Conditioned fear extinction and reinstatement in a human fear-potentiated startle paradigm

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Seth Norrholm, Emory University; Tanja Jovanovic, Emory University; Bram Vervliet, University of Leuven; Karyn M. Myers, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience; Michael Davis, Emory University; Barbara Rothbaum, Emory University; Erica Duncan, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2006-11-01
• Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press: 12 month Embargo
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: ©2006 by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/lm.393906
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Learning and Memory
• ISSN: 1072-0502
• Volume: 13
• Issue: 6
• Start Page: 681
• End Page: 685
• Grant/Funding Information: This work was supported by the Mental Health Service, Atlanta VAMC; the STC Program, the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience of the National Science Foundation under Agreement No. IBN-9876754 (Venture grant, E.J.D.); the American Psychiatric Association/GlaxoSmithKline (E.J.D.), National Institute of Mental Health Grants 1R24MH067314-01A1 (B.O.R.), and R37 MH47840 (M.D.), and the Woodruff Foundation, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine.
• Keywords: RESPONSES; Science & Technology; FACILITATION; MODULATION; Social Sciences; Neurosciences & Neurology; D-CYCLOSERINE; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Psychology, Experimental; ACQUISITION; Neurosciences; Psychology; AMYGDALA; CONTEXT; INHIBITION; RATS
• Research Categories: Biology, Neuroscience; Psychology, Behavioral

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to analyze fear extinction and reinstatement in humans using fear-potentiated startle. Participants were fear conditioned using a simple discrimination procedure with colored lights as the conditioned stimuli (CSs) and an airblast to the throat as the unconditioned stimulus (US). Participants were extinguished 24 h after fear conditioning. Upon presentation of unsignaled USs after extinction, participants displayed significant fear reinstatement. In summary, these procedures produced robust fear-potentiated startle, significant CS+/CS-discrimination, within-session extinction, and significant reinstatement. This is the first demonstration of fear extinction and reinstatement in humans using startle measures.