pain-related fear among children and adolescents with chronic pain.

Science.gov (United States)

Simons, Laura E; Sieberg, Christine B; Carpino, Elizabeth; Logan, Deirdre; Berde, Charles

2011-06-01

An important construct in understanding pain-related disability is pain-related fear. Heightened pain-related fear may result in behavioral avoidance leading to disuse, disability, and depression; whereas confrontation of avoided activities may result in a reduction of fear over time and reengagement with activities of daily living. Although there are several measures to assess pain-related fear among adults with chronic pain, none exist for children and adolescents. The aim of the current study was to develop a new tool to assess avoidance and fear of pain with pediatric chronic pain patients: the Fear of Pain Questionnaire, child report (FOPQ-C), and Fear of Pain Questionnaire, parent proxy report (FOPQ-P). After initial pilot testing, the FOPQ-C and FOPQ-P were administered to 299 youth with chronic pain and their parents at an initial multidisciplinary pain treatment evaluation. The FOPQ demonstrated very strong internal consistency of .92 for the child and parent versions. One-month stability estimates were acceptable and suggested responsivity to change. For construct validity, the FOPQ correlated with generalized anxiety, pain catastrophizing, and somatization. Evidence of criterion-related validity was found with significant associations for the FOPQ with pain, healthcare utilization, and functional disability. These results support the FOPQ as a psychometrically sound measure. Pain-related fear plays an important role in relation to emotional distress and pain-related disability among children and adolescents with chronic pain. Identification of patients with high levels of fear avoidance of pain with the FOPQ will inform how to proceed with psychological and physical therapy interventions for chronic pain. Copyright © 2011 American Pain Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Testing the Bivalent Fear of Evaluation Model of Social Anxiety: The Relationship between Fear of Positive Evaluation, Social Anxiety, and Perfectionism.

Science.gov (United States)

Yap, Keong; Gibbs, Amy L; Francis, Andrew J P; Schuster, Sharynn E

2016-01-01

The Bivalent Fear of Evaluation (BFOE) model of social anxiety proposes that fear of negative evaluation (FNE) and fear of positive evaluation (FPE) play distinct roles in social anxiety. Research is however lacking in terms of how FPE is related to perfectionism and how these constructs interact to predict social anxiety. Participants were 382 individuals from the general community and included an oversampling of individuals with social anxiety. Measures of FPE, FNE, perfectionism, and social anxiety were administered. Results were mostly consistent with the predictions made by the BFOE model and showed that accounting for confounding variables, FPE correlated negatively with high standards but positively with maladaptive perfectionism. FNE was also positively correlated with maladaptive perfectionism, but there was no significant relationship between FNE and high standards. Also consistent with BFOE model, both FNE and FPE significantly moderated the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and social anxiety with the relationship strengthened at high levels of FPE and FNE. These findings provide additional support for the BFOE model and implications are discussed.

Medial prefrontal cortex stimulation modulates the processing of conditioned fear

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Anne eGuhn

2014-02-01

Full Text Available The extinction of conditioned fear is dependent on an efficient interplay between the amygdala and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC. In rats, high-frequency electrical mPFC stimulation was shown to improve extinction by a reduction of amygdala activity. However, so far it is unclear whether stimulation of homologues regions in humans might have similar beneficial effects.Healthy volunteers received one-session of either active or sham repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS covering the mPFC while undergoing a two-day fear conditioning and extinction paradigm. rTMS was applied offline after fear acquisition in which one of two faces (CS+ but not CS- was associated with an aversive scream (UCS. Immediate extinction learning (day 1 and extinction recall (day 2 were conducted without UCS delivery. Conditioned responses were assessed in a multimodal approach using fear-potentiated startle (FPS, skin conductance responses (SCR, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS and self-report scales. Consistent with the hypothesis of a modulated processing of conditioned fear after high-frequency rTMS, the active group showed a reduced CS+/CS- discrimination during extinction learning as evident in FPS as well as in SCR and arousal ratings. FPS responses to CS+ further showed a linear decrement throughout both extinction sessions. This study describes the first experimental approach of influencing conditioned fear by using rTMS which can be a basis for future studies investigating a complementation of mPFC stimulation to cognitive behavioral therapy.

The effects of prenatal stocking densities on the fear responses and sociality of goat (Capra hircus kids.

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Rachel M Chojnacki

Full Text Available Prenatal stress (stress experienced by a pregnant mother and its effects on offspring have been comprehensively studied but relatively little research has been done on how prenatal social stress affects farm animals such as goats. Here, we use the operational description of 'stress' as "physical or perceived threats to homeostasis." The aim of this study was to investigate the prenatal effects of different herd densities on the fear responses and sociality of goat kids. Pregnant Norwegian dairy goats were exposed to high, medium or low prenatal animal density treatments throughout gestation (1.0, 2.0 or 3.0 m2 per animal, respectively. One kid per litter was subjected to two behavioral tests at 5 weeks of age. The 'social test' was applied to assess the fear responses, sociality and social recognition skills when presented with a familiar and unfamiliar kid and the 'separation test' assessed the behavioral coping skills when isolated. The results indicate goat kids from the highest prenatal density of 1.0 m2 were more fearful than the kids from the lower prenatal densities (i.e. made more escape attempts (separation test: P < 0.001 and vocalizations (social test: P < 0.001; separation test: P < 0.001. This effect was more pronounced in females than males in the high density (vocalizations; social test: P < 0.001; separation test: P  =  0.001 and females were generally more social than males. However, goat kids did not differentiate between a familiar and an unfamiliar kid at 5 weeks of age and sociality was not affected by the prenatal density treatment. We conclude that high animal densities during pregnancy in goats produce offspring that have a higher level of fear, particularly in females. Behavioral changes in offspring that occur as an effect of prenatal stress are of high importance as many of the females are recruited to the breeding stock of dairy goats.

Modulation of Long-term Potentiation of Cortico-amygdala Synaptic Responses and Auditory Fear Memory by Dietary Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid

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Daisuke Yamada

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Converging evidence suggests that an imbalance of ω3 to ω6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA in the brain is involved in mental illnesses such as anxiety disorders. However, the underlying mechanism is unknown. We previously reported that the dietary ratio of ω3 to ω6 PUFA alters this ratio in the brain, and influences contextual fear memory. In addition to behavioral change, enhancement of cannabinoid CB1 receptor-mediated short-term synaptic plasticity and facilitation of the agonist sensitivity of CB1 receptors have been observed in excitatory synaptic responses in the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala. However, it is not known whether long-term synaptic plasticity in the amygdala is influenced by the dietary ratio of ω3 to ω6 PUFA. In the present study, we examined long-term potentiation (LTP of optogenetically–evoked excitatory synaptic responses in synapses between the terminal of the projection from the auditory cortex and the pyramidal cells in the lateral nucleus of the amygdala. We found that LTP in this pathway was attenuated in mice fed a diet with a high ω3 to ω6 PUFA ratio (0.97, compared with mice fed a diet with a low ω3 to ω6 PUFA ratio (0.14. Furthermore, mice in the former condition showed reduced fear responses in an auditory fear conditioning test, compared with mice in the latter condition. In both electrophysiological and behavioral experiments, the effect of a diet with a high ω3 to ω6 PUFA ratio was completely blocked by treatment with a CB1 receptor antagonist. Furthermore, a significant reduction was observed in cholesterol content, but not in the level of an endogenous CB1 receptor agonist, 2-arachidonoylglycerol, in brain samples containing the amygdala. These results suggest that the balance of ω3 to ω6 PUFA has an impact on fear memory and cortico-amygdala synaptic plasticity, both in a CB1 receptor–dependent manner.

Artificial theta stimulation impairs encoding of contextual fear memory.

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Arto Lipponen

Full Text Available Several experiments have demonstrated an intimate relationship between hippocampal theta rhythm (4-12 Hz and memory. Lesioning the medial septum or fimbria-fornix, a fiber track connecting the hippocampus and the medial septum, abolishes the theta rhythm and results in a severe impairment in declarative memory. To assess whether there is a causal relationship between hippocampal theta and memory formation we investigated whether restoration of hippocampal theta by electrical stimulation during the encoding phase also restores fimbria-fornix lesion induced memory deficit in rats in the fear conditioning paradigm. Male Wistar rats underwent sham or fimbria-fornix lesion operation. Stimulation electrodes were implanted in the ventral hippocampal commissure and recording electrodes in the septal hippocampus. Artificial theta stimulation of 8 Hz was delivered during 3-min free exploration of the test cage in half of the rats before aversive conditioning with three foot shocks during 2 min. Memory was assessed by total freezing time in the same environment 24 h and 28 h after fear conditioning, and in an intervening test session in a different context. As expected, fimbria-fornix lesion impaired fear memory and dramatically attenuated hippocampal theta power. Artificial theta stimulation produced continuous theta oscillations that were almost similar to endogenous theta rhythm in amplitude and frequency. However, contrary to our predictions, artificial theta stimulation impaired conditioned fear response in both sham and fimbria-fornix lesioned animals. These data suggest that restoration of theta oscillation per se is not sufficient to support memory encoding after fimbria-fornix lesion and that universal theta oscillation in the hippocampus with a fixed frequency may actually impair memory.

THE FEAR OF FEAR CONCEPT - EVIDENCE IN FAVOR OF MULTIDIMENSIONALITY

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ARRINDELL, WA

In recent years, questions have been raised regarding the dimensionality of existing measures of fear of fear. This is an important issue that needs to be addressed if the dimensions(s) of any scale purporting to assess fear of fear are to guide theory and research. One of the most widely used

A meta-analysis of fear appeals: implications for effective public health campaigns.

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Witte, K; Allen, M

2000-10-01

The fear appeal literature is examined in a comprehensive synthesis using meta-analytical techniques. The meta-analysis suggests that strong fear appeals produce high levels of perceived severity and susceptibility, and are more persuasive than low or weak fear appeals. The results also indicate that fear appeals motivate adaptive danger control actions such as message acceptance and maladaptive fear control actions such as defensive avoidance or reactance. It appears that strong fear appeals and high-efficacy messages produce the greatest behavior change, whereas strong fear appeals with low-efficacy messages produce the greatest levels of defensive responses. Future directions and practical implications are provided.

Effects of postretrieval-extinction learning on return of contextually controlled cued fear.

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Meir Drexler, Shira; Merz, Christian J; Hamacher-Dang, Tanja C; Marquardt, Veronica; Fritsch, Nathalie; Otto, Tobias; Wolf, Oliver T

2014-08-01

Reactivation of an already consolidated memory makes it labile for a period of several hrs, which are required for its reconsolidation. Evidence suggests that the return of conditioned fear through spontaneous recovery, reinstatement, or renewal can be prevented by blockading this reconsolidation process using pharmacological or behavioral interventions. Postretrieval-extinction learning has been shown to prevent the return of cued fear in humans using fear-irrelevant stimuli, as well as cued and contextual fear in rodents. The effects of postretrieval extinction on human contextually controlled cued fear to fear-relevant stimuli remain unknown, and are the focus of the present study. The experimental design was based on 3 consecutive days: acquisition, reactivation and extinction, and re-extinction. For the fear conditioning, 2 zoo frames served as different contexts, 5 fear-relevant stimuli (aversive animal pictures) served as conditioned stimuli (CS), electric shocks served as unconditioned stimuli (UCS). Expectancy ratings and skin-conductance response (SCR) were used as measures of fear responses; spontaneous recovery and renewal were used as indicators of the return of fear. The expectancy ratings and SCR results indicated spontaneous recovery on the third day, regardless of retrieval prior to extinction. No robust renewal effect was seen. It is suggested that the use of fear-relevant stimuli, the context salience, or reactivation context may explain the lack of reconsolidation effect. Our study indicates that the beneficial effects of postretrieval-extinction learning are sensitive to subtle methodological changes.

A 'dynamic' landscape of fear: prey responses to spatiotemporal variations in predation risk across the lunar cycle.

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Palmer, M S; Fieberg, J; Swanson, A; Kosmala, M; Packer, C

2017-11-01

Ambiguous empirical support for 'landscapes of fear' in natural systems may stem from failure to consider dynamic temporal changes in predation risk. The lunar cycle dramatically alters night-time visibility, with low luminosity increasing hunting success of African lions. We used camera-trap data from Serengeti National Park to examine nocturnal anti-predator behaviours of four herbivore species. Interactions between predictable fluctuations in night-time luminosity and the underlying risk-resource landscape shaped herbivore distribution, herding propensity and the incidence of 'relaxed' behaviours. Buffalo responded least to temporal risk cues and minimised risk primarily through spatial redistribution. Gazelle and zebra made decisions based on current light levels and lunar phase, and wildebeest responded to lunar phase alone. These three species avoided areas where likelihood of encountering lions was high and changed their behaviours in risky areas to minimise predation threat. These patterns support the hypothesis that fear landscapes vary heterogeneously in both space and time. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

Extinction of conditioned fear is better learned and recalled in the morning than in the evening.

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Pace-Schott, Edward F; Spencer, Rebecca M C; Vijayakumar, Shilpa; Ahmed, Nafis A K; Verga, Patrick W; Orr, Scott P; Pitman, Roger K; Milad, Mohammed R

2013-11-01

Sleep helps emotional memories consolidate and may promote generalization of fear extinction memory. We examined whether extinction learning and memory might differ in the morning and evening due, potentially, to circadian and/or sleep-homeostatic factors. Healthy men (N = 109) in 6 groups completed a 2-session protocol. In Session 1, fear conditioning was followed by extinction learning. Partial reinforcement with mild electric shock produced conditioned skin conductance responses (SCRs) to 2 differently colored lamps (CS+), but not a third color (CS-), within the computer image of a room (conditioning context). One CS+ (CS + E) but not the other (CS + U) was immediately extinguished by un-reinforced presentations in a different room (extinction context). Delay durations of 3 h (within AM or PM), 12 h (morning-to-evening or evening-to-morning) or 24 h (morning-to-morning or evening-to-evening) followed. In Session 2, extinction recall and contextual fear renewal were tested. We observed no significant effects of the delay interval on extinction memory but did observe an effect of time-of-day. Fear extinction was significantly better if learned in the morning (p = .002). Collapsing across CS + type, there was smaller morning differential SCR at both extinction recall (p = .003) and fear renewal (p = .005). Morning extinction recall showed better generalization from the CS + E to CS + U with the response to the CS + U significantly larger than to the CS + E only in the evening (p = .028). Thus, extinction is learned faster and its memory is better generalized in the morning. Cortisol and testosterone showed the expected greater salivary levels in the morning when higher testosterone/cortisol ratio also predicted better extinction learning. Circadian factors may promote morning extinction. Alternatively, evening homeostatic sleep pressure may impede extinction and favor recall of conditioned fear. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bridging the Gap: Towards a Cell-Type Specific Understanding of Neural Circuits Underlying Fear Behaviors

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McCullough, KM; Morrison, FG; Ressler, KJ

2016-01-01

Fear and anxiety-related disorders are remarkably common and debilitating, and are often characterized by dysregulated fear responses. Rodent models of fear learning and memory have taken great strides towards elucidating the specific neuronal circuitries underlying the learning of fear responses. The present review addresses recent research utilizing optogenetic approaches to parse circuitries underlying fear behaviors. It also highlights the powerful advances made when optogenetic techniques are utilized in a genetically defined, cell-type specific, manner. The application of next-generation genetic and sequencing approaches in a cell-type specific context will be essential for a mechanistic understanding of the neural circuitry underlying fear behavior and for the rational design of targeted, circuit specific, pharmacologic interventions for the treatment and prevention of fear-related disorders. PMID:27470092

Dopamine D1 receptor-dependent regulation of extracellular citrulline level in the rat nucleus accumbens during conditioned fear response.

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Saulskaya, Natalia B; Fofonova, Nellia V; Sudorghina, Polina V; Saveliev, Sergey A

2008-08-01

Nucleus accumbens (N.Acc) contains a subclass of nitric oxide (NO)-generating interneurons that are presumably regulated by the dopamine input. Receptor mechanisms underlying dopamine-NO interaction in the N.Acc are poorly understood. In the current study, we used in vivo microdialysis combined with high-performance liquid chromatography to examine participation of dopamine D1 receptors in regulation of extracellular levels of citrulline (an NO co-product) in the medial N.Acc of Sprague-Dawley rats during both pharmacological challenge and a conditioned fear response. The intraaccumbal infusion of the D1 receptor agonist SKF-38393 (100-500 microM) increased dose-dependently the local dialysate citrulline levels. The SKF-38393-induced increase in extracellular citrulline was prevented by intraaccumbal infusions of 500 microM 7-nitroindazole, a neuronal NO synthase inhibitor. In behavioral microdialysis experiment, the accumbal levels of extracellular citrulline markedly increased in rats given a mild footshock paired with tone. The presentation of the tone previously paired with footshock (the conditioned fear response) produced a "conditioned" rise of extracellular citrulline levels in the N.Acc which was attenuated by intraaccumbal infusion of 100 microM SCH-23390, a dopamine D1 receptor antagonist, and prevented by intraaccumbal infusion of 500 microM 7-nitroindazole. The results suggest that in the N.Acc, the dopamine D1 receptors might regulate the neuronal NO synthase activity; this dopamine-dependent mechanism seems to participate in activation of the neuronal NO synthase and probably NO formation in this brain area during the conditioned fear response.

Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis, Fear Generalization, and Stress

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Besnard, Antoine; Sahay, Amar

2016-01-01

The generalization of fear is an adaptive, behavioral, and physiological response to the likelihood of threat in the environment. In contrast, the overgeneralization of fear, a cardinal feature of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), manifests as inappropriate, uncontrollable expression of fear in neutral and safe environments. Overgeneralization of fear stems from impaired discrimination of safe from aversive environments or discernment of unlikely threats from those that are highly probable. In addition, the time-dependent erosion of episodic details of traumatic memories might contribute to their generalization. Understanding the neural mechanisms underlying the overgeneralization of fear will guide development of novel therapeutic strategies to combat PTSD. Here, we conceptualize generalization of fear in terms of resolution of interference between similar memories. We propose a role for a fundamental encoding mechanism, pattern separation, in the dentate gyrus (DG)–CA3 circuit in resolving interference between ambiguous or uncertain threats and in preserving episodic content of remote aversive memories in hippocampal–cortical networks. We invoke cellular-, circuit-, and systems-based mechanisms by which adult-born dentate granule cells (DGCs) modulate pattern separation to influence resolution of interference and maintain precision of remote aversive memories. We discuss evidence for how these mechanisms are affected by stress, a risk factor for PTSD, to increase memory interference and decrease precision. Using this scaffold we ideate strategies to curb overgeneralization of fear in PTSD. PMID:26068726

Postreactivation glucocorticoids impair recall of established fear memory.

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Cai, Wen-Hui; Blundell, Jacqueline; Han, Jie; Greene, Robert W; Powell, Craig M

2006-09-13

Pavlovian fear conditioning provides one of the best rodent models of acquired anxiety disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder. Injection of a variety of drugs after training in fear-conditioning paradigms can impair consolidation of fear memories. Indeed, early clinical trials suggest that immediate administration of such drugs after a traumatic event may decrease the risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder in humans (Pitman et al., 2002; Vaiva et al., 2003). The use of such a treatment is limited by the difficulty of treating every patient at risk and by the difficulty in predicting which patients will experience chronic adverse consequences. Recent clinical trials suggest that administration of glucocorticoids may have a beneficial effect on established posttraumatic stress disorder (Aerni et al., 2004) and specific phobia (Soravia et al., 2006). Conversely, glucocorticoid administration after training is known to enhance memory consolidation (McGaugh and Roozendaal, 2002; Roozendaal, 2002). From a clinical perspective, enhancement of a fear memory or a reactivated fear memory would not be desirable. We report here that when glucocorticoids are administered immediately after reactivation of a contextual fear memory, subsequent recall is significantly diminished. Additional experiments support the interpretation that glucocorticoids not only decrease fear memory retrieval but, in addition, augment consolidation of fear memory extinction rather than decreasing reconsolidation. These findings provide a rodent model for a potential treatment of established acquired anxiety disorders in humans, as suggested by others (Aerni et al., 2004; Schelling et al., 2004), based on a mechanism of enhanced extinction.

Memory suppression trades prolonged fear and sleep-dependent fear plasticity for the avoidance of current fear

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Kuriyama, Kenichi; Honma, Motoyasu; Yoshiike, Takuya; Kim, Yoshiharu

2013-07-01

Sleep deprivation immediately following an aversive event reduces fear by preventing memory consolidation during homeostatic sleep. This suggests that acute insomnia might act prophylactically against the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) even though it is also a possible risk factor for PTSD. We examined total sleep deprivation and memory suppression to evaluate the effects of these interventions on subsequent aversive memory formation and fear conditioning. Active suppression of aversive memory impaired retention of event memory. However, although the remembered fear was more reduced in sleep-deprived than sleep-control subjects, suppressed fear increased, and seemed to abandon the sleep-dependent plasticity of fear. Active memory suppression, which provides a psychological model for Freud's ego defense mechanism, enhances fear and casts doubt on the potential of acute insomnia as a prophylactic measure against PTSD. Our findings bring into question the role of sleep in aversive-memory consolidation in clinical PTSD pathophysiology.

Stimulus fear-relevance and the vicarious learning pathway to childhood fears.

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Askew, Chris; Dunne, Güler; Özdil, Zehra; Reynolds, Gemma; Field, Andy P

2013-10-01

Enhanced fear learning for fear-relevant stimuli has been demonstrated in procedures with adults in the laboratory. Three experiments investigated the effect of stimulus fear-relevance on vicarious fear learning in children (aged 6-11 years). Pictures of stimuli with different levels of fear-relevance (flowers, caterpillars, snakes, worms, and Australian marsupials) were presented alone or together with scared faces. In line with previous studies, children's fear beliefs and avoidance preferences increased for stimuli they had seen with scared faces. However, in contrast to evidence with adults, learning was mostly similar for all stimulus types irrespective of fear-relevance. The results support a proposal that stimulus preparedness is bypassed when children observationally learn threat-related information from adults.

Extinction training during the reconsolidation window prevents recovery of fear.

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Schiller, Daniela; Raio, Candace M; Phelps, Elizabeth A

2012-08-24

Fear is maladaptive when it persists long after circumstances have become safe. It is therefore crucial to develop an approach that persistently prevents the return of fear. Pavlovian fear-conditioning paradigms are commonly employed to create a controlled, novel fear association in the laboratory. After pairing an innocuous stimulus (conditioned stimulus, CS) with an aversive outcome (unconditioned stimulus, US) we can elicit a fear response (conditioned response, or CR) by presenting just the stimulus alone. Once fear is acquired, it can be diminished using extinction training, whereby the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented without the aversive outcome until fear is no longer expressed. This inhibitory learning creates a new, safe representation for the CS, which competes for expression with the original fear memory. Although extinction is effective at inhibiting fear, it is not permanent. Fear can spontaneously recover with the passage of time. Exposure to stress or returning to the context of initial learning can also cause fear to resurface. Our protocol addresses the transient nature of extinction by targeting the reconsolidation window to modify emotional memory in a more permanent manner. Ample evidence suggests that reactivating a consolidated memory returns it to a labile state, during which the memory is again susceptible to interference. This window of opportunity appears to open shortly after reactivation and close approximately 6 hrs later, although this may vary depending on the strength and age of the memory. By allowing new information to incorporate into the original memory trace, this memory may be updated as it reconsolidates. Studies involving non-human animals have successfully blocked the expression of fear memory by introducing pharmacological manipulations within the reconsolidation window, however, most agents used are either toxic to humans or show equivocal effects when used in human studies. Our protocol addresses these

When the mind forms fear: embodied fear knowledge potentiates bodily reactions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oosterwijk, S.; Topper, M.; Rotteveel, M.; Fischer, A.H.

2010-01-01

In the present study, the authors tested whether conceptual fear knowledge can (a) evoke bodily reactions and (b) enhance subsequent bodily reactions to fearful stimuli. Participants unscrambled neutral or fear sentences and subsequently viewed fearful and neutral pictures in combination with

Individual Differences in Gelotophobia Predict Responses to Joy and Contempt

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Jennifer Hofmann

2015-04-01

Full Text Available In a paradigm facilitating smile misattribution, facial responses and ratings to contempt and joy were investigated in individuals with or without gelotophobia (fear of being laughed at. Participants from two independent samples (N1 = 83, N2 = 50 rated the intensity of eight emotions in 16 photos depicting joy, contempt, and different smiles. Facial responses were coded by the Facial Action Coding System in the second study. Compared with non-fearful individuals, gelotophobes rated joy smiles as less joyful and more contemptuous. Moreover, gelotophobes showed less facial joy and more contempt markers. The contempt ratings were comparable between the two groups. Looking at the photos of smiles lifted the positive mood of non-gelotophobes, whereas gelotophobes did not experience an increase. We hypothesize that the interpretation bias of “joyful faces hiding evil minds” (i.e., being also contemptuous and exhibiting less joy facially may complicate social interactions for gelotophobes and serve as a maintaining factor of gelotophobia.

In-Game Health Communication: Delivering Low-Fear Health Messages in a Low-Fear Videogame.

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Burrows, Christopher N; Blanton, Hart

2018-06-01

Prior research has demonstrated that psychological immersion (or "transportation") into virtual gaming worlds can heighten influence from health-promotion messages embedded in the backgrounds of gaming scenes. However, research to date has only studied the effectiveness of embedding graphic, fear-based messages in the background of violent, first-person videogames. This study sought to examine whether transportation into a nonviolent videogame can heighten persuasion from low-fear, nongraphic health messages. Willingness to drive under the influence of alcohol (DUI) was measured in an undergraduate sample (M AGE  = 19) at the start of the semester, and n = 220 returned 0-3 months later to play a car-racing videogame. All were randomly assigned to play either a version of the game containing background billboards that delivered simple, text-based anti-DUI messages or consumer advertising. Self-reported levels of transportation were assessed, as well as postgame willingness to DUI. Exposure to anti-DUI messages from within the game predicted lower postgame willingness to DUI. Moreover, replicating prior research, the effect of message exposure was largest among those who reported higher levels of pregame willingness to DUI, and higher levels of in-game transportation. This study replicates prior research by suggesting that immersive videogames that promote transportation can be used to effectively deliver health communications. Results also expand prior research by providing the first evidence that such effects can generalize when health messaging orients around nongraphic, lower fear messages embedded within immersive but lower fear videogames.

Rapid stress system drives chemical transfer of fear from sender to receiver.

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Jasper H B de Groot

Full Text Available Humans can register another person's fear not only with their eyes and ears, but also with their nose. Previous research has demonstrated that exposure to body odors from fearful individuals elicited implicit fear in others. The odor of fearful individuals appears to have a distinctive signature that can be produced relatively rapidly, driven by a physiological mechanism that has remained unexplored in earlier research. The apocrine sweat glands in the armpit that are responsible for chemosignal production contain receptors for adrenalin. We therefore expected that the release of adrenalin through activation of the rapid stress response system (i.e., the sympathetic-adrenal medullary system is what drives the release of fear sweat, as opposed to activation of the slower stress response system (i.e., hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis. To test this assumption, sweat was sampled while eight participants prepared for a speech. Participants had higher heart rates and produced more armpit sweat in the fast stress condition, compared to baseline and the slow stress condition. Importantly, exposure to sweat from participants in the fast stress condition induced in receivers (N = 31 a simulacrum of the state of the sender, evidenced by the emergence of a fearful facial expression (facial electromyography and vigilant behavior (i.e., faster classification of emotional facial expressions.

Enhancing effects of contingency instructions on fear acquisition and extinction in anxiety disorders.

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Duits, Puck; Richter, Jan; Baas, Johanna M P; Engelhard, Iris M; Limberg-Thiesen, Anke; Heitland, Ivo; Hamm, Alfons O; Cath, Danielle C

2017-05-01

Explicit instructions regarding stimulus-threat associations increase acquisition and extinction of fear in healthy participants. The current study aimed to investigate the effect of contingency instructions on fear acquisition and extinction in patients with anxiety disorders. Patients with various anxiety disorders (N = 104) and healthy comparison participants (N = 93) participated in a differential fear conditioning task (within-subjects design). Approximately halfway through the acquisition phase, participants were instructed about the stimulus-threat association, and approximately halfway through the extinction phase, participants were informed that the unconditioned stimulus (US) would no longer be administered. Outcome measures were: fear-potentiated startle, skin conductance, fearfulness ratings, and US expectancy ratings. Patients demonstrated overall increased physiological and subjective fear responses during acquisition and extinction phases, relative to the comparison group. There were no major differences in fear acquisition and extinction between patients with different anxiety disorders. During acquisition, instructions led to increased discrimination of fear responses between a danger cue (conditioned stimulus [CS]+) and safety cue (CS-) in both patients and comparison participants. Moreover, instructions strengthened extinction of fear responses in the patient and comparison group. Patients and healthy comparison participants are better able to discriminate between danger and safety cues when they have been explicitly informed about cues that announce a threat situation. Considering the analogies between fear extinction procedures and exposure therapy, this suggests that specific instructions on stimulus-threat associations during exposure therapy might improve short-term treatment efficacy. The question remains for future studies whether instructions have a positive effect on extinction learning in the longer term. (PsycINFO Database Record (c

Deep brain stimulation of the amygdala alleviates fear conditioning-induced alterations in synaptic plasticity in the cortical-amygdala pathway and fear memory.

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Sui, Li; Huang, SiJia; Peng, BinBin; Ren, Jie; Tian, FuYing; Wang, Yan

2014-07-01

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the amygdala has been demonstrated to modulate hyperactivity of the amygdala, which is responsible for the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and thus might be used for the treatment of PTSD. However, the underlying mechanism of DBS of the amygdala in the modulation of the amygdala is unclear. The present study investigated the effects of DBS of the amygdala on synaptic transmission and synaptic plasticity at cortical inputs to the amygdala, which is critical for the formation and storage of auditory fear memories, and fear memories. The results demonstrated that auditory fear conditioning increased single-pulse-evoked field excitatory postsynaptic potentials in the cortical-amygdala pathway. Furthermore, auditory fear conditioning decreased the induction of paired-pulse facilitation and long-term potentiation, two neurophysiological models for studying short-term and long-term synaptic plasticity, respectively, in the cortical-amygdala pathway. In addition, all these auditory fear conditioning-induced changes could be reversed by DBS of the amygdala. DBS of the amygdala also rescued auditory fear conditioning-induced enhancement of long-term retention of fear memory. These findings suggested that DBS of the amygdala alleviating fear conditioning-induced alterations in synaptic plasticity in the cortical-amygdala pathway and fear memory may underlie the neuromodulatory role of DBS of the amygdala in activities of the amygdala.

Disgust domains in the prediction of contamination fear : A comparison of Dutch and US samples

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sawchuk, Craig N.; Olatunji, Bunmi O.; De Jong, Peter J.

2006-01-01

The present study examines the disgust-contamination fear relationship among Dutch (N =260) and US (N =292) participants. US participants reported higher levels of disgust sensitivity across the majority of disgust domains and also endorsed stronger contamination fear than their Dutch counterparts.

Dentists' skills with fearful patients: education and treatment.

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Brahm, Carl-Otto; Lundgren, Jesper; Carlsson, Sven G; Nilsson, Peter; Hultqvist, Johanna; Hägglin, Catharina

2013-06-01

The aims were to explore dentists' skills in dental fear, current strategies when treating fearful adult patients, and the possible need for additional education among dentists working in Sweden. A sample of 1,293 members of the Association of Public Health Dentists in Sweden were asked to respond to a Web survey concerning dental fear. The response rate was 69% (n = 889); 91% trained in Sweden and 9% trained in another country. The most frequently used pharmacological anxiety-reducing techniques were medication with a midazolame mixture (72%) and benzodiazepine tablets (77%), and the most commonly used psychological techniques were relaxation (68%), distraction (66%), and Tell-Show-Do (86%). A larger proportion of dentists trained in Sweden, compared with dentists who were trained in other countries, reported that they had received undergraduate training in dental fear. Dentists trained in Sweden more often reported competence in pharmacological and psychological anxiety-reducing techniques, compared with dentists who were trained in other countries. Higher levels of self-rated efficacy in treating fearful patients accompanied additional education in dental fear after graduation. In conclusion, Swedish dentists use a variety of techniques to meet the needs of fearful dental patients. Competence in anxiety-reducing techniques is associated with self-efficacy and the site of education. © 2013 Eur J Oral Sci.

Amygdala EphB2 Signaling Regulates Glutamatergic Neuron Maturation and Innate Fear.

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Zhu, Xiao-Na; Liu, Xian-Dong; Zhuang, Hanyi; Henkemeyer, Mark; Yang, Jing-Yu; Xu, Nan-Jie

2016-09-28

The amygdala serves as emotional center to mediate innate fear behaviors that are reflected through neuronal responses to environmental aversive cues. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the initial neuron responses is poorly understood. In this study, we monitored the innate defensive responses to aversive stimuli of either elevated plus maze or predator odor in juvenile mice and found that glutamatergic neurons were activated in amygdala. Loss of EphB2, a receptor tyrosine kinase expressed in amygdala neurons, suppressed the reactions and led to defects in spine morphogenesis and fear behaviors. We further found a coupling of spinogenesis with these threat cues induced neuron activation in developing amygdala that was controlled by EphB2. A constitutively active form of EphB2 was sufficient to rescue the behavioral and morphological defects caused by ablation of ephrin-B3, a brain-enriched ligand to EphB2. These data suggest that kinase-dependent EphB2 intracellular signaling plays a major role for innate fear responses during the critical developing period, in which spinogenesis in amygdala glutamatergic neurons was involved. Generation of innate fear responses to threat as an evolutionally conserved brain feature relies on development of functional neural circuit in amygdala, but the molecular mechanism remains largely unknown. We here identify that EphB2 receptor tyrosine kinase, which is specifically expressed in glutamatergic neurons, is required for the innate fear responses in the neonatal brain. We further reveal that EphB2 mediates coordination of spinogenesis and neuron activation in amygdala during the critical period for the innate fear. EphB2 catalytic activity plays a major role for the behavior upon EphB-ephrin-B3 binding and transnucleus neuronal connections. Our work thus indicates an essential synaptic molecular signaling within amygdala that controls synapse development and helps bring about innate fear emotions in the postnatal

Fear of negative evaluation and social anxiety in the context of the revised reinforcement sensitivity theory

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Ranđelović Kristina M.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The main goal of this research paper is to examine the predictive power of personality traits in relation to fear of negative evaluation and social anxiety. The revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (rRST postulates the existence of three major personality systems - Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS, Behavioural Activation System (BAS, and Fight-Flight-Freeze System (FFFS. In order to assess the personality traits, the Reinforcement Sensitivity Questionnaire was used (RSQ. Fear of negative evaluation was assessed using the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale - Brief form (FNE-B, while social anxiety evaluation was obtained by Social Anxiety Scale (SA2. The sample consisted of 222 psychology students engaged in 1st and 2nd year of studies at the University of Niš and the University of Novi Sad. In order to respond to the research questions, two separate multiple regression analyses were performed. In both analyses, personality traits were the predictors, while the differences were linked to the criteria variables - Model1 - fear of negative evaluation, and Model2 - social anxiety. Both models were statistically significant. According to the results, Fear of negative evaluation model explains a total of 41% of the criteria variance, while Social anxiety model explains 46% of the criteria variance. In both models, BIS stands out as the statistically significant and the best predictor. When comparing the results of both models, the differences relate to the second significant predictor. Namely, Fight response stands out in the first model, while Freeze response stands out in the second one. The obtained findings are discussed and interpreted in the context of rRST.

