EXPRESS: Limitations of occasional reinforced extinction to alleviate spontaneous recovery and reinstatement effects: Evidence for a trial signalling mechanism

Fear extinction is not permanent but is instead more vulnerable than the original fear memory, as traditionally shown by the return of fear phenomena. Because of this, techniques to mitigate the return of fear are needed in the clinical treatment of related psychological conditions. One promising strategy is the occasional reinforced extinction treatment, introducing a gradual and sparse number of CS-US pairings within the extinction treatment. We present the results of three experiments in which we used a threat conditioning procedure in humans. Our main aim was to evaluate whether occasional reinforced extinction could reduce two different forms of relapse: spontaneous recovery (Experiments 1 and 2) and reinstatement (Experiment 3). Contrary to our predictions and previous literature, the results indicate that an occasional reinforcement treatment did not mitigate relapse compared with standard extinction. From a theoretical standpoint, these results are more consistent with the idea that extinction entails the acquisition of new knowledge than with the idea that there are conditions in which extinction leads to a weakening of the original fear memory. These findings also question the generality of the potential benefits of using occasional reinforced extinction in clinical settings.

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Propranolol-induced inhibition of unconditioned stimulus-reactivated fear memory prevents the return of fear in humans

Translational Psychiatry ◽

10.1038/s41398-020-01023-w ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Jiahui Deng ◽

Le Shi ◽

Kai Yuan ◽

Ping Yao ◽

Sijing Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Unconditioned Stimulus ◽

Memory Retrieval ◽

Adrenergic Receptor ◽

Fear Memory ◽

Fear Response ◽

Return Of Fear ◽

The Us ◽

Propranolol Administration ◽

Retrieval Interference ◽

Oral Propranolol

Abstract Fear memories can be reactivated by a fear-associated conditioned stimulus (CS) or unconditioned stimulus (US) and then undergo reconsolidation. Propranolol administration during CS retrieval-induced reconsolidation can impair fear memory that is specific to the reactivated CS. However, from a practical perspective, the US is often associated with multiple CSs, and each CS can induce a fear response. The present study sought to develop and test a US-based memory retrieval interference procedure with propranolol to disrupt the original fear memory and eliminate all CS-associated fear responses in humans. We recruited 127 young healthy volunteers and conducted three experiments. All of the subjects acquired fear conditioning, after which they received the β-adrenergic receptor antagonist propranolol (40 mg) or placebo (vitamin C) and were exposed to the US or CS to reactivate the original fear memory. Fear responses were measured. Oral propranolol administration 1 h before US retrieval significantly decreased subsequent fear responses and disrupted associations between all CSs and the US. However, propranolol administration before CS retrieval only inhibited the fear memory that was related to the reactivated CS. Moreover, the propranolol-induced inhibition of fear memory reconsolidation that was retrieved by the US had a relatively long-lasting effect (at least 2 weeks) and was also effective for remote fear memory. These findings indicate that the US-based memory retrieval interference procedure with propranolol can permanently decrease the fear response and prevent the return of fear for all CSs in humans. This procedure may open new avenues for treating fear-related disorders.

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Avoidance Behavior Prevents Modification of Fear Memory During Reconsolidation

Psychological Reports ◽

10.1177/0033294118811116 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 123 (2) ◽

pp. 224-238 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Yusuke Nitta ◽

Toru Takahashi ◽

Tomosumi Haitani ◽

Eriko Sugimori ◽

Hiroaki Kumano

Keyword(s):

Conditioned Stimulus ◽

Avoidance Behavior ◽

Spontaneous Recovery ◽

Safety Information ◽

Fear Memory ◽

Extinction Training ◽

Relevant Factor ◽

Fear Response ◽

New Information

Several studies have revealed that fear recovery is prevented when extinction training is conducted after retrieval of a fear memory. Postretrieval extinction training is related to modification of memory during reconsolidation. Providing new information during reconsolidation can modify the original memory. We propose that avoidance behavior is a relevant factor that prevents subjects from obtaining new safety information during reconsolidation. Postretrieval extinction training without avoidance behavior reduced the fear response to conditioned stimulus and prevented spontaneous recovery in the current study, which corresponded with previous studies. Under the condition of postretrieval extinction training with avoidance behavior, the fear response was not reduced as much as it was in the condition without avoidance. It is possible that avoidance behavior prevents receiving new safety information during postretrieval extinction training.

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Hemodynamic Monitoring of Organ Donors: A Novel Use of the Esophageal Echo-Doppler Probe

The American Surgeon ◽

10.1177/000313480607200608 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 72 (6) ◽

pp. 500-504 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

James Cipolla ◽

Stanislaw Stawicki ◽

Deneen Spatz

Keyword(s):

Hemodynamic Monitoring ◽

Organ Procurement ◽

Organ Donor ◽

Clinical Settings ◽

Organ Donors ◽

Critical Care Nursing ◽

Doppler Probe ◽

Esophageal Doppler Monitoring ◽

Potential Benefits ◽

Care Nursing

The esophageal Doppler monitoring (EDM) technology is well described in the literature. As it evolved over the last several years, the use of EDM has found expanded indications in various clinical settings. One of the areas where EDM has not been studied extensively is its use during optimization of organ donors before organ procurement. Close hemodynamic monitoring has become essential in the era of increasing use of extended organ donors. We present six cases of successful EDM use during preorgan procurement resuscitation of organ donors. Despite labile hemodynamics in the majority of these cases, EDM-guided optimization of resuscitative end-points allowed successful organ procurements and transplants, including 12 kidneys, 6 livers, 3 hearts, 2 pancreases, and 2 lungs. The EDM technology is noninvasive, technically easy, and less expensive than the traditional pulmonary artery catheter. Other potential benefits of the EDM include its portability and possibility of deployment in any setting by trained organ procurement personnel or critical care nursing staff. In conclusion, successful organ procurement can be facilitated by the use of EDM technology in hemodynamically labile organ donor patients.

