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Hulsman AM, Kaldewaij R, Hashemi MM, Zhang W, Koch SBJ, Figner B, Roelofs K, Klumpers F. Individual differences in costly fearful avoidance and the relation to psychophysiology. Behav Res Ther 2020; 137:103788. [PMID: 33422745 DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2020.103788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2020] [Revised: 12/02/2020] [Accepted: 12/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Excessive avoidance behaviour is a cardinal symptom of anxiety disorders. Avoidance is not only associated with the benefits of avoiding threats, but also with the costs of missing out on rewards upon exploration. Psychological and psychophysiological mechanisms contributing to these costly avoidance decisions in prospect of mixed outcomes remain unclear. We developed a novel Fearful Avoidance Task (FAT) that resembles characteristics of real-life approach-avoidance conflicts, enabling to disentangle reward and threat effects. Using the FAT, we investigated individual differences in avoidance behaviour and anticipatory psychophysiological states (i.e. startle reflex and skin conductance) in a relatively large sample of 343 (78 females) participants. Avoidance under acute threat of shock depends on a trade-off between perceived reward and threat. Both increased startle and skin conductance in the absence of threat of shock emerged as predictors of increased avoidance (potentially indicative of fear generalization). Increased avoidance was also associated with female sex and trait anxiety, dependent on reward and threat levels. Our findings highlight distinct possible predictors of heightened avoidance and add to mechanistic understanding of how individual propensity for costly avoidance may emerge. Distinct avoidance typologies based on differential reward and threat sensitivities may have different mechanistic origins and thereby could benefit from different treatment strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anneloes M Hulsman
- Affective Neuroscience, Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Kapittelweg 29, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Experimental Psychopathology and Treatment, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Montessorilaan 3, 6525 HR, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
| | - Reinoud Kaldewaij
- Affective Neuroscience, Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Kapittelweg 29, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Experimental Psychopathology and Treatment, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Montessorilaan 3, 6525 HR, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Mahur M Hashemi
- Affective Neuroscience, Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Kapittelweg 29, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Experimental Psychopathology and Treatment, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Montessorilaan 3, 6525 HR, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Wei Zhang
- Affective Neuroscience, Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Kapittelweg 29, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Experimental Psychopathology and Treatment, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Montessorilaan 3, 6525 HR, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Saskia B J Koch
- Affective Neuroscience, Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Kapittelweg 29, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Experimental Psychopathology and Treatment, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Montessorilaan 3, 6525 HR, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Bernd Figner
- Affective Neuroscience, Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Kapittelweg 29, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Experimental Psychopathology and Treatment, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Montessorilaan 3, 6525 HR, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Karin Roelofs
- Affective Neuroscience, Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Kapittelweg 29, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Experimental Psychopathology and Treatment, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Montessorilaan 3, 6525 HR, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Floris Klumpers
- Affective Neuroscience, Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, Kapittelweg 29, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Experimental Psychopathology and Treatment, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Montessorilaan 3, 6525 HR, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
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102
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Edwards TL, Poling A. Motivating Operations and Negative Reinforcement. Perspect Behav Sci 2020; 43:761-778. [PMID: 33381687 PMCID: PMC7724015 DOI: 10.1007/s40614-020-00266-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The motivating operations concept has improved the precision of our approach to analyzing behavior; it serves as a framework for classifying events that alter the reinforcing and punishing effectiveness of other events. Nevertheless, some aspects of the concept are seriously flawed, thereby limiting its utility. We contend in this article that the emphasis it places on the onset of some stimuli (putative motivating operations) making their offset a reinforcer in the absence of a learning history (i.e., in the case of unconditioned motivating operations), or because of such a history (i.e., in the case of reflexive conditioned motivating operations), is of no value in predicting or controlling behavior. It is unfortunate that this pseudo-analysis has been widely accepted, which has drawn attention away from actual motivating operations that are relevant to negative reinforcement, and led to conceptually flawed explanations of challenging human behaviors that are escape-maintained. When used appropriately, the motivating operations concept can help to clarify the conditions under which a stimulus change (in particular, stimulus termination) will function as a negative reinforcer. From both a theoretical and a practical perspective, rethinking the application of the motivating operations concept to negative reinforcement is advantageous. Herein, we explore the implications of doing so with the aim of encouraging relevant research and improving the practice of applied behavior analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy L. Edwards
- School of Psychology, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton, 3240 New Zealand
| | - Alan Poling
- Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI USA
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103
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To prevent means to know: Explicit but no implicit agency for prevention behavior. Cognition 2020; 206:104489. [PMID: 33254006 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2020.104489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2020] [Revised: 10/08/2020] [Accepted: 10/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Human agents draw on a variety of explicit and implicit cues to construct a sense of agency for their actions and the effects of these actions on the outside world. Associative mechanisms binding actions to their immediate effects support the evolution of agency for operant actions. However, human agents often also act to prevent a certain event from occurring. Such prevention behavior poses a critical challenge for the sense of agency, as successful prevention inherently revolves around the absence of a perceivable effect. By assessing the psychological microstructure of singular operant and prevention actions we show that this comes with profound consequences: agency for prevention actions is only evident in explicit measures but not in corresponding implicit proxies. These findings attest to an altered action representation in prevention behavior and they support recent proposals to model related processes such as avoidance learning in terms of propositional rather than associative terms.