Direction of attention bias to threat relates to differences in fear acquisition and extinction in anxious children.

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Waters, Allison M; Kershaw, Rachel

2015-01-01

Anxious children show attention biases towards and away from threat stimuli. Moreover, threat avoidance compared to vigilance predicts a poorer outcome from exposure-based treatments, such as cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), yet the mechanisms underlying this differential response are unclear. Pavlovian fear conditioning is a widely accepted theory to explain the acquisition and extinction of fear, including exposure-based treatments, such as CBT. In typical fear conditioning experiments, anxious children have shown larger physiological responses to an aversive unconditional stimulus (i.e., US on CS+ trials) and to non-reinforced stimuli (CS-) during fear acquisition and to both CSs during fear extinction compared to non-anxious peers. This study examined whether threat avoidance compared to threat vigilance was related to differences in fear acquisition and extinction in anxious children. Thirty-four clinically-anxious children completed a visual probe task including angry-neutral face pairs to determine the direction of threat attention bias as well as a discriminant conditioning and extinction task in which a geometric shape CS+ was paired with an aversive tone US, while the CS- geometric shape was always presented alone during acquisition trials. Both CSs were presented alone during extinction trials. Fear acquisition and extinction were indexed by skin conductance responses (SCR) and subjective measures. Children were classified as threat vigilant (N = 18) and threat avoidant (n = 16) based on the direction of threat attention bias on the visual probe task. During acquisition, threat avoidant relative to threat vigilant anxious children displayed larger orienting SCRs to both CSs during the first block of trials and larger third interval SCRs to the US on CS+ trials as well as on CS- trials. During extinction, threat avoidant anxious children showed delayed extinction of SCRs to both the CS+ and CS- and reported higher subjective anxiety ratings after

Fear and Loving in Las Vegas: Evolution, Emotion, and Persuasion.

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Griskevicius, Vladas; Goldstein, Noah J; Mortensen, Chad R; Sundie, Jill M; Cialdini, Robert B; Kenrick, Douglas T

2009-06-01

How do arousal-inducing contexts, such as frightening or romantic television programs, influence the effectiveness of basic persuasion heuristics? Different predictions are made by three theoretical models: A general arousal model predicts that arousal should increase effectiveness of heuristics; an affective valence model predicts that effectiveness should depend on whether the context elicits positive or negative affect; an evolutionary model predicts that persuasiveness should depend on both the specific emotion that is elicited and the content of the particular heuristic. Three experiments examined how fear-inducing versus romantic contexts influenced the effectiveness of two widely used heuristics-social proof (e.g., "most popular") and scarcity (e.g., "limited edition"). Results supported predictions from an evolutionary model, showing that fear can lead scarcity appeals to be counter-persuasive, and that romantic desire can lead social proof appeals to be counter-persuasive. The findings highlight how an evolutionary theoretical approach can lead to novel theoretical and practical marketing insights.

Behavioral response races, predator-prey shell games, ecology of fear, and patch use of pumas and their ungulate prey.

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Laundré, John W

2010-10-01

The predator-prey shell game predicts random movement of prey across the landscape, whereas the behavioral response race and landscape of fear models predict that there should be a negative relationship between the spatial distribution of a predator and its behaviorally active prey. Additionally, prey have imperfect information on the whereabouts of their predator, which the predator should incorporate in its patch use strategy. I used a one-predator-one-prey system, puma (Puma concolor)-mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) to test the following predictions regarding predator-prey distribution and patch use by the predator. (1) Pumas will spend more time in high prey risk/low prey use habitat types, while deer will spend their time in low-risk habitats. Pumas should (2) select large forage patches more often, (3) remain in large patches longer, and (4) revisit individual large patches more often than individual smaller ones. I tested these predictions with an extensive telemetry data set collected over 16 years in a study area of patchy forested habitat. When active, pumas spent significantly less time in open areas of low intrinsic predation risk than did deer. Pumas used large patches more than expected, revisited individual large patches significantly more often than smaller ones, and stayed significantly longer in larger patches than in smaller ones. The results supported the prediction of a negative relationship in the spatial distribution of a predator and its prey and indicated that the predator is incorporating the prey's imperfect information about its presence. These results indicate a behavioral complexity on the landscape scale that can have far-reaching impacts on predator-prey interactions.

Absence of verbal recall or memory for symptom acquisition in fear and trauma exposure: a conceptual case for fear conditioning and learned nonuse in assessment and treatment.

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Seifert, A Ronald

2012-01-01

Absence of memory or verbal recall for symptom acquisition in fear and trauma exposure, as well as absence of successful coping behavior for life events, is associated with a number of diagnoses, including traumatic brain injury, posttraumatic stress disorder, pain, and anxiety. The difficulty with diagnosis and treatment planning based on the absence of recall, memory, and successful coping behavior is threefold: (1) these assessments do not distinguish between disruption of behavior and lack of capacity, (2) the absence of verbal recall and memory complicates cognitive-based treatment, and (3) a confounding issue is the same absent behavior can be observed at different times and contexts. While memory of the specific details of the initial traumatic event(s) may not be available to verbal report, the existence of time- and context-dependent relationships for the initial as well as subsequent experiences is arguable. The absence of memory or lack of verbal recall does not rule out measurable physiological bodily responses for the initial trauma(s), nor does it help to establish the effects of subsequent experiences for symptom expression. Also, the absence of memory must include the prospect of fear-based learning that does not require or involve the cortex. It is posited that the literatures of fear conditioning and learned nonuse provide complementary illustrations of how the time and context of the initial trauma(s) and subsequent experiences affect behavior, which is not dependent on the effected individual being able to provide a memory-based verbal report. The replicated clinical application demonstrates that, without scientific demonstration, neither neuroanatomy nor verbal report can be assumed sufficient to predict overt behavior or physiologic responses. For example, while commonly assumed to be predictively so, autonomic nervous system innervation is insufficient to define the unique stimulus- and context-dependent physiological responses of an

Peritraumatic startle response predicts the vulnerability to develop PTSD-like behaviors in rats: a model for peritraumatic dissociation

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Xinwen eDong

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Peritraumatic dissociation, a state characterized by alteration in perception and reduced awareness of surroundings, is considered to be a risk factor for the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD. However, the predictive ability of peritraumatic dissociation is questioned for the inconsistent results in different time points of assessment. The startle reflex is an objective behavioral measurement of defensive response to abrupt and intense sensory stimulus of surroundings, with potential to be used as an assessment on the dissociative status in both humans and rodents. The present study examined the predictive effect of acoustic startle response (ASR in different time points around the traumatic event in an animal model of PTSD. The PTSD-like symptoms, including hyperarousal, avoidance, and contextual fear, were assessed 2-3 weeks post-trauma. The results showed that 1 the startle amplitude attenuated immediate after intense footshock in almost half of the stress animals, 2 the attenuated startle responses at 1 hour but not 24 hours after stress predicted the development of severe PTSD-like symptoms. These data indicate that the startle alteration at the immediate period after trauma, including 1 hour, is more important in PTSD prediction than 24 hours after trauma. Our study also suggests that the startle attenuation immediate after intense stress may serve as an objective measurement of peritraumatic dissociation in rats.

Serotonin transporter genotype modulates subgenual response to fearful faces using an incidental task.

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O'Nions, Elizabeth J P; Dolan, Raymond J; Roiser, Jonathan P

2011-11-01

This study assessed the impact of serotonin transporter genotype (5-HTTLPR) on regional responses to emotional faces in the amygdala and subgenual cingulate cortex (sgACC), while subjects performed a gender discrimination task. Although we found no evidence for greater amygdala reactivity or reduced amygdala-sgACC coupling in short variant 5-HTTLPR homozygotes (s/s), we observed an interaction between genotype and emotion in sgACC. Only long variant homozygotes (la/la) exhibited subgenual deactivation to fearful versus neutral faces, whereas the effect in s/s subjects was in the other direction. This absence of subgenual deactivation in s/s subjects parallels a recent finding in depressed subjects [Grimm, S., Boesiger, P., Beck, J., Schuepbach, D., Bermpohl, F., Walter, M., et al. Altered negative BOLD responses in the default-mode network during emotion processing in depressed subjects. Neuropsychopharmacology, 34, 932-943, 2009]. Taken together, the findings suggest that subgenual cingulate activity may play an important role in regulating the impact of aversive stimuli, potentially conferring greater resilience to the effects of aversive stimuli in la/la subjects. Using dynamic causal modeling of functional magnetic resonance imaging data, we explored the effects of genotype on effective connectivity and emotion-specific changes in coupling across a network of regions implicated in social processing. Viewing fearful faces enhanced bidirectional excitatory coupling between the amygdala and the fusiform gyrus, and increased the inhibitory influence of the amygdala over the sgACC, although this modulation of coupling did not differ between the genotype groups. The findings are discussed in relation to the role of sgACC and serotonin in moderating responses to aversive stimuli [Dayan, P., & Huys, Q. J., Serotonin, inhibition, and negative mood. PLoS Comput Biol, 4, e4, 2008; Mayberg, H. S., Liotti, M., Brannan, S. K., McGinnis, S., Mahurin, R. K., Jerabek, P. A., et

A Latent Growth Examination of Fear Development in Infancy: Contributions of Maternal Depression and the Risk for Toddler Anxiety

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Gartstein, Maria A.; Bridgett, David J.; Rothbart, Mary K.; Robertson, Christopher; Iddins, Erin; Ramsay, Kristin; Schlect, Sarah

2010-01-01

Growth modeling was used to examine the developmental trajectory of infant temperamental fear with maternal fear and depressive symptoms as predictors of infant fearfulness and change in infant fear predicting toddler anxiety symptoms. In Study 1, a sample of 158 mothers reported their own depressive symptoms and fear when their children were 4…

Fears and Misperceptions of the Ebola Response System during the 2014-2015 Outbreak in Sierra Leone.

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Thespina Yamanis

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Future infectious disease epidemics are likely to disproportionately affect countries with weak health systems, exacerbating global vulnerability. To decrease the severity of epidemics in these settings, lessons can be drawn from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. There is a dearth of literature on public perceptions of the public health response system that required citizens to report and treat Ebola cases. Epidemiological reports suggested that there were delays in diagnosis and treatment. The purpose of our study was to explore the barriers preventing Sierra Leoneans from trusting and using the Ebola response system during the height of the outbreak.Using an experienced ethnographer, we conducted 30 semi-structured in-depth interviews in public spaces in Ebola-affected areas. Participants were at least age 18, spoke Krio, and reported no contact in the recent 21 days with an Ebola-infected person. We used inductive coding and noted emergent themes.Most participants feared that calling the national hotline for someone they believed had Ebola would result in that person's death. Many stated that if they developed a fever they would assume it was not Ebola and self-medicate. Some thought the chlorine sprayed by ambulance workers was toxic. Although most knew there was a laboratory test for Ebola, some erroneously assumed the ubiquitous thermometers were the test and most did not understand the need to re-test in the presence of Ebola symptoms.Fears and misperceptions, related to lack of trust in the response system, may have delayed care-seeking during the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone. Protocols for future outbreak responses should incorporate dynamic, qualitative research to understand and address people's perceptions. Strategies that enhance trust in the response system, such as community mobilization, may be particularly effective.

Predictions of dental pain: the fear of any expected evil, is worse than the evil itself.

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Arntz, A; van Eck, M; Heijmans, M

1990-01-01

In a study of 40 subjects, who twice underwent extensive dental treatment, the relationships between expectations and experiences of pain and of anxiety were investigated. Inaccurate expectations were adjusted in the same way as observed in the laboratory. Especially anxious subjects expected more pain and anxiety than they experienced, and they appeared to need more experiences before their predictions became accurate. In the course of time, the expectations (and memories) of anxious subjects returned to their original more inaccurate level of prediction. The results suggest that the old schema is ultimately reinstated if disconfirmations are few and far between. Anxious subjects did not experience more pain, but they did experience more anxiety than fearless subjects. Detailed investigation of processes of change after disconfirmation showed that anxiety experienced during treatment is a factor that plays a part in maintaining the problem of inaccurate expectations and fear of treatment. Theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

Fear of failure and self-handicapping in college physical education.

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Chen, Lung Hung; Chen, Mei-Yen; Lin, Meng-Shyan; Kee, Ying Hwa; Shui, Shang-Hsueh

2009-12-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between fear of failure and self-handicapping within the context of physical education. Participants were 103 college freshmen enrolled in aerobic dance physical education classes in Taiwan. They completed the Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory and Self-Handicapping Scale for Sport 3 mo. after entering the class. Hierarchical regression indicated that scores on fear of failure predicted self-handicapping scores.

Falls and fear of falling predict future falls and related injuries in ambulatory individuals with spinal cord injury: a longitudinal observational study.

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Jørgensen, Vivien; Butler Forslund, Emelie; Opheim, Arve; Franzén, Erika; Wahman, Kerstin; Hultling, Claes; Seiger, Åke; Ståhle, Agneta; Stanghelle, Johan K; Roaldsen, Kirsti S

2017-04-01

What is the 1-year incidence of falls and injurious falls in a representative cohort of community-dwelling ambulatory individuals with chronic spinal cord injury? What are the predictors of recurrent falls (more than two/year) and injurious falls in this population? One-year longitudinal observational multi-centre study. A representative sample of 68 (of 73 included) community-dwelling ambulatory individuals with traumatic SCI attending regular follow-up programs at rehabilitation centres. Primary outcome measures were incidence and predictors of recurrent falls (more than two/year) and injurious falls reported every 2 weeks for 1year. A total of 48% of participants reported recurrent falls. Of the 272 reported falls, 41% were injurious. Serious injuries were experienced by 4% of participants, all of whom were women. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that recurrent falls in the previous year (OR=111, 95% CI=8.6 to 1425), fear of falling (OR=6.1, 95% CI=1.43 to 26) and longer time taken to walk 10m (OR=1.3, 95% CI=1.0 to 1.7) were predictors of recurrent falls. Fear of falling (OR=4.3, 95% CI=1.3 to 14) and recurrent falls in the previous year (OR=4.2, 95% CI=1.2 to 14) were predictors of injurious falls. Ambulatory individuals have a high risk of falling and of fall-related injuries. Fall history, fear of falling and walking speed could predict recurrent falls and injurious falls. Further studies with larger samples are needed to validate these findings. [Jørgensen V, Butler Forslund E, Opheim A, Franzén E, Wahman K, Hultling C, Seiger Å, Ståhle A, Stanghelle JK, Roaldsen KS (2017) Falls and fear of falling predict future falls and related injuries in ambulatory individuals with spinal cord injury: a longitudinal observational study. Journal of Physiotherapy 63: 108-113]. Copyright © 2017 Australian Physiotherapy Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Enhanced visuomotor processing of phobic images in blood-injury-injection fear.

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Haberkamp, Anke; Schmidt, Thomas

2014-04-01

Numerous studies have identified attentional biases and processing enhancements for fear-relevant stimuli in individuals with specific phobias. However, this has not been conclusively shown in blood-injury-injection (BII) phobia, which has rarely been investigated even though it has features distinct from all other specific phobias. The present study aims to fill that gap and compares the time-course of visuomotor processing of phobic stimuli (i.e., pictures of small injuries) in BII-fearful (n=19) and non-anxious control participants (n=23) by using a response priming paradigm. In BII-fearful participants, phobic stimuli produced larger priming effects and lower response times compared to neutral stimuli, whereas non-anxious control participants showed no such differences. Because these effects are fully present in the fastest responses, they indicate an enhancement in early visuomotor processing of injury pictures in BII-fearful participants. These results are comparable to the enhanced processing of phobic stimuli in other specific phobias (i.e., spider phobia). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Molecular mechanisms of D-cycloserine in facilitating fear extinction: insights from RNAseq.

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Malan-Müller, Stefanie; Fairbairn, Lorren; Daniels, Willie M U; Dashti, Mahjoubeh Jalali Sefid; Oakeley, Edward J; Altorfer, Marc; Kidd, Martin; Seedat, Soraya; Gamieldien, Junaid; Hemmings, Sîan Megan Joanna

2016-02-01

D-cycloserine (DCS) has been shown to be effective in facilitating fear extinction in animal and human studies, however the precise mechanisms whereby the co-administration of DCS and behavioural fear extinction reduce fear are still unclear. This study investigated the molecular mechanisms of intrahippocampally administered D-cycloserine in facilitating fear extinction in a contextual fear conditioning animal model. Male Sprague Dawley rats (n = 120) were grouped into four experimental groups (n = 30) based on fear conditioning and intrahippocampal administration of either DCS or saline. The light/dark avoidance test was used to differentiate maladapted (MA) (anxious) from well-adapted (WA) (not anxious) subgroups. RNA extracted from the left dorsal hippocampus was used for RNA sequencing and gene expression data was compared between six fear-conditioned + saline MA (FEAR + SALINE MA) and six fear-conditioned + DCS WA (FEAR + DCS WA) animals. Of the 424 significantly downregulated and 25 significantly upregulated genes identified in the FEAR + DCS WA group compared to the FEAR + SALINE MA group, 121 downregulated and nine upregulated genes were predicted to be relevant to fear conditioning and anxiety and stress-related disorders. The majority of downregulated genes transcribed immune, proinflammatory and oxidative stress systems molecules. These molecules mediate neuroinflammation and cause neuronal damage. DCS also regulated genes involved in learning and memory processes, and genes associated with anxiety, stress-related disorders and co-occurring diseases (e.g., cardiovascular diseases, digestive system diseases and nervous system diseases). Identifying the molecular underpinnings of DCS-mediated fear extinction brings us closer to understanding the process of fear extinction.

