Intolerance of uncertainty and threat reversal: A conceptual replication of Morriss et al. (2019)

Mapping Intimacies ◽

10.31234/osf.io/qdjp9 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Gaëtan Mertens ◽

Jayne Morriss

Keyword(s):

Skin Conductance ◽

Electric Shock ◽

Skin Conductance Response ◽

Intolerance Of Uncertainty ◽

Conditioning Phase ◽

Fear Potentiated Startle ◽

Threat Cues ◽

Adaptive Ability ◽

Current Report

The ability to update responding to threat cues is an important adaptive ability. Recently, Morriss and colleagues (2019) demonstrated that participants scoring high in Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) were more capable of threat reversal. The current report aimed to conceptually replicate these results of Morriss et al. (2019) in an independent sample using a comparable paradigm (n = 102). Following a threat conditioning phase, participants were told that cues associated with threat and safety from electric shock would reverse. Responding was measured with skin conductance and fear potentiated startle. We failed to replicate the results of Morriss et al., (2019). Instead, we found that individuals with lower IU, relative to higher IU, who received contingency instructions prior to acquisition were more capable of threat reversal, indexed via skin conductance response. These results suggest that IU and contingency instructions differentially modulate the course of threat reversal.

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Intolerance of uncertainty and novelty facilitated extinction: The impact of reinforcement schedule

10.31234/osf.io/7qgrh ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Shannon Jade Wake ◽

Helen Dodd ◽

Jayne Morriss

Keyword(s):

Skin Conductance ◽

Reinforcement Schedule ◽

Skin Conductance Response ◽

Intolerance Of Uncertainty ◽

Learning Task ◽

Stress Disorders ◽

The Novel ◽

Extinction Learning ◽

The Impact ◽

Novel Associations

Individuals who score high in Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) display reduced threat extinction learning and retention. Recently, it was shown that replacing threat associations with novel associations (i.e. presenting a novel non-aversive tone 100% of the time vs. presenting nothing) can promote threat extinction retention in individuals with high IU. This effect could be driven by the tone’s novelty or reliability. Here we seek to address this question by adjusting the reliability via the reinforcement schedule of the novel tone. We propose to measure skin conductance response during an associative learning task in which participants (n = 90) will be assigned to one of three conditions; standard extinction, 100% reinforcement NFE or 50% reinforcement NFE. This work will further our understanding of the role novelty, reliability and IU in threat extinction. Ultimately, this research will inform future models of IU and clinical treatments of anxiety and stress disorders.

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I doubt it is safe: A meta-analysis of self-reported intolerance of uncertainty and threat extinction training

10.31234/osf.io/nrqv6 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jayne Morriss ◽

Shannon Jade Wake ◽

Charlotte Elizabeth ◽

Carien M. van Reekum

Keyword(s):

Trait Anxiety ◽

Skin Conductance ◽

Skin Conductance Response ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Intolerance Of Uncertainty ◽

Mental Health Disorders ◽

Extinction Training ◽

The Self ◽

Target Uncertainty ◽

Health Disorders

Intolerance of uncertainty (IU), the tendency to find uncertainty distressing, is an important transdiagnostic dimension in mental health disorders. Higher self-reported IU has been linked to poorer threat extinction training (i.e., the updating of threat to safe associations), a key process that is targeted in exposure-based therapies. However, it remains to be seen whether IU-related effects during threat extinction training are reliably and specifically driven by the IU construct or a particular subcomponent of the IU construct over other self-reported measures of anxiety. A meta-analysis of studies from different laboratories (experiment n = 18; sample n = 1006) was conducted on associations between different variants of self-reported IU (i.e., 27-item, 12-item, inhibitory and prospective subscales), trait anxiety and threat extinction training via skin conductance response. The specificity of IU and threat extinction training was assessed against measures of trait anxiety. All of the self-reported variants of IU, but not trait anxiety, were associated with threat extinction training via skin conductance response (i.e., continued responding to the old threat cue). Specificity was observed for the majority of self-reported variants of IU over of trait anxiety. The findings suggest that the IU construct broadly accounts for difficulties in threat extinction training and is specific over other measures of self-reported anxiety. These findings demonstrate the robustness and specificity of IU-related effects during threat extinction training and highlight potential opportunities for translational work to target uncertainty in therapies that rely on threat extinction principles such as exposure therapy.