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104
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Sitnikova E, Smirnov K. Active avoidance learning in WAG/Rij rats with genetic predisposition to absence epilepsy. Brain Res Bull 2020; 165:198-208. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2020.10.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2020] [Revised: 09/23/2020] [Accepted: 10/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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105
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Binder FP, Spoormaker VI. Quantifying Human Avoidance Behavior in Immersive Virtual Reality. Front Behav Neurosci 2020; 14:569899. [PMID: 33192365 PMCID: PMC7554565 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2020.569899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2020] [Accepted: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Avoidance behavior is a key symptom of most anxiety disorders and a central readout in animal research. However, the quantification of real-life avoidance behavior in humans is typically restricted to clinical populations, who show actual avoidance of phobic objects. In experimental approaches for healthy participants, many avoidance tasks utilize button responses or a joystick navigation on the screen as indicators of avoidance behavior. To allow the ecologically valid assessment of avoidance behavior in healthy participants, we developed a new automated immersive Virtual Reality paradigm, where participants could freely navigate in virtual 3-dimensional, 360-degrees scenes by real naturalistic body movements. A differential fear conditioning procedure was followed by three newly developed behavioral tasks to assess participants’ avoidance behavior of the conditioned stimuli: an approach, a forced-choice, and a search task. They varied in instructions, degrees of freedom, and high or low task-related relevance of the stimuli. We initially examined the tasks in a quasi-experiment (N = 55), with four consecutive runs and various experimental adaptations. Here, although we observed avoidance behavior in all three tasks after additional reinforcement, we only detected fear-conditioned avoidance behavior in the behavioral forced-choice and search tasks. These findings were largely replicated in a confirmatory experiment (N = 72) with randomized group allocation, except that fear-conditioned avoidance behavior was only manifest in the behavioral search task. This supports the notion that the behavioral search task is sensitive to detect avoidance behavior after fear conditioning only, whereas the behavioral approach and forced-choice tasks are still able to detect “strong” avoidance behavior after fear conditioning and additional reinforcement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian P Binder
- Department of Translational Research in Psychiatry, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany.,International Max Planck Research School - Translational Psychiatry, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Victor I Spoormaker
- Department of Translational Research in Psychiatry, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
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106
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Avoiding Based on Shades of Gray: Generalization of Pain-Related Avoidance Behavior to Novel Contexts. THE JOURNAL OF PAIN 2020; 21:1212-1223. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2020.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2019] [Revised: 12/13/2019] [Accepted: 02/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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107
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Gatzounis R, Meulders A. Once an Avoider Always an Avoider? Return of Pain-Related Avoidance After Extinction With Response Prevention. THE JOURNAL OF PAIN 2020; 21:1224-1235. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2020.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2019] [Revised: 01/24/2020] [Accepted: 02/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
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108
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Campese VD, Kim IT, Kurpas B, Branigan L, Draus C, LeDoux JE. Motivational factors underlying aversive Pavlovian-instrumental transfer. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 27:477-482. [PMID: 33060285 PMCID: PMC7571266 DOI: 10.1101/lm.052316.120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2020] [Accepted: 08/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