Auditory-visual aversive stimuli modulate the conscious experience of fear.

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Taffou, Marine; Guerchouche, Rachid; Drettakis, George; Viaud-Delmon, Isabelle

2013-01-01

In a natural environment, affective information is perceived via multiple senses, mostly audition and vision. However, the impact of multisensory information on affect remains relatively undiscovered. In this study, we investigated whether the auditory-visual presentation of aversive stimuli influences the experience of fear. We used the advantages of virtual reality to manipulate multisensory presentation and to display potentially fearful dog stimuli embedded in a natural context. We manipulated the affective reactions evoked by the dog stimuli by recruiting two groups of participants: dog-fearful and non-fearful participants. The sensitivity to dog fear was assessed psychometrically by a questionnaire and also at behavioral and subjective levels using a Behavioral Avoidance Test (BAT). Participants navigated in virtual environments, in which they encountered virtual dog stimuli presented through the auditory channel, the visual channel or both. They were asked to report their fear using Subjective Units of Distress. We compared the fear for unimodal (visual or auditory) and bimodal (auditory-visual) dog stimuli. Dog-fearful participants as well as non-fearful participants reported more fear in response to bimodal audiovisual compared to unimodal presentation of dog stimuli. These results suggest that fear is more intense when the affective information is processed via multiple sensory pathways, which might be due to a cross-modal potentiation. Our findings have implications for the field of virtual reality-based therapy of phobias. Therapies could be refined and improved by implicating and manipulating the multisensory presentation of the feared situations.

Fear-Specific Amygdala Function in Children and Adolescents on the Fragile X Spectrum: A Dosage Response of the FMR1 Gene

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Kim, So-Yeon; Burris, Jessica; Bassal, Frederick; Koldewyn, Kami; Chattarji, Sumantra; Tassone, Flora; Hessl, David; Rivera, Susan M.

2014-01-01

Mutations of the fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) gene are the genetic cause of fragile X syndrome (FXS). The presence of significant socioemotional problems has been well documented in FXS although the brain basis of those deficits remains unspecified. Here, we investigated amygdala dysfunction and its relation to socioemotional deficits and FMR1 gene expression in children and adolescents on the FX spectrum (i.e., individuals whose trinucleotide CGG repeat expansion from 55 to over 200 places them somewhere within the fragile X diagnostic range from premutation to full mutation). Participants performed an fMRI task in which they viewed fearful, happy, and scrambled faces. Neuroimaging results demonstrated that FX participants revealed significantly attenuated amygdala activation in Fearful > Scrambled and Fearful > Happy contrasts compared with their neurotypical counterparts, while showing no differences in amygdala volume. Furthermore, we found significant relationships between FMR1 gene expression, anxiety/social dysfunction scores, and reduced amygdala activation in the FX group. In conclusion, we report novel evidence regarding a dosage response of the FMR1 gene on fear-specific functions of the amygdala, which is associated with socioemotional deficits in FXS. PMID:23146966

Health anxiety and fear of fear in panic disorder and agoraphobia vs. social phobia: A prospective longitudinal study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rudaz, M.; Craske, M.G.; Becker, E.S.; Ledermann, T.; Margraf, J.

2010-01-01

Background: This study is aimed to evaluate the role of two vulnerability factors, health anxiety and fear of :Par in the prediction of the onset of panic disorder/agoraphobia (PDA) relative to a comparison anxiety disorder Methods: Young women, aged between 18 and 24 years, were investigated at

Physiological reactions of preschoolers to fear-inducing film clips: Effects of temperamental fearfulness and quality of the parent-child relationship

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gelissen, R.; Koolstra, C.M.; van IJzendoorn, M.H.; Bakermans-Kranenburg, M.J.; van der Veer, R.

2007-01-01

This study investigates young children's fright reactions induced by television. The central question concerns the degree to which the impact can be predicted by temperamental fearfulness and the quality of the parent-child relationship. Using a procedure for recording simultaneously skin

Fear of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and fear of other illness in suicide

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aro, A R; Jallinoja, P T; Henriksson, M M

1994-01-01

Suicide victims with fear of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) or other somatic illness were compared for psychosocial and health-related characteristics, triggers and content of fear. Fear of AIDS cases (n = 28), 2% of the 1-year Finnish suicide population (n = 1397), were younger...... and fewer had serious somatic disease (32% vs 64%) compared with cases of fear of other somatic illness. Both groups had more depression, especially major depression (54% and 61% vs 26%), more psychotic disorders (50% and 32% vs 24%) and health care contacts during their final week (61% and 64% vs 36%) than...... other suicides. Suicidal fear of AIDS calls for evaluation of sexual and other risk behaviour, but fear of AIDS was largely generated by the extensive media coverage. Fear of other somatic illness was more diverse in origin and related to illness experiences. Suicidal fear of illness calls...

Acute immobilization stress following contextual fear conditioning reduces fear memory: timing is essential.

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Uwaya, Akemi; Lee, Hyunjin; Park, Jonghyuk; Lee, Hosung; Muto, Junko; Nakajima, Sanae; Ohta, Shigeo; Mikami, Toshio

2016-02-24

Histone acetylation is regulated in response to stress and plays an important role in learning and memory. Chronic stress is known to deteriorate cognition, whereas acute stress facilitates memory formation. However, whether acute stress facilitates memory formation when it is applied after fear stimulation is not yet known. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of acute stress applied after fear training on memory formation, mRNA expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), epigenetic regulation of BDNF expression, and corticosterone level in mice in vivo. Mice were subjected to acute immobilization stress for 30 min at 60 or 90 min after contextual fear conditioning training, and acetylation of histone 3 at lysine 14 (H3K14) and level of corticosterone were measured using western blot analysis and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. A freezing behavior test was performed 24 h after training, and mRNA expression of BDNF was measured using real-time polymerase chain reactions. Different groups of mice were used for each test. Freezing behavior significantly decreased with the down-regulation of BDNF mRNA expression caused by acute immobilization stress at 60 min after fear conditioning training owing to the reduction of H3K14 acetylation. However, BDNF mRNA expression and H3K14 acetylation were not reduced in animals subjected to immobilization stress at 90 min after the training. Further, the corticosterone level was significantly high in mice subjected to immobilization stress at 60 min after the training. Acute immobilization stress for 30 min at 60 min after fear conditioning training impaired memory formation and reduced BDNF mRNA expression and H3K14 acetylation in the hippocampus of mice owing to the high level of corticosterone.

The Shadow of Physical Harm? Examining the Unique and Gendered Relationship Between Fear of Murder Versus Fear of Sexual Assault on Fear of Violent Crime.

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Riggs, Samantha; Cook, Carrie L

2015-09-01

The shadow hypothesis regarding the impact of fear of sexual assault on fear of violent crime suggests that female fear of crime is characterized by concern about sexual assault as a contemporaneous victimization event during a violent crime event. Recent research has found that other types of crime, namely physical assault, may also be feared as a contemporaneous offense. We know of no research that has examined the unique impact of fear of murder versus fear of sexual assault on fear of violent crime. There is also a lack of research that explores how these two types of fear uniquely affect men and women. In addition to gender, we examine factors that have been suggested in previous research to correlate with fear of crime: race, victimization, vicarious victimization, and perceived risk. Through survey methodology, this research examines the unique relationship between both fear of murder and fear of sexual assault and fear of three types of violent crime for men and women. Results suggest differences in how fear of murder and fear of sexual assault are related to fear of other types of violence for men and women. Specifically, fear of murder is important in estimating male fear of robbery and aggravated assault. However, fear of sexual assault is almost as important as fear of murder for men in estimating fear of home invasion. Similarly, for women, fear of sexual assault and fear of murder both are significant factors associated with fear of violent crime, and differences between the levels of significance are marginal. This study is a first to examine whether murder may also be feared as a contemporaneous offense. The results are informative in identifying what drives fear of crime, particularly violent crime, for both men and women. Avenues for future research are discussed. © The Author(s) 2014.

Inactivation of the Infralimbic but Not the Prelimbic Cortex Impairs Consolidation and Retrieval of Fear Extinction

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Laurent, Vincent; Westbrook, R. Frederick

2009-01-01

Rats were subjected to one or two cycles of context fear conditioning and extinction to study the roles of the prelimbic cortex (PL) and infralimbic cortex (IL) in learning and relearning to inhibit fear responses. Inactivation of the PL depressed fear responses across the first or second extinction but did not impair learning or relearning fear…

Gender Moderates the Progression from Fearful Temperament to Social Withdrawal through Protective Parenting.

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Kiel, Elizabeth J; Premo, Julie E; Buss, Kristin A

2016-05-01

Child gender may exert its influence on development, not as a main effect, but as a moderator among predictors and outcomes. We examined this notion in relations among toddler fearful temperament, maternal protective parenting, maternal accuracy in predicting toddler distress to novelty, and child social withdrawal. In two multi-method, longitudinal studies of toddlers (24 months at Time 1; n s = 93 and 117, respectively) and their mothers, few main effect gender differences occurred. Moderation existed in both studies: only for highly accurate mothers of boys, fearful temperament related to protective parenting, which then predicted later social withdrawal. Thus, studying only main-effect gender differences may obscure important differences in how boys and girls develop from fearful temperament to later social withdrawal.

Gender Moderates the Progression from Fearful Temperament to Social Withdrawal through Protective Parenting

Science.gov (United States)

Kiel, Elizabeth J.; Premo, Julie E.; Buss, Kristin A.

2015-01-01

Child gender may exert its influence on development, not as a main effect, but as a moderator among predictors and outcomes. We examined this notion in relations among toddler fearful temperament, maternal protective parenting, maternal accuracy in predicting toddler distress to novelty, and child social withdrawal. In two multi-method, longitudinal studies of toddlers (24 months at Time 1; ns = 93 and 117, respectively) and their mothers, few main effect gender differences occurred. Moderation existed in both studies: only for highly accurate mothers of boys, fearful temperament related to protective parenting, which then predicted later social withdrawal. Thus, studying only main-effect gender differences may obscure important differences in how boys and girls develop from fearful temperament to later social withdrawal. PMID:27231411

Chemosensory anxiety cues enhance the perception of fearful faces - An fMRI study.

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Wudarczyk, Olga A; Kohn, Nils; Bergs, Rene; Goerlich, Katharina S; Gur, Raquel E; Turetsky, Bruce; Schneider, Frank; Habel, Ute

2016-12-01

Recent evidence suggests that humans can communicate emotion via chemosensory signals. Olfactory cues signaling anxiety can bias the perception of ambiguous stimuli, but the underlying neurobiological mechanisms of this effect are currently unknown. Here, we investigated the brain responses to subtle changes in facial expressions in response to anxiety chemosensory cues. Ten healthy individuals donated their sweat in two situations: while anticipating an important oral examination (anxiety condition) and during physical exercise (control condition). Subsequently, 24 participants completed a parametrically morphed (neutral to fearful) emotion recognition task under exposure to the olfactory cues of anxiety and sports, in the fMRI scanner. Behaviorally, the participants rated more discernible fearful faces as more fearful and neutral faces as more neutral under exposure to the anxiety cues. For brain response, under exposure to the anxiety cues, increased fearfulness of the face corresponded to increased activity in the left insula and the left middle occipital gyrus extending into fusiform gyrus. Moreover, with higher subjective ratings of facial fearfulness, participants additionally showed increased activity in the left hippocampus. These results suggest that chemosensory anxiety cues facilitate processing of socially relevant fearful stimuli and boost memory retrieval due to enhanced emotional context. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Fear of clowns in hospitalized children: prospective experience.

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Meiri, Noam; Schnapp, Zeev; Ankri, Amichi; Nahmias, Itay; Raviv, Amnon; Sagi, Omer; Hamad Saied, Mohamad; Konopnicki, Muriel; Pillar, Giora

2017-02-01

Medical clowns (MC) have become an integral part of the pediatric staff of hospital wards. While several studies have demonstrated the huge benefits of MC, there are almost no data regarding fear of clowns, a known phenomenon that means an irrational fear of clowns. In the current study, we sought to examine the prevalence of fear of clowns in pediatrics wards, and to characterize the affected children. The clinical work of three certified MCs was prospectively assessed. Every child with fear of clowns was noted, data were retrieved from the medical records, and the parents/child completed a specific questionnaire with a research assistant. Fear of clowns was defined as crying, anxiety response or effort to avoid contact with the MCs in small children, while in older children, it was determined if the child either reported fear of MCs or made actions to avoid clowns' intervention. A total of 1160 children participated in the study. All were hospitalized in the department of pediatrics or the pediatric emergency medicine department at Carmel Medical Center, and were exposed to a MC intervention session. Of the 1160 children, 14 children experienced fear of clowns (1.2%). The average age of children who experienced fear of clowns was 3.5 years (range 1-15). Interestingly, most of the children demonstrating fear of clowns were girls (12 out of 14, 85.7%). We found no association between fear of clowns and specific diagnosis, fever, clinical appearance, religion, or ethnicity. The prevalence of fear of clowns in the general pediatric hospitalized population was 1.2%, with a significant predominance of girls (85.7%). Children who experienced significant fear of clowns also experienced significant fear of encountering or thinking about a MC visit. Fear of clowns can affect children at any age (range 1-15), any ethnicity, religion, or degree of illness. Further large scale studies are required to better understand this unique phenomenon of fear of clowns. What is Known

Understanding animal fears: a comparison of the cognitive vulnerability and harm-looming models

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Armfield Jason M

2007-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The Cognitive Vulnerability Model holds that both clinical and sub-clinical manifestations of animal fears are a result of how an animal is perceived, and can be used to explain both individual differences in fear acquisition and the uneven distribution of fears in the population. This study looked at the association between fear of a number of animals and perceptions of the animals as uncontrollable, unpredictable, dangerous and disgusting. Also assessed were the perceived loomingness, prior familiarity, and negative evaluation of the animals as well as possible conditioning experiences. Methods 162 first-year University students rated their fear and perceptions of four high-fear and four low-fear animals. Results Perceptions of the animals as dangerous, disgusting and uncontrollable were significantly associated with fear of both high- and low-fear animals while perceptions of unpredictability were significantly associated with fear of high-fear animals. Conditioning experiences were unrelated to fear of any animals. In multiple regression analyses, loomingness did not account for a significant amount of the variance in fear beyond that accounted for by the cognitive vulnerability variables. However, the vulnerability variables accounted for between 20% and 51% of the variance in all animals fears beyond that accounted for by perceptions of the animals as looming. Perceptions of dangerousness, uncontrollability and unpredictability were highly predictive of the uneven distribution of animal fears. Conclusion This study provides support for the Cognitive Vulnerability Model of the etiology of specific fears and phobias and brings into question the utility of the harm-looming model in explaining animal fear.

Corticosterone facilitates extinction of fear memory in BALB/c mice but strengthens cue related fear in C57BL/6 mice.

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Brinks, V; de Kloet, E R; Oitzl, M S

2009-04-01

Corticosterone, the naturally occurring glucocorticoid of rodents is secreted in response to stressors and is known for its facilitating and detrimental effects on emotional learning and memory. The large variability in the action of corticosterone on processing of emotional memories is postulated to depend on genetic background and the spatio-temporal domain in which the hormone operates. To address this hypothesis, mice of two strains with distinct corticosterone secretory patterns and behavioural phenotype (BALB/c and C57BL/6J) were treated with corticosterone (250 microg/kg, i.p.), either 5 min before or directly after acquisition in a fear conditioning task. As the paradigm allowed assessing in one experimental procedure both context- and cue-related fear behaviour, we were able to detect generalization and specificity of fear. BALB/c showed generalized strong fear memory, while C57BL/6J mice discriminated between freezing during context- and cue episodes. Corticosterone had opposite effects on fear memory depending on the strain and time of injection. Corticosterone after acquisition did not affect C57BL/6J mice, but destabilized consolidation and facilitated extinction in BALB/c. Corticosterone 5 min before acquisition strengthened stress-associated signals: BALB/c no longer showed lower fear memory, while C57BL/6J mice displayed increased fear memory and impaired extinction in cue episodes. We propose that corticosterone-induced facilitation of fear memory in C57BL/6J mice can be used to study the development of fear memories, corticosterone administration in BALB/c mice presents a model to examine treatment. We conclude that genetic background and time of corticosterone action are modifiers of fear memory with interesting translational implications for anxiety-related diseases.

The Politics of Fear

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Martin, Jennifer

2013-01-01

In the aftermath of the school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut this past December, people experienced the world around them as less safe--understandably so. In response to such a tragic event, there is a degree of fear instilled in all people that for many was at its peak in the New Year as they prepared to send their children back to school.…

Making the invisible visible: fear and disclosure of sexual orientation at work.

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Ragins, Belle Rose; Singh, Romila; Cornwell, John M

2007-07-01

Stigma theory was used to examine the fears underlying the disclosure of a gay identity at work. Using a national sample of 534 gay, lesbian, and bisexual employees, this study examined the antecedents that affect the degree of disclosure of a gay identity at work and, for those who had not disclosed, the factors that influence their fears about full disclosure. Employees reported less fear and more disclosure when they worked in a group that was perceived as supportive and sharing their stigma. Perceptions of past experience with sexual orientation discrimination were related to increased fears but to greater disclosure. For those who had not fully disclosed their stigma, the fears associated with disclosure predicted job attitudes, psychological strain, work environment, and career outcomes. However, actual disclosure was unrelated to these variables. The utility of fear of disclosure for understanding processes underlying the disclosure of gay and other invisible stigmatized identities in the workplace is discussed.

