scholarly journals Fear conditioning and stimulus generalization in association with age in children and adolescents

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Reinhard ◽  
Anna Slyschak ◽  
Miriam A. Schiele ◽  
Marta Andreatta ◽  
Katharina Kneer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Fear Conditioning ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Conditioned Fear ◽  
Fear Learning ◽  
Stimulus Generalization ◽  
Healthy Children ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Current Task

AbstractThe aim of the study was to investigate age-related differences in fear learning and generalization in healthy children and adolescents (n = 133), aged 8–17 years, using an aversive discriminative fear conditioning and generalization paradigm adapted from Lau et al. (2008). In the current task, participants underwent 24 trials of discriminative conditioning of two female faces with neutral facial expressions, with (CS+) or without (CS−) a 95-dB loud female scream, presented simultaneously with a fearful facial expression (US). The discriminative conditioning was followed by 72 generalization trials (12 CS+, 12 GS1, 12 GS2, 12 GS3, 12 GS4, and 12 CS−): four generalization stimuli depicting gradual morphs from CS+ to CS− in 20%-steps were created for the generalization phases. We hypothesized that generalization in children and adolescents is negatively correlated with age. The subjective ratings of valence, arousal, and US expectancy (the probability of an aversive noise following each stimulus), as well as skin conductance responses (SCRs) were measured. Repeated-measures ANOVAs on ratings and SCR amplitudes were calculated with the within-subject factors stimulus type (CS+, CS−, GS1-4) and phase (Pre-Acquisition, Acquisition 1, Acquisition 2, Generalization 1, Generalization 2). To analyze the modulatory role of age, we additionally calculated ANCOVAs considering age as covariate. Results indicated that (1) subjective and physiological responses were generally lower with increasing age irrespective to the stimulus quality, and (2) stimulus discrimination improved with increasing age paralleled by reduced overgeneralization in older individuals. Longitudinal follow-up studies are required to analyze fear generalization with regard to brain maturational aspects and clarify whether overgeneralization of conditioned fear promotes the development of anxiety disorders or vice versa.

Urinary Markers of Bone Turnover in Healthy Children and Adolescents: Age-Related Changes and Effect of Puberty

1998 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 369-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Mora ◽  
C. Prinster ◽  
M. C. Proverbio ◽  
A. Bellini ◽  
S. C. L. de Poli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bone Turnover ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Healthy Children ◽  
Urinary Markers ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Markers Of Bone Turnover ◽  
Age Related Changes

scholarly journals Influence of intranasal oxytocin on fear consolidation in healthy humans

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. e100131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Hoge ◽  
Eric Bui ◽  
Peter Rosencrans ◽  
Scott Orr ◽  
Rachel Ross ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fear Conditioning ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Skin Conductance Response ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Fear Learning ◽  
Drug Trials ◽  
Conditioning Procedure ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Healthy Humans ◽  
Main Effects

BackgroundAlthough recent data in healthy humans suggestthat treatment with intranasal oxytocin (OT) may facilitate extinction recall,to date, little is known about the effects of OT on memory consolidationprocesses.AimTo examine the effect of intranasal administration of OT compared with placebo on memory consolidation blockade of a de novo fear memory in a classical 2-day fear conditioning procedure.ResultsThere were no significant differences between the OT and the placebo groups on the first two extinction trials (mean (SD)=0.01 (0.39) vs 0.15 (0.31), t=−1.092, p=0.28). Similarly, during early extinction, analysis of variance for repeated measures failed to show significant main effects of extinction trials: trials (F(4, 112)=1.58, p=0.18), drug (F(1, 112)=0.13, p=0.72) or drug × trials interaction (F(4, 112)=0.76, p=0.56).ConclusionOur results suggest that OT administered in a double-blind fashion immediately after fear conditioning does not significantly reduce consolidation of fear learning as measured by a differential skin conductance response tested at the beginning of extinction.

scholarly journals Dopamine and fear memory formation in the human amygdala

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Frick ◽  
Johannes Björkstrand ◽  
Mark Lubberink ◽  
Allison Eriksson ◽  
Mats Fredrikson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fear Conditioning ◽  
Dopamine Release ◽  
Conditioned Fear ◽  
Fear Memory ◽  
Memory Formation ◽  
Fear Learning ◽  
Causative Role ◽  
Endogenous Dopamine ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
Endogenous Dopamine Release

AbstractLearning which environmental cues that predict danger is crucial for survival and accomplished through Pavlovian fear conditioning. In humans and rodents alike, fear conditioning is amygdala-dependent and rests on similar neurocircuitry. Rodent studies have implicated a causative role for dopamine in the amygdala during fear memory formation, but the role of dopamine in aversive learning in humans is unclear. Here, we show dopamine release in the amygdala and striatum during fear learning in humans. Using simultaneous positron emission tomography and functional magnetic resonance imaging, we demonstrate that the amount of dopamine release is linked to strength of conditioned fear responses and linearly coupled to learning-induced activity in the amygdala. Thus, like in rodents, formation of amygdala-dependent fear memories in humans seems to be facilitated by endogenous dopamine release, supporting an evolutionary conserved neurochemical mechanism for aversive memory formation.