While interest in active avoidance has recently been resurgent, many concerns relating to the nature of this form of learning remain unresolved. By separating stimulus and response acquisition, aversive Pavlovian-instrumental transfer can be used to measure the effect of avoidance learning on threat processing with more control than typical avoidance procedures. However, the motivational substrates that contribute to the aversive transfer effect have not been thoroughly examined. In three studies using rodents, the impact of a variety of aversive signals on shock-avoidance responding (i.e., two-way shuttling) was evaluated. Fox urine, as well as a tone paired with the delivery of the predator odor were insufficient modulatory stimuli for the avoidance response. Similarly, a signal for the absence of food did not generate appropriate aversive motivation to enhance shuttling. Only conditioned Pavlovian stimuli that had been paired with unconditioned threats were capable of augmenting shock-avoidance responding. This was true whether the signaled outcome was the same (e.g., shock) or different (e.g., klaxon) from the avoidance outcome (i.e., shock). These findings help to characterize the aversive transfer effect and provide a more thorough analysis of its generalization to warning signals for different kinds of threats. This feature of aversive motivation has not been demonstrated using conventional avoidance procedures and could be potentially useful for applying avoidance in treatment settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vinn D Campese
- Department of Psychology, University of Evansville, Evansville, Indiana 47722, USA
| | - Ian T Kim
- Behavioral and Neural Sciences Graduate Program, Rutgers University-Newark, Newark, New Jersey 07102, USA.,Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University-Newark, Newark, New Jersey 07102, USA
| | - Botagoz Kurpas
- Department of Psychology, Kingsborough College, Brooklyn, New York 11235, USA
| | - Lauren Branigan
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10010, USA
| | - Cassandra Draus
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10010, USA
| | - Joseph E LeDoux
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10010, USA.,Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, New York 10962, USA
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109
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Prospective intolerance of uncertainty is associated with maladaptive temporal distribution of avoidance responses: An extension of Flores, López, Vervliet, and Cobos (2018). J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry 2020; 68:101527. [PMID: 31743800 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2019.101527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2019] [Revised: 10/10/2019] [Accepted: 11/06/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Excessive maladaptive avoidance has been claimed to be one of the mechanisms through which intolerance of uncertainty (IU) may play its causal role in the development and maintenance of several anxiety and compulsive disorders. Consistently, Flores et al. (2018) found that individuals with higher Prospective IU (P-IU), a specific IU subfactor, display excessive avoidance response repetitions in a free-operant discriminative task to avoid an aversive noise. In the present study we tested the hypothesis that P-IU not only predicts the amount of avoidance responses but also how well the temporal distribution of such responses fits the temporal distribution of threats. METHODS Further correlation and hierarchical regression analysis of Flores et al.'s (2018) data served to test this hypothesis. We evaluated two aspects of the temporal distribution of responses: a) for how long participants were performing the responses; b) the behavioral discrimination between threatening and safe time periods. RESULTS The results showed that scoring high in P-IU was positively associated with longer periods of time dedicated to avoiding and with worse behavioral discrimination between threatening and safe time periods. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that later addition of inhibitory intolerance of uncertainty and trait anxiety did not significantly improved the explained variance. LIMITATIONS Our results are exclusively based on the use of a low-cost avoidance response, and the present study does not clarify the precise mechanisms that lead high P-IU people to engage in non-optimal avoidance response distribution through time. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that excessive avoidance is also driven by uncertainty of threat timing and highlight the relevance of P-IU as a vulnerability factor for excessive and outspread avoidance behaviors.