Dexamethasone facilitates fear extinction and safety discrimination in PTSD: A placebo-controlled, double-blind study.

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Michopoulos, Vasiliki; Norrholm, Seth D; Stevens, Jennifer S; Glover, Ebony M; Rothbaum, Barbara O; Gillespie, Charles F; Schwartz, Ann C; Ressler, Kerry J; Jovanovic, Tanja

2017-09-01

Psychophysiological hallmarks of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) include exaggerated fear responses, impaired inhibition and extinction of conditioned fear, and decreased discrimination between safety and fear cues. This increased fear load associated with PTSD can be a barrier to effective therapy thus indicating the need for new treatments to reduce fear expression in people with PTSD. One potential biological target for reducing fear expression in PTSD is the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which is dysregulated in PTSD. Recent translational rodent studies and cross-sectional clinical studies have shown that dexamethasone administration and the resulting suppression of cortisol in individuals with PTSD leads to a decrease in the fear responses characteristic of PTSD. These data, taken together, suggest that dexamethasone may serve as a novel pharmacologic intervention for heightened fear responses in PTSD. We conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to test our hypothesis that dexamethasone administration and the concomitant suppression of HPA axis hyperactivity would attenuate fear expression and enhance fear extinction in individuals with PTSD. Study participants (n=62) were recruited from Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, GA. Participants were randomized to receive dexamethasone or placebo prior to fear conditioning and extinction, in a counterbalanced design (treatments separated by a week). Both PTSD- (n=37) and PTSD+ (n=25) participants showed significant startle increases in the presence of the danger signal during placebo and dexamethasone treatments (all pextinction blocks during both conditions (p's≤0.001), with PTSD+ participants showing deficits in fear extinction and safety discrimination in the placebo condition. Notably, extinction and discrimination deficits in PTSD+ subjects were markedly reversed with dexamethasone (pextinction and discrimination in individuals with PTSD. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights

Sixty years of fear appeal research: current state of the evidence.

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Ruiter, Robert A C; Kessels, Loes T E; Peters, Gjalt-Jorn Y; Kok, Gerjo

2014-04-01

Fear arousal is widely used in persuasive campaigns and behavioral change interventions. Yet, experimental evidence argues against the use of threatening health information. The authors reviewed the current state of empirical evidence on the effectiveness of fear appeals. Following a brief overview of the use of fear arousal in health education practice and the structure of effective fear appeals according to two main theoretical frameworks-protection motivation theory and the extended parallel process model-the findings of six meta-analytic studies in the effectiveness of fear appeals are summarized. It is concluded that coping information aimed at increasing perceptions of response effectiveness and especially self-efficacy is more important in promoting protective action than presenting threatening health information aimed at increasing risk perceptions and fear arousal. Alternative behavior change methods than fear appeals should be considered. © 2014 The Authors. International Journal of Psychology published by John Wiley © Sons Ltd on behalf of International Union of Psychological Science.

Countering Fear Renewal : changes in the UCS representation generalize across contexts

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leer, Arne|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/381059650; Engelhard, Iris|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/239681533

After treatment of anxiety disorders, fear often returns. Analogue studies show that outside the extinction context the conditional stimulus (CS) activates the acquisition memory (CS predicts unconditional stimulus; UCS), rather than the extinction memory (CS does not predict UCS). Conditioning

No Effect of Cathodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Fear Memory in Healthy Human Subjects

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Aditya Mungee

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Background: Studies have demonstrated that fear memories can be modified using non-invasive methods. Recently, we demonstrated that anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is capable of enhancing fear memories. Here, we examined the effects of cathodal tDCS of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during fear reconsolidation in humans. Methods: Seventeen young, healthy subjects were randomly assigned to two groups, which underwent fear conditioning with mild electric stimuli paired with a visual stimulus. Twenty-four hours later, both groups were shown a reminder of the conditioned fearful stimulus. Shortly thereafter, they received either tDCS (right prefrontal—cathodal, left supraorbital—anodal for 20 min at 1 mA, or sham stimulation. A day later, fear responses of both groups were compared. Results: On Day 3, during fear response assessment, there were no significant differences between the tDCS and sham group (p > 0.05. Conclusion: We conclude that cathodal tDCS of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (right prefrontal—cathodal, left supraorbital—anodal did not influence fear memories.

Fear of pain in children and adolescents with neuropathic pain and complex regional pain syndrome.

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Simons, Laura E

2016-02-01

A significant proportion of children and adolescents with chronic pain endorse elevated pain-related fear. Pain-related fear is associated with high levels of disability, depressive symptoms, and school impairment. Because of faulty nerve signaling, individuals with neuropathic pain and complex regional pain syndrome may be more prone to develop pain-related fear as they avoid use of and neglect the affected body area(s), resulting in exacerbated symptoms, muscle atrophy, maintenance of pain signaling, and ongoing pain-related disability. Not surprisingly, effective treatments for elevated pain-related fears involve exposure to previously avoided activities to downregulate incorrect pain signaling. In the context of intensive interdisciplinary pain treatment of youth with neuropathic pain, decreasing pain-related fear is associated with improved physical and psychological functioning, whereas high initial pain-related fear is a risk factor for less treatment responsiveness. An innovative approach to targeting pain-related fear and evidence of a neural response to treatment involving decoupling of the amygdala with key fear circuits in youth with complex regional pain syndrome suggest breakthroughs in our ability to ameliorate these issues.

Activation of D1/5 Dopamine Receptors: A Common Mechanism for Enhancing Extinction of Fear and Reward-Seeking Behaviors.

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Abraham, Antony D; Neve, Kim A; Lattal, K Matthew

2016-07-01

Dopamine is critical for many processes that drive learning and memory, including motivation, prediction error, incentive salience, memory consolidation, and response output. Theories of dopamine's function in these processes have, for the most part, been developed from behavioral approaches that examine learning mechanisms in appetitive tasks. A parallel and growing literature indicates that dopamine signaling is involved in consolidation of memories into stable representations in aversive tasks such as fear conditioning. Relatively little is known about how dopamine may modulate memories that form during extinction, when organisms learn that the relation between previously associated events is severed. We investigated whether fear and reward extinction share common mechanisms that could be enhanced with dopamine D1/5 receptor activation. Pharmacological activation of dopamine D1/5 receptors (with SKF 81297) enhanced extinction of both cued and contextual fear. These effects also occurred in the extinction of cocaine-induced conditioned place preference, suggesting that the observed effects on extinction were not specific to a particular type of procedure (aversive or appetitive). A cAMP/PKA biased D1 agonist (SKF 83959) did not affect fear extinction, whereas a broadly efficacious D1 agonist (SKF 83822) promoted fear extinction. Together, these findings show that dopamine D1/5 receptor activation is a target for the enhancement of fear or reward extinction.

Focusing on appraisals: how and why anger and fear influence driving risk perception.

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Lu, Jingyi; Xie, Xiaofei; Zhang, Ruogu

2013-06-01

The present research explores how and why anger and fear influence driving risk perception. Based on appraisal tendency framework, researchers hypothesized that anger and fear would influence driving risk perception in opposite directions due to their differences in appraisals. Study 1 showed that anger reduced risk perception, whereas fear increased it. In Studies 2, 3, and 4, the researchers adopted the paradigm of reappraisal to investigate the causes of the opposite effects found in Study 1. Consistent with our hypothesis, appraisals accounted for these effects: After reappraisals along the dimensions of certainty (Study 2), control (Study 3), and responsibility (Study 4), the different effects between anger and fear on driving risk perception diminished or disappeared. In addition, fearful or angry experience mediated the effects of reappraisals on driving risk perception. The findings highlight the necessity to differentiate anger and fear in road safety management. Additionally, the current research also provides feasible methods (e.g., certainty, control, or responsibility reappraisal) to intervene in driving risk perception, which is important for driving safety. Copyright © 2013 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The impact of incidental fear and anger on in- and outgroup attitudes

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Bukowski Marcin

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The aim of this research was to examine the impact of two specific negative emotions of anger and fear on intergroup attitudes. In Study 1 we measured emotions of anger and fear and in Study 2 we evoked these emotions incidentally, that is independently of any intergroup context. In both studies we measured attitudes towards the ingroup (Polish and the outgroup (Gypsies.We expected that fear would lead to more positive ingroup attitudes and anger to more negative outgroup attitudes. The results of the correlational study (Study 1 confirmed the predictions regarding anger and decreased outgroup evaluations, and the experimental study (Study 2 revealed that fear enhanced positivity towards the ingroup, but anger increased negativity towards the outgroup. The impact of fear and anger on social attitudes in the specific context of a negatively self-stereotyped ingroup is discussed.

Fear and Reward Circuit Alterations in Pediatric CRPS.

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Simons, Laura E; Erpelding, Nathalie; Hernandez, Jessica M; Serrano, Paul; Zhang, Kunyu; Lebel, Alyssa A; Sethna, Navil F; Berde, Charles B; Prabhu, Sanjay P; Becerra, Lino; Borsook, David

2015-01-01

In chronic pain, a number of brain regions involved in emotion (e.g., amygdala, hippocampus, nucleus accumbens, insula, anterior cingulate, and prefrontal cortex) show significant functional and morphometric changes. One phenotypic manifestation of these changes is pain-related fear (PRF). PRF is associated with profoundly altered behavioral adaptations to chronic pain. For example, patients with a neuropathic pain condition known as complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) often avoid use of and may even neglect the affected body area(s), thus maintaining and likely enhancing PRF. These changes form part of an overall maladaptation to chronic pain. To examine fear-related brain circuit alterations in humans, 20 pediatric patients with CRPS and 20 sex- and age-matched healthy controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in response to a well-established fearful faces paradigm. Despite no significant differences on self-reported emotional valence and arousal between the two groups, CRPS patients displayed a diminished response to fearful faces in regions associated with emotional processing compared to healthy controls. Additionally, increased PRF levels were associated with decreased activity in a number of brain regions including the right amygdala, insula, putamen, and caudate. Blunted activation in patients suggests that (a) individuals with chronic pain may have deficits in cognitive-affective brain circuits that may represent an underlying vulnerability or consequence to the chronic pain state; and (b) fear of pain may contribute and/or maintain these brain alterations. Our results shed new light on altered affective circuits in patients with chronic pain and identify PRF as a potentially important treatment target.

Serotonergic Modulation of Conditioned Fear

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Judith R. Homberg

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Conditioned fear plays a key role in anxiety disorders as well as depression and other neuropsychiatric conditions. Understanding how neuromodulators drive the associated learning and memory processes, including memory consolidation, retrieval/expression, and extinction (recall, is essential in the understanding of (individual differences in vulnerability to these disorders and their treatment. The human and rodent studies I review here together reveal, amongst others, that acute selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI treatment facilitates fear conditioning, reduces contextual fear, and increases cued fear, chronic SSRI treatment reduces both contextual and cued fear, 5-HT1A receptors inhibit the acquisition and expression of contextual fear, 5-HT2A receptors facilitates the consolidation of cued and contextual fear, inactivation of 5-HT2C receptors facilitate the retrieval of cued fear memory, the 5-HT3 receptor mediates contextual fear, genetically induced increases in serotonin levels are associated with increased fear conditioning, impaired cued fear extinction, or impaired extinction recall, and that genetically induced 5-HT depletion increases fear conditioning and contextual fear. Several explanations are presented to reconcile seemingly paradoxical relationships between serotonin levels and conditioned fear.

An automatic recording system for the study of escape from fear in rats.

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Li, Ming; He, Wei

2013-11-01

Escape from fear (EFF) is an active response to a conditioned stimulus (CS) previously paired with an unconditioned fearful stimulus (US), which typically leads to the termination of the CS. In this paradigm, animals acquire two distinct associations: S-S [CS-US] and R-O [response-outcome] through Pavlovian and instrumental conditioning, respectively. The present study describes a computer controlled automatic recording system that captures the development of EFF and allows the determination of the respective roles of S-S and R-O associations in this process. We validated this system by showing that only rats subjected to a simultaneous CS-US conditioning (i.e., CS and US occur together at the beginning of each trial) acquired EFF, not those subjected to an unpaired CS-US conditioning. Paired rats had a progressively increased number of EFF and significantly shorter escape latencies than unpaired rats across the 5-trial blocks on the test day. However, during the conditioning phase, the unpaired rats emitted more 22kHz ultrasonic vocalizations, a validated measure of conditioned reactive fear responses. Our results demonstrate that the acquisition of EFF is contingent upon pairing of the CS with the US, not simply the consequence of a high level of generalized fear. Because this commercially available system is capable of examining both conditioned active and reactive fear responses in a single setup, it could be used to determine the relative roles of S-S and R-O associations in EFF, the neurobiology of conditioned active fear response and neuropharmacology of psychotherapeutic drugs. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fear learning alterations after traumatic brain injury and their role in development of posttraumatic stress symptoms.

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Glenn, Daniel E; Acheson, Dean T; Geyer, Mark A; Nievergelt, Caroline M; Baker, Dewleen G; Risbrough, Victoria B

2017-08-01

It is unknown how traumatic brain injury (TBI) increases risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). One potential mechanism is via alteration of fear-learning processes that could affect responses to trauma memories and cues. We utilized a prospective, longitudinal design to determine if TBI is associated with altered fear learning and extinction, and if fear processing mediates effects of TBI on PTSD symptom change. Eight hundred fifty two active-duty Marines and Navy Corpsmen were assessed before and after deployment. Assessments included TBI history, PTSD symptoms, combat trauma and deployment stress, and a fear-potentiated startle task of fear acquisition and extinction. Startle response and self-reported expectancy and anxiety served as measures of fear conditioning, and PTSD symptoms were measured with the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale. Individuals endorsing "multiple hit" exposure (both deployment TBI and a prior TBI) showed the strongest fear acquisition and highest fear expression compared to groups without multiple hits. Extinction did not differ across groups. Endorsing a deployment TBI was associated with higher anxiety to the fear cue compared to those without deployment TBI. The association of deployment TBI with increased postdeployment PTSD symptoms was mediated by postdeployment fear expression when recent prior-TBI exposure was included as a moderator. TBI associations with increased response to threat cues and PTSD symptoms remained when controlling for deployment trauma and postdeployment PTSD diagnosis. Deployment TBI, and multiple-hit TBI in particular, are associated with increases in conditioned fear learning and expression that may contribute to risk for developing PTSD symptoms. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Annoyance by aircraft noise and fear of overflying aircraft in relation to attitudes toward the environment and community

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Loeb, M.; Moran, S. V.

1977-01-01

It has been suggested that expressions of annoyance attributable to aircraft noise may reflect in part fear of aircraft overflights and possible crashes. If this is true, then residents of areas where crashes have occurred should express more annoyance. To test this hypothesis, 50 residents of an Albany, New York area where an aircraft crash producing fatalities recently occurred and 50 residents of a comparable nearby area without such a history, were asked to respond to a 'Quality of Life Questionnaire.' Among the items were some designed to test annoyance by noise and fear of aircraft overflights. It was predicted that those in the crash area would express more fear and would more often identify aircraft as a noise source. These hypotheses were sustained. A near-replication was carried out in Louisville, Kentucky; results were much the same. Analyses indicated that for the crash-area groups, there was associating of aircraft fear and noise annoyance responses; this was true to an apparently lesser extent for non-crash groups. The greater annoyance of crash groups by aircraft community noise apparently does not carry over to situations in which aircraft noise is assessed in the laboratory.

Alterations in neuronal morphology in infralimbic cortex predict resistance to fear extinction following acute stress

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Kelly M. Moench

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Dysfunction in corticolimbic circuits that mediate the extinction of learned fear responses is thought to underlie the perseveration of fear in stress-related psychopathologies, including post-traumatic stress disorder. Chronic stress produces dendritic hypertrophy in basolateral amygdala (BLA and dendritic hypotrophy in medial prefrontal cortex, whereas acute stress leads to hypotrophy in both BLA and prelimbic cortex. Additionally, both chronic and acute stress impair extinction retrieval. Here, we examined the effects of a single elevated platform stress on extinction learning and dendritic morphology in infralimbic cortex, a region considered to be critical for extinction. Acute stress produced resistance to extinction, as well as dendritic retraction in infralimbic cortex. Spine density on apical and basilar terminal branches was unaffected by stress. However, animals that underwent conditioning and extinction had decreased spine density on apical terminal branches. Thus, whereas dendritic morphology in infralimbic cortex appears to be particularly sensitive to stress, changes in spines may more sensitively reflect learning. Further, in stressed rats that underwent conditioning and extinction, the level of extinction learning was correlated with spine densities, in that rats with poorer extinction retrieval had more immature spines and fewer thin spines than rats with better extinction retrieval, suggesting that stress may have impaired learning-related spine plasticity. These results may have implications for understanding the role of medial prefrontal cortex in learning deficits associated with stress-related pathologies.

A single administration of cortisol acutely reduces preconscious attention for fear in anxious young men.