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Post-training corticosterone inhibits the return of fear evoked by platform stress and a subthreshold conditioning procedure in Sprague–Dawley rats

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior ◽

10.1016/j.pbb.2015.03.013 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 133 ◽

pp. 43-50 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Xiaoli Xing ◽

Hongbo Wang ◽

Lili Zhang ◽

Yunjing Bai ◽

Jing Liang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sprague Dawley ◽

Conditioning Procedure ◽

Return Of Fear ◽

Sprague Dawley Rats

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Future-proofing pathology: the case for clinical adoption of digital pathology

Journal of Clinical Pathology ◽

10.1136/jclinpath-2017-204644 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 70 (12) ◽

pp. 1010-1018 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

Bethany Jill Williams ◽

David Bottoms ◽

Darren Treanor

Keyword(s):

Relevant Literature ◽

Healthcare Providers ◽

Digital Pathology ◽

Business Case ◽

Clinical Settings ◽

Illustrative Case ◽

Business Cases ◽

Potential Benefits ◽

Strategic Context ◽

Clinical Adoption

This document clarifies the strategic context of digital pathology adoption, defines the different use cases a healthcare provider may wish to consider as part of a digital adoption and summarises existing reasons for digital adoption and its potential benefits. The reader is provided with references to the relevant literature, and illustrative case studies. The authors hope this report will be of interest to healthcare providers, pathology managers, departmental heads, pathologists and biomedical scientists that are considering digital pathology, deployments or preparing business cases for digital pathology adoption in clinical settings. The information contained in this document can be shared and used in any documentation the reader wishes to present for their own institutional case for adoption report or business case.

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The Filter Detection Task for measurement of breathing-related interoception and metacognition

10.1101/2020.06.29.176941 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Olivia K. Harrison ◽

Sarah N. Garfinkel ◽

Lucy Marlow ◽

Sarah Finnegan ◽

Stephanie Marino ◽

...

Keyword(s):

The Body ◽

Clinical Settings ◽

New Developments ◽

Decision Bias ◽

Psychological Conditions ◽

Regression Parameters ◽

Wide Range ◽

Interoceptive Sensitivity ◽

Hierarchical Statistical Model ◽

Interoceptive Accuracy

AbstractThe study of the brain’s processing of sensory inputs from within the body (‘interoception’) has been gaining rapid popularity in neuroscience, where interoceptive disturbances have been postulated to exist across a wide range of chronic physiological and psychological conditions. Here we present a task and analysis procedure to quantify specific dimensions of breathing-related interoception, including interoceptive sensitivity (accuracy), decision bias, metacognitive bias, and metacognitive performance. We describe a task that is tailored to methods for assessing respiratory interoceptive accuracy and metacognition, and pair this with an established hierarchical statistical model of metacognition (HMeta-d) to overcome significant challenges associated with the low trial numbers often present in interoceptive experiments. Two major new developments have been incorporated into this task analysis by pairing: (i) a novel adaptive algorithm to maintain task performance at 70-75% accuracy, and (ii) an extended metacognitive model developed to hierarchically estimate multiple regression parameters linking metacognitive performance to relevant (e.g. clinical) variables. We demonstrate the utility of both developments, using both simulated and empirical data from three separate studies. This methodology represents an important step towards accurately quantifying interoceptive dimensions from a simple experimental procedure that is compatible with the practical constraints in clinical settings. Both the task and analysis code are publicly available.

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The Potential Benefits of Therapeutic Treatment Using Gaseous Terpenes at Ambient Low Levels

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app9214507 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (21) ◽

pp. 4507 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jo-Chun Kim ◽

Trieu-Vuong Dinh ◽

Hong-Keun Oh ◽

Youn-Suk Son ◽

Ji-Won Ahn ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Human Subjects ◽

Detection Threshold ◽

Stress Index ◽

Therapeutic Effects ◽

Mean Values ◽

Psychological Conditions ◽

Forest Bathing ◽

Potential Benefits ◽

Low Levels ◽

Alpha Waves

Biological volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) are emitted abundantly from the flora. Among BVOCs, monoterpenes (MTs) have been used for aromatherapy (e.g., forest bathing) to treat human physiological and psychological conditions. However, relatively little is known about the therapeutic effects of MTs at low part per billion by volume (ppbv) levels. The effects of artificial MTs on human subjects were assessed by both olfactory and therapeutic parameters (brain alpha waves and stress index). Gaseous standards of three monoterpenes (i.e., α-pinene, β-pinene, and d-limonene) prepared at low ppbv levels were used individually and as mixtures. Fifty-nine healthy and non-asthmatics volunteer university students were selected for the test. All human subjects inhaled low ppbv levels of monoterpene in the testing room. Brain alpha waves and stress index were investigated during the inhalation time. Questionnaires were also used after testing. It was found that the detection threshold of MTs was close to 5 ppbv. When the MT levels increased from 0 to 20 ppbv, the mean values of brain alpha waves derived from all participants increased from 9.8 to 15.1. In contrast, the stress index values declined from 46.2 to 34.7. The overall results suggest that MTs have great potential to positively affect the relaxation state of subjects in a manner similar to forest bathing in terms of short-term effect. They can thus be applied as potential therapeutic media for mental health care.

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