Age-Related Functional Reserve Decline Is Not Seen in Pharyngeal Swallowing Pressures

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Corinne A. Jones ◽  
Christina M. Colletti
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Tongue Pressure ◽  
Maximum Output ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Healthy Individuals ◽  
Functional Reserve ◽  
High Resolution Manometry ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Pharyngeal Swallowing

Purpose Functional reserve represents the difference between an individual's ability to produce a maximum output function and the ability to perform a functional task. Several studies have documented an age-related decrease in functional reserve with oral tongue pressure generation. Whether this pattern is seen in pharyngeal swallowing pressures is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate pharyngeal functional reserve using high-resolution manometry during normal-effort and effortful swallows. Method Pharyngeal high-resolution manometry was performed on 38 younger healthy individuals (≤ 40 years) and 18 older healthy individuals (≥ 60 years) during normal-effort and effortful water swallows. Pressure metrics included maximum pressure in the velopharynx, tongue base, and hypopharynx, as well as pharyngeal contractile integral and minimum pressure in the upper esophageal sphincter (UES). Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to determine the effects of swallow task, age, and pharyngeal region on pressure generation. Results Maximum pharyngeal pressures and pharyngeal contractile integral were significantly increased during the effortful swallows compared to normal-effort swallows ( p < .001), but there were no interactions between task and age in pharyngeal pressures. In the UES, minimum pressures were significantly elevated in older individuals during effortful swallows compared to normal-effort swallows ( p = .007) but did not follow a pattern consistent with reduced functional reserve. Conclusions Healthy individuals increase pharyngeal driving pressures during effortful swallows, without an age-related reduction in the magnitude of pressure increase. Thus, this study did not find evidence for an age-related reduction in pharyngeal functional reserve. The preserved ability to increase pharyngeal pressures during effortful swallowing in aging may support the use of behavioral swallowing interventions in older individuals without neuromuscular conditions. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.16606709

Fear learning and extinction

2019 ◽  
pp. 113-128
Author(s):  
Tina B Lonsdorf
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorders ◽  
Fear Conditioning ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Conditioned Fear ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Genetic Association Studies ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Fear Learning ◽  
Treatment Programs ◽  
Return Of Fear

Experimental fear conditioning and extinction represent basic forms of associative learning with considerable clinical relevance and serve as laboratory models for the development and treatment of anxiety disorders, respectively. There is considerable inter-individual variation in the ability to acquire and extinguish conditioned fear reactions as well as the return of fear and approximately one third of the variance in human fear conditioning and in the vulnerability for anxiety disorders can be attributed to genetic factors. The experimental paradigms of fear conditioning and extinction are particularly well suited for genetic association studies as these optimally investigate simple behavioral paradigms with sufficient inter-individual variability and clear heritability that elicit robust behavioral responses which are easy to measure and quantify and rely on a well-defined underlying neural circuitry. Understanding the molecular pathways that mediate conditioning and extinction might therefore make an important contribution to the study of anxiety pathophysiology and resilience. Because a significant proportion of patients do not respond to or tolerate standard treatments, such advances may ultimately open up new perspectives for pharmacological interventions (i.e. pharmacologically enhanced CBT) or the individualization of current prevention and treatment programs. In the future, translational work employing a synergy between molecular genetics, neuroimaging, psychophysiology and psychopharmacology will be powerful in unraveling the neurobiology of fear learning and extinction processes and the investigation of genetic polymorphisms in fear learning and extinction processes represents one avenue along this path.

scholarly journals AGE-RELATED FUNCTIONAL RESERVE DECLINE IS NOT SEEN IN PHARYNGEAL SWALLOWING PRESSURES

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S172-S172
Author(s):  
Corinne A Jones ◽  
Melanie Looper ◽  
Timothy McCulloch
Keyword(s):  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Upper Esophageal Sphincter ◽  
Tongue Pressure ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Functional Reserve ◽  
Muscle Properties ◽  
High Resolution Manometry ◽  
Pharyngeal Pressure ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Pharyngeal Swallowing