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110
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Bennett MP, Roche B, Dymond S, Baeyens F, Vervliet B, Hermans D. Transitions from avoidance: Reinforcing competing behaviours reduces generalised avoidance in new contexts. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2020; 73:2119-2131. [PMID: 32686989 PMCID: PMC7672781 DOI: 10.1177/1747021820943148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Generalised avoidance behaviours are a common diagnostic feature of anxiety-related disorders and a barrier to affecting changes in anxiety during therapy. However, strategies to mitigate generalised avoidance are under-investigated. Even less attention is given to reducing the category-based generalisation of avoidance. We therefore investigated the potential of an operant-based approach. Specifically, it was examined whether reinforcing competing (non-avoidance) behaviours to threat-predictive cues would interfere with the expression of generalised avoidance. Using a matching-to-sample task, artificial stimulus categories were established using physically dissimilar nonsense shapes. A member of one category (conditioned stimulus; CS1) was then associated with an aversive outcome in an Acquisition context, unless an avoidance response was made. Next, competing behaviours were reinforced in response to the CS1 in new contexts. Finally, we tested for the generalisation of avoidance to another member of the stimulus category (generalisation stimulus; GS1) in both a Novel context and the Acquisition context. The selective generalisation of avoidance to GS1 was observed, but only in the Acquisition context. In the Novel context, the generalisation of avoidance to GSs was significantly reduced. A comparison group (Experiment 2), which did not learn any competing behaviours, avoided GS1 in both contexts. These findings suggest that reinforcing competing behavioural responses to threat-predictive cues can lead to reductions in generalised avoidance. This study is among the first study to demonstrate sustained reductions in generalised avoidance resulting from operant-based protocols, and the clinical and research implications are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc P Bennett
- Medical Research Council, Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, UK
| | - Bryan Roche
- National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Ireland
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111
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Krypotos AM, Crombez G, Meulders A, Claes N, Vlaeyen JWS. Decomposing conditioned avoidance performance with computational models. Behav Res Ther 2020; 133:103712. [PMID: 32836110 DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2020.103712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2020] [Revised: 07/29/2020] [Accepted: 08/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Avoidance towards innocuous stimuli is a key characteristic across anxiety-related disorders and chronic pain. Insights into the relevant learning processes of avoidance are often gained via laboratory procedures, where individuals learn to avoid stimuli or movements that have been previously associated with an aversive stimulus. Typically, statistical analyses of data gathered with conditioned avoidance procedures include frequency data, for example, the number of times a participant has avoided an aversive stimulus. Here, we argue that further insights into the underlying processes of avoidance behavior could be unraveled using computational models of behavior. We then demonstrate how computational models could be used by reanalysing a previously published avoidance data set and interpreting the key findings. We conclude our article by listing some challenges in the direct application of computational modeling to avoidance data sets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angelos-Miltiadis Krypotos
- Department of Health Psychology, KU Leuven, Belgium; Department of Clinical Psychology, Utrecht University, Netherlands.
| | - Geert Crombez
- Department of Experimental-Clinical and Heath Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium
| | - Ann Meulders
- Department of Health Psychology, KU Leuven, Belgium; Experimental Health Psychology, Maastricht University, Netherlands
| | | | - Johan W S Vlaeyen
- Department of Health Psychology, KU Leuven, Belgium; Experimental Health Psychology, Maastricht University, Netherlands
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112
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Heeren A, Bernstein EE, McNally RJ. Bridging maladaptive social self-beliefs and social anxiety: a network perspective. J Anxiety Disord 2020; 74:102267. [PMID: 32599433 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2019] [Revised: 06/13/2020] [Accepted: 06/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
The Clark and Wells (1995) model of social anxiety disorder postulates that three types of maladaptive social self-beliefs (high standard, conditional, and unconditional beliefs) play a crucial role in the development of fear and avoidance of social-evaluative situations-i.e., the hallmark symptoms of social anxiety disorder. In this project, we examined associations between the three types of maladaptive social self-beliefs and fear and avoidance of social-evaluative situations in a nonclinical community sample (n = 389). We used network analysis to estimate functional relations among aspects of maladaptive self-beliefs, fear, and avoidance and computed two different network models, a graphical Gaussian model (GGM) and a directed acyclic graph (DAG). Each model estimates edges and the importance of nodes in different ways. Both GGM and DAG pointed to fear and conditional beliefs as especially potent bridges between maladaptive social self-beliefs and social anxiety in our nonclinical sample. Altogether, these results offer data-driven heuristics in the field's larger, ongoing effort to illuminate pathways at play in the development of social anxiety. We situate this study within novel network approaches for developing theory-driven models and tests of the instigation and interactions of maladaptive social self-beliefs and social anxiety. However, because this is the first study to combine GGM and DAG in social anxiety research, we also discussed the caveats to this approach to help to usher the field forward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandre Heeren
- Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Emily E Bernstein
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Richard J McNally
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States
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113
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Fadda M, De Fruyt N, Borghgraef C, Watteyne J, Peymen K, Vandewyer E, Naranjo Galindo FJ, Kieswetter A, Mirabeau O, Chew YL, Beets I, Schoofs L. NPY/NPF-Related Neuropeptide FLP-34 Signals from Serotonergic Neurons to Modulate Aversive Olfactory Learning in Caenorhabditis elegans. J Neurosci 2020; 40:6018-6034. [PMID: 32576621 PMCID: PMC7392509 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2674-19.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2019] [Revised: 04/26/2020] [Accepted: 06/12/2020] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Aversive learning is fundamental for animals to increase chances of survival. In addition to classical neurotransmitters, neuropeptides have emerged to modulate such complex behaviors. Among them, neuropeptide Y (NPY) is well known to promote aversive memory acquisition in mammals. Here we identify an NPY/neuropeptide F (NPF)-related neuropeptide system in Caenorhabditis elegans and show that this FLP-34/NPR-11 system is required for learning negative associations, a process that is reminiscent of NPY signaling in mammals. The Caenorhabditis elegans NPY/NPF ortholog FLP-34 displays conserved structural hallmarks of bilaterian-wide NPY/NPF neuropeptides. We show that it is required for aversive olfactory learning after pairing diacetyl with the absence of food, but not for appetitive olfactory learning in response to butanone. To mediate diacetyl learning and thus integrate the aversive food context with the diacetyl odor, FLP-34 is released from serotonergic neurons and signals through its evolutionarily conserved NPY/NPF GPCR, NPR-11, in downstream AIA interneurons. NPR-11 activation in the AIA integration center results in avoidance of a previously attractive stimulus. This study opens perspectives for a deeper understanding of stress conditions in which aversive learning results in excessive avoidance.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Aversive learning evolved early in evolution to promote avoidance of dangerous and stressful situations. In addition to classical neurotransmitters, neuropeptides are emerging as modulators of complex behaviors, including learning and memory. Here, we identified the evolutionary ortholog of neuropeptide Y/neuropeptide F in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, and we discovered that it is required for olfactory aversive learning. In addition, we elucidated the neural circuit underlying this avoidance behavior, and we discovered a novel coordinated action of Caenorhabditis elegans neuropeptide Y/neuropeptide F and serotonin that could aid in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying stress disorders in which excessive avoidance results in maladaptive behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa Fadda
- Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Leuven, 3000, Belgium
| | | | | | - Jan Watteyne
- Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Leuven, 3000, Belgium
| | | | | | | | | | - Olivier Mirabeau
- Genetics and Biology of Cancers Unit, Institut Curie, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U830, Paris Sciences et Lettres Research University, Paris, 75005, France
| | - Yee Lian Chew
- Illawarra Health & Medical Research Institute School of Chemistry & Molecular Bioscience, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, 2522 New South Wales, Australia
| | - Isabel Beets
- Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Leuven, 3000, Belgium
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114
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Martínez-Rivera FJ, Sánchez-Navarro MJ, Huertas-Pérez CI, Greenberg BD, Rasmussen SA, Quirk GJ. Prolonged avoidance training exacerbates OCD-like behaviors in a rodent model. Transl Psychiatry 2020; 10:212. [PMID: 32620740 PMCID: PMC7334221 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-020-00892-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2019] [Revised: 06/05/2020] [Accepted: 06/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by compulsive behaviors that often resemble avoidance of perceived danger. OCD can be treated with exposure-with-response prevention (ERP) therapy in which patients are exposed to triggers but are encouraged to refrain from compulsions, to extinguish compulsive responses. The compulsions of OCD are strengthened by many repeated exposures to triggers, but little is known about the effects of extended repetition of avoidance behaviors on extinction. Here we assessed the extent to which overtraining of active avoidance affects subsequent extinction-with-response prevention (Ext-RP) as a rodent model of ERP, in which rats are extinguished to triggers, while the avoidance option is prevented. Male rats conditioned for 8d or 20d produced similar avoidance behavior to a tone paired with a shock, however, the 20d group showed a severe impairment of extinction during Ext-RP, as well as heightened anxiety. Furthermore, the majority of overtrained (20d) rats (75%) exhibited persistent avoidance following Ext-RP. In the 8d group, only a minority of rats (37%) exhibited persistent avoidance, and this was associated with elevated activity (c-Fos) in the prelimbic cortex and nucleus accumbens. In the 20d group, the minority of non-persistent rats (25%) showed elevated activity in the insular-orbital cortex and paraventricular thalamus. Lastly, extending the duration of Ext-RP prevented the deleterious effects of overtraining on extinction and avoidance. These rodent findings suggest that repeated expression of compulsion-like behaviors biases individuals toward persistent avoidance and alters avoidance circuits, thereby reducing the effectiveness of current extinction-based therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Freddyson J Martínez-Rivera
- Departments of Psychiatry and Anatomy & Neurobiology, School of Medicine, Medical Sciences Campus, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR, 00936, USA.