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Putman, Peter; Hermans, Erno J; Koppeschaar, Hans; van Schijndel, Alexandra; van Honk, Jack

2007-08-01

Chronically elevated HPA activity has often been associated with fear and anxiety, but there is evidence that single administrations of glucocorticoids may acutely reduce fear. Moreover, peri-traumatic cortisol elevation may protect against development of post-traumatic stress disorder. Hypervigilant processing of threat information plays a role in anxiety disorders and although relations with HPA functioning have been established, causality of these relations remains unclear. Presently, self-reported anxiety and response time patterns on a masked emotional Stroop task with fearful faces were measured in 20 healthy young men after double-blind, placebo-controlled oral administration of 40 mg cortisol. The masked fearful Stroop task measures vocal colornaming response latencies for pictures of neutral and fearful faces presented below the threshold for conscious perception. Results showed increased response times on trials for fearful compared to neutral faces after placebo, but this emotional Stroop effect was acutely abolished by cortisol administration. This effect was most pronounced in subjects with heightened anxiety levels. This is the first evidence showing that exogenous cortisol acutely reduces anxiety-driven selective attention to threat. These results extend earlier findings of acute fear reduction after glucocorticoid administration. This suggests interactions of HPA functioning and vigilant attention in the pathogenesis of anxiety disorders. Possible neuroendocrine mechanisms of action are discussed.

Health anxiety and fear of fear in panic disorder and agoraphobia vs. social phobia: a prospective longitudinal study.

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Rudaz, Myriam; Craske, Michelle G; Becker, Eni S; Ledermann, Thomas; Margraf, Jürgen

2010-04-01

This study is aimed to evaluate the role of two vulnerability factors, health anxiety and fear of fear, in the prediction of the onset of panic disorder/agoraphobia (PDA) relative to a comparison anxiety disorder. Young women, aged between 18 and 24 years, were investigated at baseline and, 17 months later, using the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule-Lifetime and measures of health anxiety and fear of bodily sensations (subscale disease phobia of the Whiteley Index, and total score of the Body Sensations Questionnaire). First, 22 women with current PDA were compared to 81 women with current social phobia and 1,283 controls. Second, 24 women with an incidence of PDA were compared to 60 women with an incidence of social phobia and 1,036 controls. Multiple logistic regression analyses adjusted for history of physical diseases, somatic symptoms, and other psychological disorders revealed that (a) fear of bodily sensations was elevated for women with PDA vs. controls as well as women with social phobia, and (b) health anxiety (and history of physical diseases) was elevated in women who developed PDA vs. controls and vs. women who developed social phobia. These results suggest that health anxiety, as well as history of physical diseases, may be specific vulnerability factors for the onset of PDA relative to social phobia. Whereas fear of bodily sensations was not found to be a risk factor for the onset of panic disorder/agoraphobia, it was a specific marker of existing PDA relative to social phobia. Copyright 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Demarketing fear: Bring the nuclear issue back to rational discourse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, Charles C.

2014-01-01

This paper attempts to explore the strategies for breaking the deadlock between the demand for resolving climate crisis and the resistance to deploying nuclear power. Since our present renewable technology is not advanced enough to replace fossil fuel power plants, nuclear power becomes the only available means that can buy us more time to explore better energy sources for coping with the dilemma of global warming and energy security. Therefore, this paper proposes an elaborated fear appeal framework that may shed light on the intervention points for mitigating fear. By examining the influence of fear appeal on the nuclear issue, three strategies for demarketing the nuclear fear of the public are recommended. The paper concludes that only when energy policy makers and the nuclear industry recognize the significance of minimizing fear and begin to work on removing the sources of fear, can we then expect to bring the nuclear issue back to rational discourse. - Highlights: • Both cognition and emotion are critical in decision-making processes. • Dealing with the emotion of fear is essential for resolving the nuclear issue. • Fear should be mitigated to make rational discourses on nuclear power happen. • Fear can be mitigated by manipulating issue familiarity and response feasibility. • Using equivalency and issue framing may alter public perceptions of nuclear power

Alexithymia, Attachment and Fear of Intimacy in Young Adults

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Michael Lyvers

2018-12-01

Full Text Available The present study explored the relationship between alexithymia and adult attachment. There were 100 participants aged 18–30 years (63 females who completed the following questionnaires: demographics, Revised Adult Attachment Scale (RAAS, Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21, Fear of Intimacy Scale (FIS, and Toronto Alexithymia Scale 20 (TAS-20. Findings revealed predicted associations of TAS-20 alexithymia scores with insecure attachment as assessed by RAAS (i.e., lower scores on Close and Depend, and higher scores on Anxiety, fear of intimacy as assessed by FIS, and the DASS-21 index of negative mood. After controlling for age, gender and negative mood, fear of intimacy mediated the association of alexithymia with insecure attachment. Limitations of the study and implications of the findings are discussed.

A comparison of positive vicarious learning and verbal information for reducing vicariously learned fear

OpenAIRE

Reynolds, Gemma; Wasely, David; Dunne, Guler; Askew, Chris

2017-01-01

Research with children has demonstrated that both positive vicarious learning (modelling) and positive verbal information can reduce children’s acquired fear responses for a particular stimulus. However, this fear reduction appears to be more effective when the intervention pathway matches the initial fear learning pathway. That is, positive verbal information is a more effective intervention than positive modelling when fear is originally acquired via negative verbal information. Research ha...

Opposite effects of fear conditioning and extinction on dendritic spine remodelling.

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Lai, Cora Sau Wan; Franke, Thomas F; Gan, Wen-Biao

2012-02-19

It is generally believed that fear extinction is a form of new learning that inhibits rather than erases previously acquired fear memories. Although this view has gained much support from behavioural and electrophysiological studies, the hypothesis that extinction causes the partial erasure of fear memories remains viable. Using transcranial two-photon microscopy, we investigated how neural circuits are modified by fear learning and extinction by examining the formation and elimination of postsynaptic dendritic spines of layer-V pyramidal neurons in the mouse frontal association cortex. Here we show that fear conditioning by pairing an auditory cue with a footshock increases the rate of spine elimination. By contrast, fear extinction by repeated presentation of the same auditory cue without a footshock increases the rate of spine formation. The degrees of spine remodelling induced by fear conditioning and extinction strongly correlate with the expression and extinction of conditioned fear responses, respectively. Notably, spine elimination and formation induced by fear conditioning and extinction occur on the same dendritic branches in a cue- and location-specific manner: cue-specific extinction causes formation of dendritic spines within a distance of two micrometres from spines that were eliminated after fear conditioning. Furthermore, reconditioning preferentially induces elimination of dendritic spines that were formed after extinction. Thus, within vastly complex neuronal networks, fear conditioning, extinction and reconditioning lead to opposing changes at the level of individual synapses. These findings also suggest that fear memory traces are partially erased after extinction.

Vicarious Learning and Reduction of Fear in Children via Adult and Child Models.

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Dunne, Güler; Askew, Chris

2017-06-01

Children can learn to fear stimuli vicariously, by observing adults' or peers' responses to them. Given that much of school-age children's time is typically spent with their peers, it is important to establish whether fear learning from peers is as effective or robust as learning from adults, and also whether peers can be successful positive models for reducing fear. During a vicarious fear learning procedure, children (6 to 10 years; N = 60) were shown images of novel animals together with images of adult or peer faces expressing fear. Later they saw their fear-paired animal again together with positive emotional adult or peer faces. Children's fear beliefs and avoidance for the animals increased following vicarious fear learning and decreased following positive vicarious counterconditioning. There was little evidence of differences in learning from adults and peers, demonstrating that for this age group peer models are effective models for both fear acquisition and reduction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Understanding heterogeneity in social anxiety disorder: dependency and self-criticism moderate fear responses to interpersonal cues.

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Kopala-Sibley, Daniel C; Zuroff, David C; Russell, Jennifer J; Moskowitz, D S

2014-06-01

This study examined how the personality traits of self-criticism and dependency moderated the effects of situational interpersonal cues on fear during interpersonal interactions among individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD). We hypothesized that self-criticism would moderate the fear-inducing effects of situational self-consciousness and that dependency would moderate the fear-inducing effects of situational emotional insecurity. Forty SAD patients (Mage = 29.23) and matched community controls (Mage = 28.93) completed event-contingent record forms after each significant social interaction of over 5 min for a 20-day period. There were 20 female patients and 20 male patients in each group. Event-level self-consciousness was more strongly associated with elevations in fear among socially anxious patients who reported higher levels of self-criticism, while event-level emotional security was more strongly associated with decreases in fear among SAD patients who reported higher levels of dependency. These interactions were not found in the community sample. Findings support the application of personality-vulnerability models to understanding fear during social interactions in patients with SAD. Results also have implications for psychotherapeutic treatments of SAD. © 2013 The British Psychological Society.

Chronic nicotine differentially alters spontaneous recovery of contextual fear in male and female mice.

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Tumolo, Jessica M; Kutlu, Munir Gunes; Gould, Thomas J

2018-04-02

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a devastating disorder with symptoms such as flashbacks, hyperarousal, and avoidance of reminders of the traumatic event. Exposure therapy, which attempts to extinguish fear responses, is a commonly used treatment for PTSD but relapse following successful exposure therapy is a frequent problem. In rodents, spontaneous recovery (SR), where extinguished fear responses resurface following extinction treatment, is used as a model of fear relapse. Previous studies from our lab showed that chronic nicotine impaired fear extinction and acute nicotine enhanced SR of contextual fear in adult male mice. In addition, we showed that acute nicotine's effects were specific to SR as acute nicotine did not affect recall of contextual fear conditioning in the absence of extinction. However, effects of chronic nicotine administration on SR are not known. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated if chronic nicotine administration altered SR or recall of contextual fear in adult male and female C57BL/6J mice. Our results showed that chronic nicotine significantly enhanced SR in female mice and significantly decreased SR in males. Chronic nicotine had no effect on recall of contextual fear in males or females. Female sham mice also had significantly less baseline SR than male sham mice. Overall, these results demonstrate sex differences in SR of fear memories and that chronic nicotine modulates these effects on SR but nicotine does not alter recall of contextual fear. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Generalization of Conditioned Fear along a Dimension of Increasing Fear Intensity

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Dunsmoor, Joseph E.; Mitroff, Stephen R.; LaBar, Kevin S.

2009-01-01

The present study investigated the extent to which fear generalization in humans is determined by the amount of fear intensity in nonconditioned stimuli relative to a perceptually similar conditioned stimulus. Stimuli consisted of graded emotionally expressive faces of the same identity morphed between neutral and fearful endpoints. Two…

Left Prefrontal Activity Reflects the Ability of Vicarious Fear Learning: A Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study

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Qingguo Ma

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Fear could be acquired indirectly via social observation. However, it remains unclear which cortical substrate activities are involved in vicarious fear transmission. The present study was to examine empathy-related processes during fear learning by-proxy and to examine the activation of prefrontal cortex by using functional near-infrared spectroscopy. We simultaneously measured participants’ hemodynamic responses and skin conductance responses when they were exposed to a movie. In this movie, a demonstrator (i.e., another human being was receiving a classical fear conditioning. A neutral colored square paired with shocks (CSshock and another colored square paired with no shocks (CSno-shock were randomly presented in front of the demonstrator. Results showed that increased concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin in left prefrontal cortex was observed when participants watched a demonstrator seeing CSshock compared with that exposed to CSno-shock. In addition, enhanced skin conductance responses showing a demonstrator's aversive experience during learning object-fear association were observed. The present study suggests that left prefrontal cortex, which may reflect speculation of others’ mental state, is associated with social fear transmission.

Left prefrontal activity reflects the ability of vicarious fear learning: a functional near-infrared spectroscopy study.

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Ma, Qingguo; Huang, Yujing; Wang, Lei

2013-01-01

Fear could be acquired indirectly via social observation. However, it remains unclear which cortical substrate activities are involved in vicarious fear transmission. The present study was to examine empathy-related processes during fear learning by-proxy and to examine the activation of prefrontal cortex by using functional near-infrared spectroscopy. We simultaneously measured participants' hemodynamic responses and skin conductance responses when they were exposed to a movie. In this movie, a demonstrator (i.e., another human being) was receiving a classical fear conditioning. A neutral colored square paired with shocks (CS(shock)) and another colored square paired with no shocks (CS(no-shock)) were randomly presented in front of the demonstrator. Results showed that increased concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin in left prefrontal cortex was observed when participants watched a demonstrator seeing CS(shock) compared with that exposed to CS(no-shock). In addition, enhanced skin conductance responses showing a demonstrator's aversive experience during learning object-fear association were observed. The present study suggests that left prefrontal cortex, which may reflect speculation of others' mental state, is associated with social fear transmission.

Effects of handling on fear reactions in young Icelandic horses

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Marsbøll, Anna Feldberg; Christensen, Janne Winther

2015-01-01

To investigate the effect of a short-term standardised handling procedure on reactions of young horses in 2 types of fear tests (including and excluding human handling). Study design An experimental study with 3-year-old Icelandic horses (n = 24). Methods Handled horses (n = 12) were trained according...... to a standardised handling procedure whereas controls (n = 12) remained untrained. Behavioural and heart rate responses in a novel object test and 2 handling fear tests (HFTs) were measured. The HFTs were conducted with both an unknown (HFT-unknown) and a known handler (HFT-known). Results There was no effect...... correlated significantly between tests. Conclusions Previous handling may affect the behavioural fear response of horses when handled by their usual handler, whereas this effect did not apply to an unknown handler. Heart rates appeared unaffected by handling and may be a more reliable indicator...

Watching the detectives: crime programming, fear of crime, and attitudes about the criminal justice system.

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Kort-Butler, Lisa A; Sittner Hartshorn, Kelley J

2011-01-01

Research demonstrates a complex relationship between television viewing and fear of crime. Social critics assert that media depictions perpetuate the dominant cultural ideology about crime and criminal justice. This article examines whether program type differentially affects fear of crime and perceptions of the crime rate. Next, it tests whether such programming differentially affects viewers' attitudes about the criminal justice system, and if these relationships are mediated by fear. Results indicated that fear mediated the relationship between viewing nonfictional shows and lack of support for the justice system. Viewing crime dramas predicted support for the death penalty, but this relationship was not mediated by fear. News viewership was unrelated to either fear or attitudes. The results support the idea that program type matters when it comes to understanding people's fear of crime and their attitudes about criminal justice.

Harnessing reconsolidation to weaken fear and appetitive memories: A meta-analysis of post-retrieval extinction effects.

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Kredlow, M Alexandra; Unger, Leslie D; Otto, Michael W

2016-03-01

A new understanding of the mechanisms of memory retrieval and reconsolidation holds the potential for improving exposure-based treatments. Basic research indicates that following fear extinction, safety and fear memories may compete, raising the possibility of return of fear. One possible solution is to modify original fear memories through reconsolidation interference, reducing the likelihood of return of fear. Postretrieval extinction is a behavioral method of reconsolidation interference that has been explored in the context of conditioned fear and appetitive memory paradigms. This meta-analysis examines the magnitude of postretrieval extinction effects and potential moderators of these effects. A PubMed and PsycINFO search was conducted through June 2014. Sixty-three comparisons examining postretrieval extinction for preventing the return of fear or appetitive responses in animals or humans met inclusion criteria. Postretrieval extinction demonstrated a significant, small-to-moderate effect (g = .40) for further reducing the return of fear in humans and a significant, large effect (g = 0.89) for preventing the return of appetitive responses in animals relative to standard extinction. For fear outcomes in animals, effects were small (g = 0.21) and nonsignificant, but moderated by the number of animals housed together and the duration of time between postretrieval extinction/extinction and test. Across paradigms, these findings support the efficacy of this preclinical strategy for preventing the return of conditioned fear and appetitive responses. Overall, findings to date support the continued translation of postretrieval extinction research to human and clinical applications, with particular application to the treatment of anxiety, traumatic stress, and substance use disorders. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Human fear conditioning conducted in full immersion 3-dimensional virtual reality.

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Huff, Nicole C; Zeilinski, David J; Fecteau, Matthew E; Brady, Rachael; LaBar, Kevin S

2010-08-09

conditioning and extinction parameters to yield empirical data that can suggest better treatment options and/or analyze mechanistic hypotheses. In order to test the hypothesis that fear conditioning may be richly encoded and context specific when conducted in a fully immersive environment, we developed distinct virtual reality 3-D contexts in which participants experienced fear conditioning to virtual snakes or spiders. Auditory cues co-occurred with the CS in order to further evoke orienting responses and a feeling of "presence" in subjects. Skin conductance response served as the dependent measure of fear acquisition, memory retention and extinction.

Individual differences in infant fearfulness and cognitive performance: a testing, performance, or competence effect?

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Rieser-Danner, Loretta A

2003-02-01

The author conducted 2 studies to examine the relations between infant fear and cognitive testing performance in 12-month-old infants. In Study 1, fear was assessed by using 2 standard temperament questionnaires and a laboratory-based, standardized stranger approach. Individual differences in cognitive development were assessed using the Object Permanence Scale of the Infant Psychological Development Scales (I. C. Uzgiris & J. M. Hunt, 1975). All 3 assessments of fear significantly predicted object permanence performance, with correlations ranging from -.32 to -.35. In Study 2, fear was assessed via a maternal report questionnaire, and habituation performance was assessed via a basic-level categorization task. Familiarity with the examiner and with the testing environment was manipulated to test for a familiarity influence on performance. Testing revealed individual differences in both fear and habituation. Results suggest that highly fearful infants required more trials to habituate and were less likely to meet the habituation criterion than infants who were less fearful. Methodological and conceptual implications of these results are discussed.

Effects of Postnatal Serotonin Agonism on Fear Response and Memory

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The neurotransmitter serotonin (5-HT) also acts as a neurogenic compound in the developing brain. Early administration of a 5-HT agonist could alter the development of the serotonergic circuitry, altering behaviors mediated by 5-HT signaling, such as memory, fear and aggression. White leghorn chicks...

Baseline Levels of Rapid Eye Movement Sleep May Protect Against Excessive Activity in Fear-Related Neural Circuitry.