Abstract Age-related decline in functional reserve has been described in tongue strength: tongue pressure during swallowing does not change with age, but maximal-effort isometric tongue pressure decreases with age. Healthy persons show a slight increase in pharyngeal swallowing pressure with age, but it is unknown if there is a similar decline in functional reserve. Fifty-six healthy adults (n=38 60 years) underwent pharyngeal high-resolution manometry during effortful and normal-effort thin liquid swallows. Repeated measures ANOVAs were performed on maximum pressures, pharyngeal contractile integral (PCI), pharyngeal pressure gradients, and upper esophageal sphincter minimum pressures. We hypothesized that older individuals would generate a less-robust pressure increase with effortful swallowing than younger individuals. Maximum pressures, PCI, and gradients increase during effortful swallowing (p&lt;0.001), but there was no interaction effect with age, suggesting a lack of age-related functional reserve decline. Older individuals had greater UES minimum pressures than younger individuals in the effortful swallowing task (p=0.03), which may stem from reduced muscular compliance in this area. These findings do not align with those reported in tongue pressures, suggesting that muscle properties and pressure generation may be fundamentally different between the pharynx and the oral tongue. Alternatively, the effortful swallowing task may not elicit maximum contractility of the pharyngeal musculature. The preserved ability to increase pharyngeal pressure during effortful swallowing may support the use of the effortful swallow exercise in older adults with swallowing disorders.

scholarly journals Age-Related Changes in Auditory Nogo-N200 Latency in Medication-Naïve Children and Adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (7) ◽  
pp. 702-709
Author(s):  
Yeon Jung Lee ◽  
Mi Young Jeong ◽  
Seoyoung Park ◽  
Jung Ho Kim ◽  
Ji-Sun Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Attention Deficit ◽  
Child Behavior Checklist ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Healthy Children ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Age Related Changes

Objective Event-related potential (ERP) changes with brain development in healthy children and adolescents. However, few studies have focused on age-related changes in the N200 and P300 components among individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Therefore, this study aimed to assess age-related differences in the auditory nogo-N200 components in individuals with ADHD.Methods We enrolled 46 participants with auditory nogo-N200 and nogo-P300 components. We assessed ADHD symptoms using the Advanced Test of Attention (ATA) and Korean ADHD Rating Scale-IV (K-ARS-IV). Moreover, we assessed emotional and behavioral problems using the Korean Child Behavior Checklist (K-CBCL). Further, we measured auditory ERPs.Results There were no differences with respect to sex or ATA, K-ARS-IV, and K-CBCL scores between the groups. With a 1-year increase in age, the nogo-N200 latency at Fz and Cz decreased by 6.08 ms and 4.88 ms, respectively; this result was statistically significant in multivariable linear regression adjusted by sex and dominant hand.Conclusion Our findings revealed age-related changes in nogo-N200 latency at the Fz and Cz electrodes in individuals with ADHD. Future studies should perform comparisons with healthy controls to determine whether auditory nogo-N200 can be used to evaluate the developmental level in individuals with ADHD.

The antidepressant agomelatine reduces fear long term memory but not acquisition or short term expression of fear memories

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 653-653
Author(s):  
L. Diaz-Mataix ◽  
E. Mocaër ◽  
L. Seguin ◽  
J.E. Ledoux
Keyword(s):  
Fear Conditioning ◽  
Clinical Studies ◽  
Conditioned Fear ◽  
Fear Learning ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Onset Of Action ◽  
Subsequent Exposure ◽  
Preclinical And Clinical Studies ◽  
Antidepressant Action

Alterations in fear learning processes may be implicated in mood disorders. Fear learning has been investigated with Pavlovian classical fear conditioning paradigms, consisting of pairing a neutral conditioned stimulus (CS), such as a tone, with an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US), such as a footshock. Upon subsequent exposure, the CS is perceived as aversive and provokes a fear response.The novel antidepressant agomelatine acts as a melatonergic receptor agonist and a 5-HT2C receptor antagonist. Its antidepressant action was demonstrated in preclinical and clinical studies. Agomelatine has also anxiolytic properties. The aim of this study was to determine how acute agomelatine treatment might differentially alter fear circuits by using auditory fear conditioning in the rat.A single pre-training injection of agomelatine (40 mg/kg intraperitoneally) significantly reduced freezing to the fear arousing CS 24 hours after training but not during training or 3 hours after training. This pattern of results is consistent with an effect on the consolidation of the fear memory. A single pre-testing injection of agomelatine had no effect on conditioned fear expression.These effects of agomelatine should be considered in relation to its antidepressant action. Agomelatine achieved a reduction of fear conditioning in a single dose, while classical SSRIs only reduced fear conditioning after chronic treatment. This finding is consistent with clinical studies suggesting a faster onset of action of agomelatine than classical SSRI treatment.