- Nash family Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA.
| | - Marcos J Sánchez-Navarro
- Departments of Psychiatry and Anatomy & Neurobiology, School of Medicine, Medical Sciences Campus, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR, 00936, USA
| | - Carlos I Huertas-Pérez
- Departments of Psychiatry and Anatomy & Neurobiology, School of Medicine, Medical Sciences Campus, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR, 00936, USA
| | - Benjamin D Greenberg
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Butler Hospital and the Providence VA Medical Center, Providence, RI, 02906, USA
| | - Steven A Rasmussen
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Butler Hospital and the Providence VA Medical Center, Providence, RI, 02906, USA
| | - Gregory J Quirk
- Departments of Psychiatry and Anatomy & Neurobiology, School of Medicine, Medical Sciences Campus, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR, 00936, USA
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115
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Peeters G, Bennett M, Donoghue OA, Kennelly S, Kenny RA. Understanding the aetiology of fear of falling from the perspective of a fear-avoidance model – A narrative review. Clin Psychol Rev 2020; 79:101862. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2020.101862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2019] [Revised: 05/06/2020] [Accepted: 05/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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116
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No1LikesU! – A pilot study on an ecologically valid and highly standardised experimental paradigm to investigate social rejection expectations and their modification. CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY IN EUROPE 2020; 2:e2997. [DOI: 10.32872/cpe.v2i2.2997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2019] [Accepted: 04/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background
Dysfunctional expectations have been suggested as core features in the development and maintenance of mental disorders. Thus, preventing development and promoting modification of dysfunctional expectations through intervention might improve clinical treatment. While there are well-established experimental procedures to investigate the acquisition and modification of dysfunctional performance expectations in major depression, paradigms for investigating other important types of dysfunctional expectations (e.g. social rejection expectations) are currently lacking. We introduce an innovative associative learning paradigm, which can be used to investigate the development, maintenance, and modification of social rejection expectations.
Method
A pilot sample of 28 healthy participants experienced manipulated social feedback after answering personal questions in supposed webcam conferences. While participants repeatedly received social rejection feedback in a first phase, differential feedback was given in a second phase (social rejection vs. social appreciation). In a third phase, explicit social feedback was omitted.
Results
Participants developed social rejection expectations in the first phase. For the second phase, we found an interaction effect of experimental condition; i.e. participants adjusted their expectations according to the differential social feedback. In the third phase, learned social expectations remained stable in accordance to the social feedback in the second phase.
Conclusion
Results indicate that the paradigm can be used to investigate the development, maintenance, and modification of social rejection expectations in healthy participants. This offers broad applications to explore the differential acquisition and modification of social rejection expectations in healthy vs. clinical samples. Further, the paradigm might be used to investigate therapeutic strategies to facilitate expectation change.
