scholarly journals Impairment in acquisition of conditioned fear in schizophrenia: a pooled analysis of four studies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauri Tuominen ◽  
Liana Romaniuk ◽  
Mohammed R Milad ◽  
Donald C Goff ◽  
Jeremy Hall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Associative Learning ◽  
Fear Conditioning ◽  
Conditioned Fear ◽  
Pooled Analysis ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Pavlovian Fear Conditioning ◽  
Schizophrenia Group ◽  
Skin Conductance Responses ◽  
Sufficient Power ◽  
Prior Models

Background: Individuals with schizophrenia show impairments in associative learning. One well-studied, quantifiable form of associative learning is Pavlovian fear conditioning. However, to date, studies of fear conditioning in schizophrenia have been inconclusive, possibly because they lacked sufficient power. Methods: To address this issue, data were pooled from 4 independent fear conditioning studies that included a total of 77 individuals with schizophrenia and 74 control subjects. Skin conductance responses (SCRs) during fear conditioning to stimuli that were paired (the CS+) and not paired (CS-) with an aversive, unconditioned stimulus were measured, and the success of acquisition of differential conditioning (the magnitude of CS+ vs CS- SCRs) and responses to CS+ and CS- separately were assessed. Results: Acquisition of differential conditioned fear responses was significantly lower in individuals with schizophreania than in healthy controls (Cohen's d = 0.53). This effect was primarily related to a significantly higher response to the CS- stimulus in the schizophrenia compared to the control group. The magnitude of this response to the CS- in the schizophrenia group was correlated with the severity of delusional ideation. Other symptoms or antipsychotic dose were not associated with fear conditioning measures. Conclusions: Individuals with schizophrenia who endorse delusional beliefs are over-responsive to neutral stimuli during fear conditioning. This finding is consistent with prior models of aberrant learning in psychosis.

scholarly journals Medial Orbitofrontal Cortex Regulates Instrumental Conditioned Punishment, but not Pavlovian Conditioned Fear

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cassandra Ma ◽  
Philip Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel ◽  
Stephanie Roughley ◽  
Bryce Vissel ◽  
Bernard W Balleine ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fear Conditioning ◽  
Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽  
Conditioned Fear ◽  
Causal Link ◽  
Pavlovian Fear Conditioning ◽  
Compulsive Disorders ◽  
Sensitivity To Punishment

Abstract Bidirectionally aberrant medial orbitofrontal cortical (mOFC) activity has been consistently linked with compulsive disorders and related behaviors. Although rodent studies have established a causal link between mOFC excitation and compulsive-like actions, no such link has been made with mOFC inhibition. Here we use excitotoxic lesions of mOFC to investigate its role in sensitivity to punishment; a core characteristic of many compulsive disorders. In our first experiment, we demonstrated that mOFC lesions prevented rats from learning to avoid a lever that was punished with a stimulus that co-terminated with footshock. Our second experiment demonstrated that retrieval of punishment learning is also somewhat mOFC-dependent, as lesions prevented the extended retrieval of punishment contingencies relative to shams. In contrast, mOFC lesions did not prevent rats from re-acquiring the ability to avoid a punished lever when it was learned prior to lesions being administered. In both experiments, Pavlovian fear conditioning to the stimulus was intact for all animals. Together, these results reveal that the mOFC regulates punishment learning and retrieval in a manner that is separate from any role in Pavlovian fear conditioning. These results imply that aberrant mOFC activity may contribute to the punishment insensitivity that is observed across multiple compulsive disorders.

One night of partial sleep deprivation affects habituation of hypothalamus and skin conductance responses

2014 ◽  
Vol 112 (6) ◽  
pp. 1267-1276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja C. Peters ◽  
Jens Blechert ◽  
Philipp G. Sämann ◽  
Ines Eidner ◽  
Michael Czisch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sleep Deprivation ◽  
Associative Learning ◽  
Fear Conditioning ◽  
Skin Conductance ◽  
Sleep Disturbances ◽  
Conditioned Fear ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Laboratory Model ◽  
Integral Role ◽  
Partial Sleep Deprivation