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An examination of intolerance of uncertainty effects on subjective, psychophysiological, and neural markers during uninstructed and instructed threat acquisition and extinction training

10.31234/osf.io/bnw53 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Julia Wendt ◽

Jayne Morriss

Keyword(s):

Skin Conductance ◽

Skin Conductance Response ◽

Secondary Analysis ◽

Intolerance Of Uncertainty ◽

Extinction Training ◽

Fmri Data ◽

Future Research ◽

Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽

Resonance Imaging ◽

Tentative Evidence

Individuals who score high in self-reported Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) tend to find uncertainty aversive. Prior research has demonstrated that under uncertainty individuals with high IU display difficulties in updating learned threat associations to safety associations. Importantly, recent research has shown that providing contingency instructions about threat and safety contingencies (i.e. reducing uncertainty) to individuals with high IU promotes the updating of learned threat associations to safety associations. Here we aimed to conceptually replicate IU and contingency instruction-based effects by conducting a secondary analysis of self-reported IU, ratings, skin conductance, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data recorded during uninstructed/instructed blocks of threat acquisition and threat extinction training (n = 48). Self-reported IU was not associated with differential responding to learned threat and safety cues for any measure during uninstructed/instructed blocks of threat acquisition and threat extinction training. There was some tentative evidence that higher IU was associated with greater ratings of unpleasantness and arousal to the safety cue after the experiment and greater skin conductance response to the safety cue during extinction generally. Potential explanations for these null effects and directions for future research are discussed.

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Impact of the expectation on memory reconsolidation using a post retrieval extinction paradigm

10.1101/2020.10.26.354977 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Julia Marinos ◽

Andrea Ashbaugh

Keyword(s):

Fear Conditioning ◽

Skin Conductance ◽

Skin Conductance Response ◽

Conditioned Fear ◽

Memory Reconsolidation ◽

Physiological Measures ◽

Learning Group ◽

Return Of Fear ◽

Group A ◽

Fear Potentiated Startle

AbstractObjectiveThe present study examined if the expectation for learning enhances reconsolidation of conditioned fear memories using the post-retrieval extinction paradigm in an undergraduate sample (n = 48).MethodsThe study took place over three consecutive days. The expectation for learning was manipulated through oral instructions prior to memory reactivation. On day one, participants underwent differential fear conditioning to two spider images (CS+ and CS-). On day two, participants were assigned to either a reactivation with expectation for learning group, a reactivation with no expectation for learning group, or a no reactivation group. On day three, return of fear in response to the CS+ spider image was measured following reinstatement (i.e., four shocks). Fear potentiated startle (FPS) and skin conductance response (SCR) were taken as measures of fear.ResultsThe study found evidence that the expectation for learning may enhanced reconsolidation with FPS as a measure of fear as it was only the expectation for learning group in which FPS to the CS+ remained stable following reinstatement, however this effect was small and non-robust. In contrast, no evidence of reconsolidation was observed for SCR, as all participants exhibited a return of fear following reinstatement.ImplicationsThese findings suggest that a verbal manipulation of the expectation for learning may not be salient enough to induce reconsolidation as measured by SCR but may be sufficient as measured by FPS. Additionally, given in the inconsistent findings between SCR and FPS, the study’s results bring into question whether the post-retrieval extinction paradigm is appropriate to investigate reconsolidation using both physiological measures concurrently.