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Lerner, Itamar; Lupkin, Shira M; Sinha, Neha; Tsai, Alan; Gluck, Mark A

2017-11-15

Sleep, and particularly rapid eye movement sleep (REM), has been implicated in the modulation of neural activity following fear conditioning and extinction in both human and animal studies. It has long been presumed that such effects play a role in the formation and persistence of posttraumatic stress disorder, of which sleep impairments are a core feature. However, to date, few studies have thoroughly examined the potential effects of sleep prior to conditioning on subsequent acquisition of fear learning in humans. Furthermore, these studies have been restricted to analyzing the effects of a single night of sleep-thus assuming a state-like relationship between the two. In the current study, we used long-term mobile sleep monitoring and functional neuroimaging (fMRI) to explore whether trait-like variations in sleep patterns, measured in advance in both male and female participants, predict subsequent patterns of neural activity during fear learning. Our results indicate that higher baseline levels of REM sleep predict reduced fear-related activity in, and connectivity between, the hippocampus, amygdala and ventromedial PFC during conditioning. Additionally, skin conductance responses (SCRs) were weakly correlated to the activity in the amygdala. Conversely, there was no direct correlation between REM sleep and SCRs, indicating that REM may only modulate fear acquisition indirectly. In a follow-up experiment, we show that these results are replicable, though to a lesser extent, when measuring sleep over a single night just before conditioning. As such, baseline sleep parameters may be able to serve as biomarkers for resilience, or lack thereof, to trauma. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Numerous studies over the past two decades have established a clear role of sleep in fear-learning processes. However, previous work has focused on the effects of sleep following fear acquisition, thus neglecting the potential effects of baseline sleep levels on the acquisition itself. The

Fear appeals in HIV-prevention messages: young people's perceptions in northern Tanzania.

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Bastien, Sheri

2011-12-01

The aims of the study were to elicit the perceptions of young people in Tanzania on the role of fear appeals in HIV-prevention messages and to identify important contextual factors that may influence young people's perceptions of HIV-prevention posters. A total of 10 focus groups were conducted to investigate the role of fear appeals using the extended parallel process model (EPPM) as a guide. Young people were shown a series of images (mostly posters) with alternating high and low-threat messages (fear appeals), and then asked questions about their overall beliefs about HIV and AIDS, as well as about their response in terms of perceived susceptibility to HIV infection, the severity of the message, and their perceptions of self-efficacy and response efficacy. The images and messages that specifically targeted young people were highest in inducing perceived susceptibility to HIV infection, while pictorial descriptions of the physical consequences of HIV infection and those messages related to the stigma and discrimination faced by HIV-infected or affected people induced greater perceptions of severity. The information-based posters rated high in inducing response efficacy, while none of the images seemed to convince young people that they had the self-efficacy to perform the recommended health behaviours. The young people expressed a preference for fear-based appeals and a belief that this could work well in HIV-prevention efforts, yet they also stated a desire for more information-based messages about how to protect themselves. Finally, the messages evoking the most emotional responses were those that had been locally conceived rather than ones developed by large-scale donor-funded campaigns. Finding the appropriate balance between fear and efficacy in HIV-prevention messages is imperative. Further research is needed to better understand how and when fear appeals work and do not work in African settings, especially among young people.

Data-driven criteria to assess fear remission and phenotypic variability of extinction in rats.

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Shumake, Jason; Jones, Carolyn; Auchter, Allison; Monfils, Marie-Hélène

2018-03-19

Fear conditioning is widely employed to examine the mechanisms that underlie dysregulations of the fear system. Various manipulations are often used following fear acquisition to attenuate fear memories. In rodent studies, freezing is often the main output measure to quantify 'fear'. Here, we developed data-driven criteria for defining a standard benchmark that indicates remission from conditioned fear and for identifying subgroups with differential treatment responses. These analyses will enable a better understanding of individual differences in treatment responding.This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Of mice and mental health: facilitating dialogue between basic and clinical neuroscientists'. © 2018 The Author(s).

Predictors of task-persistent and fear-avoiding behaviors in women with sexual pain disorders.

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Brauer, Marieke; Lakeman, Mariëlle; van Lunsen, Rik; Laan, Ellen

2014-12-01

Dyspareunia and vaginismus are the most common sexual pain disorders (SPDs). Literature suggests that many women with dyspareunia continue with intercourse despite pain (task persistence), whereas many women with vaginismus avoid penetrative activities that may cause pain (fear avoidance). Both forms of sexual pain behavior may maintain or aggravate complaints. This study examined (i) whether women with SPD differ from pain-free controls in motives for sexual intercourse, sexual autonomy, maladaptive beliefs regarding vaginal penetration, and partner responses to pain; and (ii) which of these factors best predict whether women with SPD stop or continue painful intercourse (attempts). Women with superficial dyspareunia (n = 50), women with lifelong vaginismus (n = 20), and pain-free controls (n = 45) completed questionnaires. For Aim 1, the main outcome measures were (i) motives for intercourse; (ii) sexual autonomy; (iii) maladaptive beliefs regarding vaginal penetration; and (iv) partner responses to pain. For Aim 2, sexual pain behavior (to continue or discontinue with painful intercourse) was the outcome measure. (i) Women with dyspareunia exhibited more mate guarding and duty/pressure motives for intercourse and were less sexually autonomous than controls. (ii) Symptomatic women had more maladaptive penetration-related beliefs than controls, with women with vaginismus reporting the strongest maladaptive beliefs. (iii) Partners of women with dyspareunia self-reported more negative responses to pain than those of women with vaginismus. (iv) The factors that best predicted sexual pain behavior were the partner responses to pain and the woman's maladaptive beliefs regarding vaginal penetration. Our findings reveal support for task persistence in women with dyspareunia and fear avoidance in women with lifelong vaginismus. As such, it is important to consider these distinct types of responding to sexual pain when treating SPD. © 2014 International

Modulation of cannabinoid signaling by amygdala α2-adrenergic system in fear conditioning.

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Nasehi, Mohammad; Zamanparvar, Majid; Ebrahimi-Ghiri, Mohaddeseh; Zarrindast, Mohammad-Reza

2016-03-01

The noradrenergic system plays a critical role in the modulation of emotional state, primarily related to anxiety, arousal, and stress. Growing evidence suggests that the endocannabinoid system mediates stress responses and emotional homeostasis, in part, by targeting noradrenergic circuits. In addition, there is an interaction between the cannabinoid and noradrenergic system that has significant functional and behavioral implications. Considering the importance of these systems in forming memories for fearful events, we have investigated the involvement of basolateral amygdala (BLA) α2-adrenoceptors on ACPA (as selective cannabinoid CB1 agonist)-induced inhibition of the acquisition of contextual and auditory conditioned fear. A contextual and auditory fear conditioning apparatus for assess fear memory in adult male NMRI mice was used. Pre-training, intraperitoneal administration of ACPA decreased the percentage freezing time in contextual (at doses of 0.05 and 0.1mg/kg) and auditory (at dose of 0.1 mg/kg) in the fear conditioning task, indicating memory acquisition deficit. The same result was observed with intra-BLA microinjection of clonidine (0.001-0.5 μg/mouse, for both memories), as α2-adrenoceptor agonist and yohimbine (at doses of 0.005 and 0.05 for contextual and at dose of 0.05 μg/mouse for auditory fear memory), as α2-adrenoceptor antagonist. In addition, intra-BLA microinjection of clonidine (0.0005 μg/mouse) did not alter ACPA response in both conditions, while the same dose of yohimbine potentiated ACPA response at the lower dose on contextual fear memory. It is concluded that BLA α2-adrenergic receptors may be involved in context- but not tone-dependent fear memory impairment induced by activation of CB1 receptors. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Pattern Analyses Reveal Separate Experience-Based Fear Memories in the Human Right Amygdala.

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Braem, Senne; De Houwer, Jan; Demanet, Jelle; Yuen, Kenneth S L; Kalisch, Raffael; Brass, Marcel

2017-08-23

Learning fear via the experience of contingencies between a conditioned stimulus (CS) and an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US) is often assumed to be fundamentally different from learning fear via instructions. An open question is whether fear-related brain areas respond differently to experienced CS-US contingencies than to merely instructed CS-US contingencies. Here, we contrasted two experimental conditions where subjects were instructed to expect the same CS-US contingencies while only one condition was characterized by prior experience with the CS-US contingency. Using multivoxel pattern analysis of fMRI data, we found CS-related neural activation patterns in the right amygdala (but not in other fear-related regions) that dissociated between whether a CS-US contingency had been instructed and experienced versus merely instructed. A second experiment further corroborated this finding by showing a category-independent neural response to instructed and experienced, but not merely instructed, CS presentations in the human right amygdala. Together, these findings are in line with previous studies showing that verbal fear instructions have a strong impact on both brain and behavior. However, even in the face of fear instructions, the human right amygdala still shows a separable neural pattern response to experience-based fear contingencies. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT In our study, we addressed a fundamental problem of the science of human fear learning and memory, namely whether fear learning via experience in humans relies on a neural pathway that can be separated from fear learning via verbal information. Using two new procedures and recent advances in the analysis of brain imaging data, we localized purely experience-based fear processing and memory in the right amygdala, thereby making a direct link between human and animal research. Copyright © 2017 the authors 0270-6474/17/378116-15$15.00/0.

Stress enhances fear by forming new synapses with greater capacity for long-term potentiation in the amygdala.

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Suvrathan, Aparna; Bennur, Sharath; Ghosh, Supriya; Tomar, Anupratap; Anilkumar, Shobha; Chattarji, Sumantra

2014-01-05

Prolonged and severe stress leads to cognitive deficits, but facilitates emotional behaviour. Little is known about the synaptic basis for this contrast. Here, we report that in rats subjected to chronic immobilization stress, long-term potentiation (LTP) and NMDA receptor (NMDAR)-mediated synaptic responses are enhanced in principal neurons of the lateral amygdala, a brain area involved in fear memory formation. This is accompanied by electrophysiological and morphological changes consistent with the formation of 'silent synapses', containing only NMDARs. In parallel, chronic stress also reduces synaptic inhibition. Together, these synaptic changes would enable amygdalar neurons to undergo further experience-dependent modifications, leading to stronger fear memories. Consistent with this prediction, stressed animals exhibit enhanced conditioned fear. Hence, stress may leave its mark in the amygdala by generating new synapses with greater capacity for plasticity, thereby creating an ideal neuronal substrate for affective disorders. These findings also highlight the unique features of stress-induced plasticity in the amygdala that are strikingly different from the stress-induced impairment of structure and function in the hippocampus.

Threat, Fear, and Persuasion: Review and Critique of Questions About Functional Form

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Lijiang Shen

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Theories of threat appeals have been rightly concerned with the form of the relationship between fear and persuasion: Linear or curvilinear. They have not, however, clearly distinguished the question as a between- or within-persons phenomenon. In fact, the literature often treats these two perspectives as if they were interchangeable. We show that between- versus within-person questions about functional form are distinct from one another. Previous research, which is the product of between-persons designs, shows a linear relationship between fear and persuasion. Betweenpersons studies cannot address the question of how changes in fear over time produce persuasion. Consequently, a major piece of the fear appeals-persuasion puzzle may have been overlooked. Reanalysis of an existing data set shows curvilinearity of fear in within-persons data and demonstrates that the curve predicts persuasion. Audience segmentation reveals different curves for different groups as well as differential associations between those curves and persuasion. Overall, the argument and the empirical results suggest that a great deal less is known about fear appeals than it is currently believed.

Individual variation in working memory is associated with fear extinction performance.

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Stout, Daniel M; Acheson, Dean T; Moore, Tyler M; Gur, Ruben C; Baker, Dewleen G; Geyer, Mark A; Risbrough, Victoria B

2018-03-01

PTSD has been associated consistently with abnormalities in fear acquisition and extinction learning and retention. Fear acquisition refers to learning to discriminate between threat and safety cues. Extinction learning reflects the formation of a new inhibitory-memory that competes with a previously learned threat-related memory. Adjudicating the competition between threat memory and the new inhibitory memory during extinction may rely, in part, on cognitive processes such as working memory (WM). Despite significant shared neural circuits and signaling pathways the relationship between WM, fear acquisition, and extinction is poorly understood. Here, we analyzed data from a large sample of healthy Marines who underwent an assessment battery including tests of fear acquisition, extinction learning, and WM (N-back). Fear potentiated startle (FPS), fear expectancy ratings, and self-reported anxiety served as the primary dependent variables. High WM ability (N = 192) was associated with greater CS + fear inhibition during the late block of extinction and greater US expectancy change during extinction learning compared to individuals with low WM ability (N = 204). WM ability was not associated with magnitude of fear conditioning/expression. Attention ability was unrelated to fear acquisition or extinction supporting specificity of WM associations with extinction. These results support the conclusion that individual differences in WM may contribute to regulating fear responses. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Implications of newborn amygdala connectivity for fear and cognitive development at 6-months-of-age

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Graham, Alice M.; Buss, Claudia; Rasmussen, Jerod M.; Rudolph, Marc D.; Demeter, Damion V.; Gilmore, John H.; Styner, Martin; Entringer, Sonja; Wadhwa, Pathik D.; Fair, Damien A.

2015-01-01

The first year of life is an important period for emergence of fear in humans. While animal models have revealed developmental changes in amygdala circuitry accompanying emerging fear, human neural systems involved in early fear development remain poorly understood. To increase understanding of the neural foundations of human fear, it is important to consider parallel cognitive development, which may modulate associations between typical development of early fear and subsequent risk for fear-related psychopathology. We, therefore, examined amygdala functional connectivity with rs-fcMRI in 48 neonates (M=3.65 weeks, SD=1.72), and measured fear and cognitive development at 6-months-of-age. Stronger, positive neonatal amygdala connectivity to several regions, including bilateral anterior insula and ventral striatum, was prospectively associated with higher fear at 6-months. Stronger amygdala connectivity to ventral anterior cingulate/anterior medial prefrontal cortex predicted a specific phenotype of higher fear combined with more advanced cognitive development. Overall, findings demonstrate unique profiles of neonatal amygdala functional connectivity related to emerging fear and cognitive development, which may have implications for normative and pathological fear in later years. Consideration of infant fear in the context of cognitive development will likely contribute to a more nuanced understanding of fear, its neural bases, and its implications for future mental health. PMID:26499255

Fearfulness and feather damage in laying hens divergently selected for high and low feather pecking

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Rodenburg, T Bas; de Haas, Elske N; Nielsen, Birte Lindstrøm

2010-01-01

Feather pecking (FP) remains a major welfare and economic problem in laying hens. FP has been found to be related to other behavioural characteristics, such as fearfulness. There are indications that fearful birds are more likely to develop FP. Furthermore, FP can lead to increased fearfulness...... in the victims. To investigate further the relationship between FP and fearfulness, feather damage and behavioural fear responses were recorded in three White Leghorn lines of laying hens: a line selected for high FP (HFP line), a line selected for low FP (LFP line) and an unselected control line (10th...... in fear responses between the HFP and LFP lines were not found, neither in the TI-test, nor in the HA or NO test. As expected, birds from the HFP line had considerably more feather damage than birds from the LFP line and birds from the unselected control line were intermediate. Cages that withdrew from...

Genetic mapping of canine fear and aggression.

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Zapata, Isain; Serpell, James A; Alvarez, Carlos E

2016-08-08

Fear/anxiety and anger/aggression greatly influence health, quality of life and social interactions. They are a huge burden to wellbeing, and personal and public economics. However, while much is known about the physiology and neuroanatomy of such emotions, little is known about their genetics - most importantly, why some individuals are more susceptible to pathology under stress. We conducted genomewide association (GWA) mapping of breed stereotypes for many fear and aggression traits across several hundred dogs from diverse breeds. We confirmed those findings using GWA in a second cohort of partially overlapping breeds. Lastly, we used the validated loci to create a model that effectively predicted fear and aggression stereotypes in a third group of dog breeds that were not involved in the mapping studies. We found that i) known IGF1 and HMGA2 loci variants for small body size are associated with separation anxiety, touch-sensitivity, owner directed aggression and dog rivalry; and ii) two loci, between GNAT3 and CD36 on chr18, and near IGSF1 on chrX, are associated with several traits, including touch-sensitivity, non-social fear, and fear and aggression that are directed toward unfamiliar dogs and humans. All four genome loci are among the most highly evolutionarily-selected in dogs, and each of those was previously shown to be associated with morphological traits. We propose that the IGF1 and HMGA2 loci are candidates for identical variation being associated with both behavior and morphology. In contrast, we show that the GNAT3-CD36 locus has distinct variants for behavior and morphology. The chrX region is a special case due to its extensive linkage disequilibrium (LD). Our evidence strongly suggests that sociability (which we propose is associated with HS6ST2) and fear/aggression are two distinct GWA loci within this LD block on chrX, but there is almost perfect LD between the peaks for fear/aggression and animal size. We have mapped many canine fear and

Fear of Crime in the Sanctuary: Comparing American and Ghanaian University Students' Fearfulness.

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Boateng, Francis D

2018-02-01

While much is known about fear of crime in the West, little is known about how fearfulness of crime develops in non-Western societies, especially among university students. Representing the first attempt to empirically compare levels of fear of crime between Ghanaian and U.S. college students, this article examined students' levels of fear of crime on campus, and tested the applicability of two evolving models of fear of crime-the vulnerability and reassurance models-using comparative data. The general finding is that Ghanaian and U.S. college students differ in terms of their rates of fearfulness on campus. This significant difference adds to the already existing differences between the two countries.

Fear of childbirth in pregnant women: External and internal factors.

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Kashshapova, E. V.