Sleep disturbances are prevalent in clinical anxiety, but it remains unclear whether they are cause and/or consequence of this condition. Fear conditioning constitutes a valid laboratory model for the acquisition of normal and pathological anxiety. To explore the relationship between disturbed sleep and anxiety in more detail, the present study evaluated the effect of partial sleep deprivation (SD) on fear conditioning in healthy individuals. The neural correlates of 1) nonassociative learning and physiological processing and 2) associative learning (differential fear conditioning) were addressed. Measurements entailed simultaneous functional MRI, EEG, skin conductance response (SCR), and pulse recordings. Regarding nonassociative learning, partial SD resulted in a generalized failure to habituate during fear conditioning, as evidenced by reduced habituation of SCR and hypothalamus responses to all stimuli. Furthermore, SCR and hypothalamus activity were correlated, supporting their functional relationship. Regarding associative learning, effects of partial SD on the acquisition of conditioned fear were weaker and did not reach statistical significance. The hypothalamus plays an integral role in the regulation of sleep and autonomic arousal. Thus sleep disturbances may play a causal role in the development of normal and possibly pathological fear by increasing the susceptibility of the sympathetic nervous system to stressful experiences.

Isoflurane Causes Anterograde but Not Retrograde Amnesia for Pavlovian Fear Conditioning

2002 ◽  
Vol 96 (5) ◽  
pp. 1223-1229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert C. Dutton ◽  
Anya J. Maurer ◽  
James M. Sonner ◽  
Michael S. Fanselow ◽  
Michael J. Laster ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fear Conditioning ◽  
Retrograde Amnesia ◽  
Minimum Alveolar Concentration ◽  
Conditioned Fear ◽  
Pavlovian Fear Conditioning ◽  
Conditioning Procedure ◽  
Trial Procedure ◽  
Learning Procedure ◽  
The One ◽  
Dose Dependent

Background Production of retrograde amnesia by anesthetics would indicate that these drugs can disrupt mechanisms that stabilize memory. Such disruption would allow suppression of memory of previous untoward events. The authors examined whether isoflurane provides retrograde amnesia for classic (Pavlovian) fear conditioning. Methods Rats were trained to fear tone by applying three (three-trial) or one (one-trial) tone-shock pairs while breathing various constant concentrations of isoflurane. Immediately after training, isoflurane administration was either discontinued, maintained unchanged, or rapidly increased to 1.0 minimum alveolar concentration for 1 h longer. Groups of rats were similarly trained to fear context while breathing isoflurane by applying shocks (without tones) in a distinctive environment. The next day, memory for the conditioned stimuli was determined by presenting the tone or context (without shock) and measuring the proportion of time each rat froze (appeared immobile). For each conditioning procedure, the effects of the three posttraining isoflurane treatments were compared. Results Rapid increases in posttraining isoflurane administration did not suppress conditioned fear for any of the training procedures. In contrast, isoflurane administration during conditioning dose-dependently suppressed conditioning (P < 0.05). Training to tone was more resistant to the effects of isoflurane than training to context (P < 0.05), and the three-trial learning procedure was more was more resistant than the one-trial procedure (P < 0.05). Conclusions Isoflurane provided intense dose-dependent anterograde but not retrograde amnesia for classic fear conditioning. Isoflurane appears to disrupt memory processes that occur at or within a few minutes of the conditioning procedure.

scholarly journals Vicarious conditioned fear acquisition and extinction in child–parent dyads

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie-France Marin ◽  
Alexe Bilodeau-Houle ◽  
Simon Morand-Beaulieu ◽  
Alexandra Brouillard ◽  
Ryan J. Herringa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fear Conditioning ◽  
Conditioned Fear ◽  
Fear Learning ◽  
Actual Process ◽  
Conditioning Procedure ◽  
Learning Mechanisms ◽  
Conditioning Paradigm ◽  
Extinction Process ◽  
Skin Conductance Responses ◽  
Fear And Anxiety

Abstract The biological mechanisms involved in fear transmission within families have been scarcely investigated in humans. Here we studied (1) how children acquired conditioned fear from observing their parent, or a stranger, being exposed to a fear conditioning paradigm, and (2) the subsequent fear extinction process in these children. Eighty-three child-parent dyads were recruited. The parent was filmed while undergoing a conditioning procedure where one cue was paired with a shock (CS + Parent) and one was not (CS −). Children (8 to 12 years old) watched this video and a video of an adult stranger who underwent conditioning with a different cue reinforced (CS + Stranger). Children were then exposed to all cues (no shocks were delivered) while skin conductance responses (SCR) were recorded. Children exhibited higher SCR to the CS + Parent and CS + Stranger relative to the CS −. Physiological synchronization between the child’s SCR during observational learning and the parent’s SCR during the actual process of fear conditioning predicted higher SCR for the child to the CS + Parent. Our data suggest that children acquire fear vicariously and this can be measured physiologically. These data lay the foundation to examine observational fear learning mechanisms that might contribute to fear and anxiety disorders transmission in clinically affected families.