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Frögéli E, Rudman A, Ljótsson B, Gustavsson P. Preventing Stress-Related Ill Health Among New Registered Nurses by Supporting Engagement in Proactive Behaviors-A Randomized Controlled Trial. Worldviews Evid Based Nurs 2020; 17:202-212. [PMID: 32592439 DOI: 10.1111/wvn.12442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND New registered nurses (RNs) are at risk of developing symptoms of stress-related ill health. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the effect of a 3 × 3 hour group intervention aiming to prevent symptoms of stress-related ill health among new RNs by increasing engagement in proactive behaviors. The intervention involves discussions and models of newcomer experiences and stress and the behavior change techniques reinforcing approach behaviors, systematic exposure, and action planning. DESIGN A randomized parallel group trial with an active control condition. PARTICIPANTS The study sample consisted of 239 new RNs participating in a transition-to-practice program for new RNs in a large county in Sweden. METHODS Participants were randomized to either the experimental intervention or a control intervention. Data on experiences of stress, avoidance of proactive behaviors, engagement in leisure activities, role clarity, task mastery, and social acceptance were collected before and after the intervention. Effects were evaluated using multilevel model analysis and regression analysis. Missing data were imputed using multiple imputation. RESULTS The control group experienced a statistically significant increase in experiences of stress during the period of the study (t(194.13) = 1.98, p = .049), whereas the level in the experimental group remained stable. Greater adherence to the intervention predicted a greater effect on experiences of stress (β = -0.15, p = .039) and social acceptance (β = 0.16, p = .027). LINKING EVIDENCE TO ACTION Transition-to-practice programs may benefit from adding an intervention that specifically addresses new RNs' experiences of stress to further support them as they adjust to their new professional role. However, replication studies with larger samples, more reliable measures, and longer periods of follow-up are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elin Frögéli
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ann Rudman
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Brjánn Ljótsson
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Petter Gustavsson
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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Laughlin LC, Moloney DM, Samels SB, Sears RM, Cain CK. Reducing shock imminence eliminates poor avoidance in rats. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 27:270-274. [PMID: 32540916 PMCID: PMC7301752 DOI: 10.1101/lm.051557.120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2020] [Accepted: 04/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
In signaled active avoidance (SigAA), rats learn to suppress Pavlovian freezing and emit actions to remove threats and prevent footshocks. SigAA is critical for understanding aversively motivated instrumental behavior and anxiety-related active coping. However, with standard protocols ∼25% of rats exhibit high freezing and poor avoidance. This has dampened enthusiasm for the paradigm and stalled progress. We demonstrate that reducing shock imminence with long-duration warning signals leads to greater freezing suppression and perfect avoidance in all subjects. This suggests that instrumental SigAA mechanisms evolved to cope with distant harm and protocols that promote inflexible Pavlovian reactions are poorly designed to study avoidance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsay C Laughlin
- Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Emotional Brain Institute, Orangeburg, New York 10962, USA
| | - Danielle M Moloney
- NYU School of Medicine, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York, New York 10016, USA.,Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Emotional Brain Institute, Orangeburg, New York 10962, USA
| | - Shanna B Samels
- Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Emotional Brain Institute, Orangeburg, New York 10962, USA
| | - Robert M Sears
- NYU School of Medicine, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York, New York 10016, USA.,Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Emotional Brain Institute, Orangeburg, New York 10962, USA
| | - Christopher K Cain
- NYU School of Medicine, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York, New York 10016, USA.,Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Emotional Brain Institute, Orangeburg, New York 10962, USA
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119
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The effects of age and trait anxiety on avoidance learning and its generalization. Behav Res Ther 2020; 129:103611. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2020.103611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2019] [Revised: 02/03/2020] [Accepted: 03/23/2020] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
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120