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Fear of childbirth (FOC is an important psychological problem that is studied worldwide because it affects the well-being of pregnant women. However, in Russia, this problem does not receive adequate attention among researchers. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the conditionality of fear of childbirth (FOC in pregnant women by external and internal factors, which we assumed were the reasons for this fear. As external factors, we considered socio-demographic indicators (e.g., age, marital status, level of education, housing, and the attitude of relatives towards pregnancy as well as indicators of gynecological history (e.g., the term of pregnancy, the outcome of previous pregnancies, and pregnancy complications. As internal (psychological factors of the fear of childbirth, we considered personal anxiety as well as general inclination towards and negative consequences of different fears (20 types of fears and phobias were examined. The study was conducted with a Russian sample of 76 women at different stages of pregnancy and with different socio-demographic indicators and gynecological histories. The analysis of the results showed the absence of significant differences between women who were pregnant with FOC and those without this fear in terms of the external factors considered in this study. According to the study’s data, a general inclination of women to fear is associated with fear of childbirth. However, the findings for the women with FOC did not indicate significant positive correlations between the level of this fear and exposure to any of the 20 types of fear and phobias measured in the study. Furthermore, the results did not detect relationships between the FOC level and women’s personal anxiety. The results allow us to conclude that FOC is a separate phenomenon that is not dependent on other phobias and fears. Fear of childbirth has a subjective and highly individual genesis. It is not a direct consequence of

When sex hurts, anxiety and fear orient attention towards pain.

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Payne, Kimberley A; Binik, Yitzchak M; Amsel, Rhonda; Khalifé, Samir

2005-08-01

Hypervigilance for pain-relevant stimuli has been associated with anxiety, fear of pain and anxiety sensitivity. This attentional bias has been primarily investigated in heterogeneous pain groups or pain-free controls, but has not been examined in pain conditions where anxiety and fear are likely to play a central role. Due to the intimate and interpersonal nature of genital pain experienced during sexual intercourse, Vulvar Vestibulitis Syndrome (VVS) constitutes an ideal sample in which to investigate the role of cognitive and affective factors in pain perception and maintenance. Seventeen women suffering from VVS and an equal number of age and education matched control women completed an emotional Stroop and memory recall task in addition to a series of questionnaires assessing pain-hypervigilance, state and trait anxiety, fear of pain, and anxiety sensitivity. VVS sufferers reported hypervigilance for coital pain and also exhibited a selective attentional bias towards pain stimuli on the emotional Stroop task as compared with controls. This effect was predicted by state and trait anxiety and fear of pain. According to these data, treament strategies for VVS should target anxiety and fear in addition to sensory systems.

The role of negative and positive memories in fear of dental treatment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Staugaard, Søren Risløv; Jøssing, Marit; Krohn, Christina

2017-01-01

is influenced by memories of positive and negative childhood experiences with dental care. More specifically, we predicted that the emotional impact, sense of reliving, rehearsal, and belief in the accuracy of a negative treatment memory would be associated with increased dental fear, while positive treatment...... memories would show the opposite relation. Methods One hundred thirty-six young adults leaving childhood dental care responded to a online measures of dental fear, the most negative and most positive memory of dental treatment, and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. Results Negative memories...... of events that involved pain and dentist behaviors such as impatience or scolding were frequently described and significantly associated with dental fear and symptoms of posttraumatic stress. Positive memories were more frequent, but did not show a consistent relationship with dental fear. Conclusions...

A ghrelin-growth hormone axis drives stress-induced vulnerability to enhanced fear.

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Meyer, R M; Burgos-Robles, A; Liu, E; Correia, S S; Goosens, K A

2014-12-01

Hormones in the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis mediate many of the bodily responses to stressors, yet there is no clear relationship between the levels of these hormones and stress-associated mental illnesses such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Therefore, other hormones are likely to be involved in this effect of stress. Here we used a rodent model of PTSD in which rats repeatedly exposed to a stressor display heightened fear learning following auditory Pavlovian fear conditioning. Our results show that stress-related increases in circulating ghrelin, a peptide hormone, are necessary and sufficient for stress-associated vulnerability to exacerbated fear learning and these actions of ghrelin occur in the amygdala. Importantly, these actions are also independent of the classic HPA stress axis. Repeated systemic administration of a ghrelin receptor agonist enhanced fear memory but did not increase either corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) or corticosterone. Repeated intraamygdala infusion of a ghrelin receptor agonist produced a similar enhancement of fear memory. Ghrelin receptor antagonism during repeated stress abolished stress-related enhancement of fear memory without blunting stress-induced corticosterone release. We also examined links between ghrelin and growth hormone (GH), a major downstream effector of the ghrelin receptor. GH protein was upregulated in the amygdala following chronic stress, and its release from amygdala neurons was enhanced by ghrelin receptor stimulation. Virus-mediated overexpression of GH in the amygdala was also sufficient to increase fear. Finally, virus-mediated overexpression of a GH receptor antagonist was sufficient to block the fear-enhancing effects of repeated ghrelin receptor stimulation. Thus, ghrelin requires GH in the amygdala to exert fear-enhancing effects. These results suggest that ghrelin mediates a novel branch of the stress response and highlight a previously unrecognized role for ghrelin and

Prevention of stress-impaired fear extinction through neuropeptide s action in the lateral amygdala.

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Chauveau, Frédéric; Lange, Maren Denise; Jüngling, Kay; Lesting, Jörg; Seidenbecher, Thomas; Pape, Hans-Christian

2012-06-01

Stressful and traumatic events can create aversive memories, which are a predisposing factor for anxiety disorders. The amygdala is critical for transforming such stressful events into anxiety, and the recently discovered neuropeptide S transmitter system represents a promising candidate apt to control these interactions. Here we test the hypothesis that neuropeptide S can regulate stress-induced hyperexcitability in the amygdala, and thereby can interact with stress-induced alterations of fear memory. Mice underwent acute immobilization stress (IS), and neuropeptide S and a receptor antagonist were locally injected into the lateral amygdala (LA) during stress exposure. Ten days later, anxiety-like behavior, fear acquisition, fear memory retrieval, and extinction were tested. Furthermore, patch-clamp recordings were performed in amygdala slices prepared ex vivo to identify synaptic substrates of stress-induced alterations in fear responsiveness. (1) IS increased anxiety-like behavior, and enhanced conditioned fear responses during extinction 10 days after stress, (2) neuropeptide S in the amygdala prevented, while an antagonist aggravated, these stress-induced changes of aversive behaviors, (3) excitatory synaptic activity in LA projection neurons was increased on fear conditioning and returned to pre-conditioning values on fear extinction, and (4) stress resulted in sustained high levels of excitatory synaptic activity during fear extinction, whereas neuropeptide S supported the return of synaptic activity during fear extinction to levels typical of non-stressed animals. Together these results suggest that the neuropeptide S system is capable of interfering with mechanisms in the amygdala that transform stressful events into anxiety and impaired fear extinction.

Learning and judgment can be affected by predisposed fearfulness in laying hens

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Haas, de Elske N.; Lee, Caroline; Rodenburg, Bas

2017-01-01

High fearfulness could disrupt learning and likely affects judgment in animals, especially when it is part of an animals' personality, i.e., trait anxiety. Here, we tested whether high fearfulness affects discrimination learning and judgment bias (JB) in laying hens. Based on the response to an open

Social Fear Learning: from Animal Models to Human Function.

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Debiec, Jacek; Olsson, Andreas

2017-07-01

Learning about potential threats is critical for survival. Learned fear responses are acquired either through direct experiences or indirectly through social transmission. Social fear learning (SFL), also known as vicarious fear learning, is a paradigm successfully used for studying the transmission of threat information between individuals. Animal and human studies have begun to elucidate the behavioral, neural and molecular mechanisms of SFL. Recent research suggests that social learning mechanisms underlie a wide range of adaptive and maladaptive phenomena, from supporting flexible avoidance in dynamic environments to intergenerational transmission of trauma and anxiety disorders. This review discusses recent advances in SFL studies and their implications for basic, social and clinical sciences. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The hypocretin/orexin system mediates the extinction of fear memories.

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Flores, África; Valls-Comamala, Victòria; Costa, Giulia; Saravia, Rocío; Maldonado, Rafael; Berrendero, Fernando

2014-11-01

Anxiety disorders are often associated with an inability to extinguish learned fear responses. The hypocretin/orexin system is involved in the regulation of emotional states and could also participate in the consolidation and extinction of aversive memories. Using hypocretin receptor-1 and hypocretin receptor-2 antagonists, hypocretin-1 and hypocretin-2 peptides, and hypocretin receptor-1 knockout mice, we investigated the role of the hypocretin system in cue- and context-dependent fear conditioning and extinction. Hypocretins were crucial for the consolidation of fear conditioning, and this effect was mainly observed in memories with a high emotional component. Notably, after the acquisition of fear memory, hypocretin receptor-1 blockade facilitated fear extinction, whereas hypocretin-1 administration impaired this extinction process. The extinction-facilitating effects of the hypocretin receptor-1 antagonist SB334867 were associated with increased expression of cFos in the basolateral amygdala and the infralimbic cortex. Intra-amygdala, but neither intra-infralimbic prefrontal cortex nor intra-dorsohippocampal infusion of SB334867 enhanced fear extinction. These results reveal a key role for hypocretins in the extinction of aversive memories and suggest that hypocretin receptor-1 blockade could represent a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of diseases associated with inappropriate retention of fear, such as post-traumatic stress disorder and phobias.

The Hypocretin/Orexin System Mediates the Extinction of Fear Memories

Science.gov (United States)

Flores, África; Valls-Comamala, Victòria; Costa, Giulia; Saravia, Rocío; Maldonado, Rafael; Berrendero, Fernando

2014-01-01

Anxiety disorders are often associated with an inability to extinguish learned fear responses. The hypocretin/orexin system is involved in the regulation of emotional states and could also participate in the consolidation and extinction of aversive memories. Using hypocretin receptor-1 and hypocretin receptor-2 antagonists, hypocretin-1 and hypocretin-2 peptides, and hypocretin receptor-1 knockout mice, we investigated the role of the hypocretin system in cue- and context-dependent fear conditioning and extinction. Hypocretins were crucial for the consolidation of fear conditioning, and this effect was mainly observed in memories with a high emotional component. Notably, after the acquisition of fear memory, hypocretin receptor-1 blockade facilitated fear extinction, whereas hypocretin-1 administration impaired this extinction process. The extinction-facilitating effects of the hypocretin receptor-1 antagonist SB334867 were associated with increased expression of cFos in the basolateral amygdala and the infralimbic cortex. Intra-amygdala, but neither intra-infralimbic prefrontal cortex nor intra-dorsohippocampal infusion of SB334867 enhanced fear extinction. These results reveal a key role for hypocretins in the extinction of aversive memories and suggest that hypocretin receptor-1 blockade could represent a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of diseases associated with inappropriate retention of fear, such as post-traumatic stress disorder and phobias. PMID:24930888

Hippocampal structural plasticity accompanies the resulting contextual fear memory following stress and fear conditioning.

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Giachero, Marcelo; Calfa, Gaston D; Molina, Victor A

2013-10-15

The present research investigated the resulting contextual fear memory and structural plasticity changes in the dorsal hippocampus (DH) following stress and fear conditioning. This combination enhanced fear retention and increased the number of total and mature dendritic spines in DH. Intra-basolateral amygdala (BLA) infusion of midazolam prior to stress prevented both the enhancement of fear retention and an increase in the density of total and mature dendritic spines in DH. These findings emphasize the role of the stress-induced attenuation of GABAergic neurotransmission in BLA in the promoting influence of stress on fear memory and on synaptic remodeling in DH. In conclusion, the structural remodeling in DH accompanied the facilitated fear memory following a combination of fear conditioning and stressful stimulation.

A comparison of positive vicarious learning and verbal information for reducing vicariously learned fear.

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Reynolds, Gemma; Wasely, David; Dunne, Güler; Askew, Chris

2017-10-19

Research with children has demonstrated that both positive vicarious learning (modelling) and positive verbal information can reduce children's acquired fear responses for a particular stimulus. However, this fear reduction appears to be more effective when the intervention pathway matches the initial fear learning pathway. That is, positive verbal information is a more effective intervention than positive modelling when fear is originally acquired via negative verbal information. Research has yet to explore whether fear reduction pathways are also important for fears acquired via vicarious learning. To test this, an experiment compared the effectiveness of positive verbal information and positive vicarious learning interventions for reducing vicariously acquired fears in children (7-9 years). Both vicarious and informational fear reduction interventions were found to be equally effective at reducing vicariously acquired fears, suggesting that acquisition and intervention pathways do not need to match for successful fear reduction. This has significant implications for parents and those working with children because it suggests that providing children with positive information or positive vicarious learning immediately after a negative modelling event may prevent more serious fears developing.

Harnessing Reconsolidation to Weaken Fear and Appetitive Memories: A Meta-Analysis of Post-Retrieval Extinction Effects

Science.gov (United States)

Kredlow, M. Alexandra; Unger, Leslie D.; Otto, Michael W.

2015-01-01

A new understanding of the mechanisms of memory retrieval and reconsolidation holds the potential for improving exposure-based treatments. Basic research indicates that following fear extinction, safety and fear memories may compete, raising the possibility of return of fear. One possible solution is to modify original fear memories through reconsolidation interference, reducing the likelihood of return of fear. Post-retrieval extinction is a behavioral method of reconsolidation interference that has been explored in the context of conditioned fear and appetitive memory paradigms. This meta-analysis examines the magnitude of post-retrieval extinction effects and potential moderators of these effects. A PubMed and PsycINFO search was conducted through June 2014. Sixty-three comparisons examining post-retrieval extinction for preventing the return of fear or appetitive responses in animals or humans met inclusion criteria. Post-retrieval extinction demonstrated a significant, small-to-moderate effect (g = .40) for further reducing the return of fear in humans and a significant, large effect (g = 0.89) for preventing the return of appetitive responses in animals relative to standard extinction. For fear outcomes in animals, effects were small (g = 0.21) and non-significant, but moderated by the number of animals housed together and the duration of time between post-retrieval extinction/extinction and test. Across paradigms, these findings support the efficacy of this pre-clinical strategy for preventing the return of conditioned fear and appetitive responses. Overall, findings to date support the continued translation of post-retrieval extinction research to human and clinical applications, with particular application to the treatment of anxiety, traumatic stress, and substance use disorders. PMID:26689086

Correlates and consequences of toddler cortisol reactivity to fear.

Science.gov (United States)

Kiel, Elizabeth J; Kalomiris, Anne E

2016-02-01

Cortisol reactivity to fear-eliciting stimuli during toddlerhood may represent an indicator of risk for anxiety spectrum problems and other maladjustment. Thus, it is important to understand factors that may contribute to cortisol reactivity as well as those that determine its predictive relation to early emerging anxiety. In this vein, the current study investigated maternal comforting behaviors, both solicited and unsolicited by the toddler, as correlates of cortisol reactivity at 2years of age. Furthermore, we investigated maternal comforting behaviors and behavioral indicators of fear in both a low-threat and a high-threat context as moderators of the relation between cortisol reactivity at age 2 and change in anxiety from age 2 to age 3. The sample comprised 99 2-year-old toddlers and their mothers. Toddlers provided saliva samples at baseline and after a fear-eliciting stimulus that were assayed for cortisol. Mothers were observed for comforting behavior while interacting with their toddlers in laboratory tasks and completed questionnaires about their toddlers' anxiety. Results indicated that unsolicited (spontaneous) comforting behavior related to toddler cortisol reactivity above and beyond solicited comforting and the level of fear toddlers displayed in the same task. Moreover, fear in a low-threat context, but not in a high-threat context, moderated the relation between cortisol reactivity and change in anxiety, such that cortisol reactivity had a positive relation to anxiety at extreme levels of low-threat fear. Results suggest the importance of considering the caregiving environment and context-specific fear in understanding the nature of cortisol reactivity during the toddler years. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Altered Amygdala Development and Fear Processing in Prematurely Born Infants

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Cismaru, Anca Liliana; Gui, Laura; Vasung, Lana; Lejeune, Fleur; Barisnikov, Koviljka; Truttmann, Anita; Borradori Tolsa, Cristina; Hüppi, Petra S.

2016-01-01

Context: Prematurely born children have a high risk of developmental and behavioral disabilities. Cerebral abnormalities at term age have been clearly linked with later behavior alterations, but existing studies did not focus on the amygdala. Moreover, studies of early amygdala development after premature birth in humans are scarce. Objective: To compare amygdala volumes in very preterm infants at term equivalent age (TEA) and term born infants, and to relate premature infants’ amygdala volumes with their performance on the Laboratory Temperament Assessment Battery (Lab-TAB) fear episode at 12 months. Participants: Eighty one infants born between 2008 and 2014 at the University Hospitals of Geneva and Lausanne, taking part in longitudinal and functional imaging studies, who had undergone a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan at TEA enabling manual amygdala delineation. Outcomes: Amygdala volumes assessed by manual segmentation of MRI scans; volumes of cortical and subcortical gray matter, white matter and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) automatically segmented in 66 infants; scores for the Lab-TAB fear episode for 42 premature infants at 12 months. Results: Amygdala volumes were smaller in preterm infants at TEA than term infants (mean difference 138.03 mm3, p amygdala volumes were larger than left amygdala volumes (mean difference 36.88 mm3, p Amygdala volumes showed significant correlation with the intensity of the escape response to a fearsome toy (rs = 0.38, p = 0.013), and were larger in infants showing an escape response compared to the infants showing no escape response (mean difference 120.97 mm3, p = 0.005). Amygdala volumes were not significantly correlated with the intensity of facial fear, distress vocalizations, bodily fear and positive motor activity in the fear episode. Conclusion: Our results indicate that premature birth is associated with a reduction in amygdala volumes and white matter volumes at TEA, suggesting that altered amygdala development