The role of Anxiety Sensitivity in fear conditioning: a moderation effect

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bianca Gerardo ◽  
Raquel Nunes R. M. Guiomar ◽  
Mariana Moura-Ramos ◽  
Ana Ganho-Ávila
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorders ◽  
Fear Conditioning ◽  
Skin Conductance ◽  
Anxiety Sensitivity ◽  
Conditioned Fear ◽  
Moderation Effect ◽  
Skin Conductance Responses ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Over Time

Anxiety sensitivity (AS; the degree of fear of experiencing or imagining experiencing anxiety symptoms and its possible consequences) is associated with expression of conditioned fear responses. However, findings regarding the relationship between AS and fear acquisition indexed by skin conductance responses are rather conflicting. Here we aim to clarify this interaction. We classified 144 women that underwent fear conditioning procedures as either high-AS or low-AS. We found that high-AS participants show one of two patterns maintained over time: poor stimuli discrimination or good stimuli discrimination. This suggests that different patterns of fear acquisition potentially support the distinction between anxiety disorders.

Strain Differences in Acquisition and Extinction of Fear Responses in Rats

1976 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gudrun Sartory ◽  
Hans J. Eysenck
Keyword(s):  
Fear Conditioning ◽  
Retention Test ◽  
Conditioned Fear ◽  
Strain Differences ◽  
Pavlovian Fear Conditioning ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Fear Response ◽  
Maudsley Strains ◽  
Step Down ◽  
Different Strains

5 different strains of rats (Roman high and low avoiders, Maudsley reactive and non-reactive and random-bred animals) were subjected repeatedly to extinction trials following Pavlovian fear conditioning. The duration of the extinction trials was varied for different groups of animals. Fear was measured by latency of escape into the “safe” compartment in Exp. I and by step-down latency in Exp. II during a final fear-retention test. Results showed no differences between Roman high and low avoiders; for the Maudsley strains, however, results suggested that the higher the basal fear level the stronger is the acquired fear response and the more time is required for its extinction. Fearfulness in the animal and duration of extinction trials were jointly and severally causal in determining degree of extinction of the conditioned fear response.

The evaluation of Teucrium persicum methanolic extract and its fractions in Pavlovian Fear Conditioning

Planta Medica ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 77 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
H Monsef Esfahani ◽  
M Sharifzadeh ◽  
M Moattari ◽  
A Miri ◽  
E Nasireslami
Keyword(s):  
Fear Conditioning ◽  
Methanolic Extract ◽  
Pavlovian Fear Conditioning

scholarly journals Fear-induced brain activations distinguish anxious and trauma-exposed brains

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhenfu Wen ◽  
Marie-France Marin ◽  
Jennifer Urbano Blackford ◽  
Zhe Sage Chen ◽  
Mohammed R. Milad
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Fear Conditioning ◽  
Psychiatric Diagnosis ◽  
Data Analytics ◽  
Conditioned Fear ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Neuroimaging Data ◽  
Task Irrelevant ◽  
Translational Models

AbstractTranslational models of fear conditioning and extinction have elucidated a core neural network involved in the learning, consolidation, and expression of conditioned fear and its extinction. Anxious or trauma-exposed brains are characterized by dysregulated neural activations within regions of this fear network. In this study, we examined how the functional MRI activations of 10 brain regions commonly activated during fear conditioning and extinction might distinguish anxious or trauma-exposed brains from controls. To achieve this, activations during four phases of a fear conditioning and extinction paradigm in 304 participants with or without a psychiatric diagnosis were studied. By training convolutional neural networks (CNNs) using task-specific brain activations, we reliably distinguished the anxious and trauma-exposed brains from controls. The performance of models decreased significantly when we trained our CNN using activations from task-irrelevant brain regions or from a brain network that is irrelevant to fear. Our results suggest that neuroimaging data analytics of task-induced brain activations within the fear network might provide novel prospects for development of brain-based psychiatric diagnosis.

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