Conditioned Physiological Reactivity and PTSD Symptoms Across the Menstrual Cycle: Anxiety Sensitivity as a Moderator

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Carpenter ◽  
Laura Bragdon ◽  
Suzanne L. Pineles
Keyword(s):  
Menstrual Cycle ◽  
Fear Conditioning ◽  
Anxiety Sensitivity ◽  
Conditioned Fear ◽  
Gonadal Hormones ◽  
Fear Learning ◽  
Physiological Reactivity ◽  
Ptsd Symptoms ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Objective: PTSD is often associated with heightened physiological reactivity during fear conditioning procedures, but results vary across studies. The present study examined whether anxiety sensitivity (AS), or the fear of arousal-related sensations, strengthens the relationship between PTSD symptoms and skin conductance responses (SCR) during fear conditioning and extinction. Because gonadal hormones implicated in fear learning processes fluctuate across the menstrual cycle, the stability of these relationships in women was examined in two distinct menstrual cycle phases. Method: Thirty-two trauma-exposed women with (n=16) and without PTSD (n=16) completed the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale, Anxiety Sensitivity Inventory, and a fear conditioning and extinction paradigm during the mid-luteal (mLP) and early-follicular (eFP) menstrual cycle phases. Results: In the mLP, stronger SCR to stimuli paired with shock (CS+) during fear acquisition significantly predicted greater PTSD symptoms only when AS was high and after removing an outlier. This appeared driven by effects on Numbing and Hyperarousal symptom clusters. Other hypothesized interactions between AS and CS responses were not significant. However, in the eFP, differential SCR between the CS+ and CS- during extinction predicted significantly greater PTSD symptoms, and there was a trend for this effect being stronger as AS increased. Conclusions: Results offer preliminary evidence that high AS contributes to a stronger relationship between physiological responses during fear acquisition and PTSD symptoms, at least among women in the mLP. Further research investigating the impact of individual differences in traits such as AS on the relationship between conditioned fear responses and PTSD symptoms is warranted.

scholarly journals Salivary Antioxidant Barrier, Redox Status, and Oxidative Damage to Proteins and Lipids in Healthy Children, Adults, and the Elderly

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mateusz Maciejczyk ◽  
Anna Zalewska ◽  
Jerzy Robert Ładny
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Oxidative Damage ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Elderly People ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Redox Status ◽  
Antioxidant Systems ◽  
Healthy Children ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Oxidative Damage To Proteins

Despite the proven role of oxidative stress in numerous systemic diseases and in the process of aging, little is still known about the salivary redox balance of healthy children, adults, and the elderly. Our study was the first to assess the antioxidant barrier, redox status, and oxidative damage in nonstimulated (NWS) and stimulated (SWS) saliva as well as blood samples of healthy individuals at different ages. We divided 90 generally healthy people into three equally numbered groups based on age: 2–14 (children and adolescents), 25–45 (adults), and 65–85 (elderly people). Antioxidant enzymes (salivary peroxidase (Px), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT), and superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD)), nonenzymatic antioxidants (reduced glutathione (GSH) and uric acid (UA)), redox status (total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total oxidant status (TOS), and oxidative stress index (OSI)), and oxidative damage products (advanced glycation end products (AGE), advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP), and malondialdehyde (MDA)) were evaluated in NWS and SWS as well as in erythrocyte/plasma samples. We demonstrated that salivary and blood antioxidant defense is most effective in people aged 25–45. In the elderly, we observed a progressive decrease in the efficiency of central antioxidant systems (↓GPx, ↓SOD, ↓GSH, and ↓TAC in erythrocytes and plasma vs. adults) as well as in NWS (↓Px, ↓UA, and ↓TAC vs. adults) and SWS (↓TAC vs. adults). Both local and systemic antioxidant systems were less efficient in children and adolescents than in the group of middle-aged people, which indicates age-related immaturity of antioxidant mechanisms. Oxidative damage to proteins (↑AGE, ↑AOPP) and lipids (↑MDA) was significantly higher in saliva and plasma of elderly people in comparison with adults and children/adolescents. Of all the evaluated biomarkers, only salivary oxidative damage products generally reflected their content in blood plasma. The level of salivary redox biomarkers did not vary based on gender.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document