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Intolerance of uncertainty and physiological responses during instructed uncertain threat: a multi-lab investigation

10.31234/osf.io/5xdsy ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jayne Morriss ◽

Daniel E. Bradford ◽

Nicolò Biagi ◽

Shannon Wake ◽

Ema Tanovic ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Skin Conductance ◽

Skin Conductance Response ◽

Physiological Responses ◽

Intolerance Of Uncertainty ◽

Orbicularis Oculi ◽

Physiological Measure ◽

Corrugator Supercilii ◽

Secondary Analyses ◽

Threat Of Shock

Individuals with high self-reported Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) tend to interpret uncertainty negatively. Recent research has been inconclusive on evidence of an association between IU and physiological responses during instructed uncertain threat. To address this gap, we conducted secondary analyses of IU and physiology data recorded during instructed uncertain threat tasks from two lab sites (Wisconsin-Madison; n = 128; Yale, n = 103). Higher IU was associated with: (1) greater corrugator supercilii activity to predictable and unpredictable threat of shock, compared to the safety from shock, and (2) poorer discriminatory skin conductance response between the unpredictable threat of shock, relative to the safety from shock. No IU-related effects were observed for the orbicularis oculi. These findings suggest that IU-related biases may be captured differently depending on the physiological measure during instructed uncertain threat. Implications of these findings for neurobiological models of uncertainty and anticipation in anxiety are discussed.

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Out with the old and in with the new: The role of intolerance of uncertainty in reversal of threat and safety

Journal of Experimental Psychopathology ◽

10.1177/2043808719834451 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 204380871983445 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Jayne Morriss ◽

Francesco Saldarini ◽

Catherine Chapman ◽

Miriam Pollard ◽

Carien M. van Reekum

Keyword(s):

Trait Anxiety ◽

Skin Conductance ◽

Skin Conductance Response ◽

Clinical Intervention ◽

Intolerance Of Uncertainty ◽

Anxiety State ◽

Extinction Learning ◽

Healthy Participants ◽

Direct Threat

Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is associated with difficulty in updating contingencies from threatening to safe during extinction learning. However, it is unknown whether high IU individuals have difficulty (1) generally with updating threat to safe associations when contingencies change or (2) specifically with updating threat to safe associations during extinction learning, where direct threat is omitted. To address this question, we recorded IU, expectancy ratings, and skin conductance in 44 healthy participants during an associative learning paradigm, where threat and safety contingencies were reversed. During acquisition and reversal, we observed larger skin conductance response (SCR) magnitude and expectancy ratings for threat versus safety cues. However, during reversal, higher IU was associated with larger SCR magnitude to new threat versus new safety cues, compared with lower IU. These results were specific to IU-related variance, over shared variance with trait anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Trait Version). Overall, these findings suggest that individuals high in IU are able to reverse threat and safety associations in the presence of direct threat. Such findings help us understand the recently revealed link between IU and threat extinction, where direct threat is absent. Moreover, these findings highlight the potential relevance of IU in clinical intervention and treatment for anxiety disorders.

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How many times do I need to see to believe? The impact of intolerance of uncertainty and exposure experience on safety-learning and retention in young adults

10.31234/osf.io/rpg64 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Jayne Morriss ◽

Shannon Jade Wake ◽

Michael Lindner ◽

Eugene McSorley ◽

Helen Dodd

Keyword(s):

Young Adults ◽

Skin Conductance ◽

Skin Conductance Response ◽

Intolerance Of Uncertainty ◽

Learning Task ◽

Preliminary Evidence ◽

Exposure Condition ◽

The Impact ◽

Extended Exposure

Individuals who score high in self-reported Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) display difficulties updating threat associations to safe associations. Here we sought to determine whether individuals who score high in IU can learn and retain new safety associations if given more exposure. We recorded skin conductance response, pupil dilation and expectancy ratings during an associative threat learning task with acquisition, same-day extinction and next-day extinction phases. Participants (n = 144) were assigned to either a regular exposure (32 trials of same-day and next-day extinction) or extended exposure condition (48 trials of same-day and next-day extinction). We failed to replicate previous work showing that IU is associated with poorer safety-learning indexed via SCR, although the results were at trend and in the expected direction. We found preliminary evidence for promoted safety-retention in individuals with higher Inhibitory IU in the extended exposure condition, relative to individuals with higher Inhibitory IU in the regular exposure condition, indexed via SCR. These findings further our current understanding of the role of IU in safety-learning and -retention, informing models of IU and exposure-based treatments.

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