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Dopamine modulates individual differences in avoidance behavior: A pharmacological, immunohistochemical, neurochemical and volumetric investigation. Neurobiol Stress 2020; 12:100219. [PMID: 32435668 PMCID: PMC7231994 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2020.100219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2019] [Revised: 03/27/2020] [Accepted: 03/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Avoidance behavior is a hallmark in pathological anxiety disorders and results in impairment of daily activities. Individual differences in avoidance responses are critical in determining vulnerability or resistance to anxiety disorders. Dopaminergic activation is implicated in the processing of avoidance responses; however, the mechanisms underlying these responses are unknown. In this sense, we used a preclinical model of avoidance behavior to investigate the possibility of an intrinsic differential dopaminergic pattern between good and poor performers. The specific goal was to assess the participation of dopamine (DA) through pharmacological manipulation, and we further evaluated the effects of systemic injections of the dopaminergic receptor type 1 (D1 antagonist - SCH23390) and dopaminergic receptor type 2 (D2 antagonist - sulpiride) antagonists in the good performers. Additionally, we evaluated the effects of intra-amygdala microinjection of a D1 antagonist (SCH23390) and a D2 antagonist (sulpiride) in good performers as well as intra-amygdala microinjection of a D1 agonist (SKF38393) and D2 agonist (quinpirole) in poor performers. Furthermore, we quantified the contents of dopamine and metabolites (3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and homovanillic acid (HVA)) in the amygdala, evaluated the basal levels of tyrosine hydroxylase expression (catecholamine synthesis enzyme) and measured the volume of the substantia nigra, ventral tegmental area and locus coeruleus. Our results showed that it could be possible to convert animals from good to poor performers, and vice versa, by intra-amygdala (basolateral and central nucleus) injections of D1 receptor antagonists in good performers or D2 receptor agonists in poor performers. Additionally, the good performers had lower levels of DOPAC and HVA in the amygdala, an increase in the total volume of the amygdala (AMG), substantia nigra (SN), ventral tegmental area (VTA) and locus coeruleus (LC), and an increase in the number of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive cells in SN, VTA and LC, which positively correlates with the avoidance behavior. Taken together, our data show evidence for a dopaminergic signature of avoidance performers, emphasizing the role of distinct dopaminergic receptors in individual differences in avoidance behavior based on pharmacological, immunohistochemical, neurochemical and volumetric analyses. Our findings provide a better understanding of the role of the dopaminergic system in the execution of avoidance behavior. The role of dopamine in individual differences in avoidance behavior. Dopamine modulates avoidance behavior. Dopaminergic evidence of individual difference in avoidance behavior. Good and poor avoiders distinction based on dopaminergic signature. Dopaminergic signature of avoidance performers: poor versus good avoiders.
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121
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Vanzhula IA, Sala M, Christian C, Hunt RA, Keshishian AC, Wong VZ, Ernst S, Spoor SP, Levinson CA. Avoidance coping during mealtimes predicts higher eating disorder symptoms. Int J Eat Disord 2020; 53:625-630. [PMID: 32112594 DOI: 10.1002/eat.23254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2019] [Revised: 02/15/2020] [Accepted: 02/17/2020] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Eating disorders (EDs) are characterized by significant anxiety during mealtime that contributes to food avoidance and weight loss. Individuals with EDs commonly use avoidance coping (e.g., distraction) to tolerate meals and comply with meal plans. Although this strategy may be effective short term, a large body of anxiety literature suggests that avoidance can lead to worsening of psychological symptoms long term. METHOD The current study (N = 66 individuals diagnosed with ED) used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to examine the short-term and long-term associations of avoidance coping on ED symptoms. RESULTS Distraction during meals predicted a reduction in anxiety in the short term, and both distraction and avoidance of emotions predicted increases in excessive exercise in the short term. Distraction and avoidance of emotions predicted increases in bulimic symptoms 1 month after completion of EMA. DISCUSSION These results are consistent with prior literature on avoidance and suggest that avoidance coping during meals may contribute to the increase of ED behaviors in the long term. Coping strategies that encourage approach and tolerance of difficult thoughts and emotions (e.g., acceptance-based strategies) rather that avoidance coping may promote longer-term symptom reduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irina A Vanzhula
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
| | | | - Caroline Christian
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
| | - Rowan A Hunt
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
| | - Ani C Keshishian
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
| | - Valerie Z Wong
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Sarah Ernst
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
| | - Samantha P Spoor
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
| | - Cheri A Levinson
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
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Malik H, Javaid S, Fawad Rasool M, Samad N, Rizwan Ahamad S, Alqahtani F, Imran I. Amelioration of Scopolamine-Induced Amnesic, Anxiolytic and Antidepressant Effects of Ficus Benghalensis in Behavioral Experimental Models. MEDICINA (KAUNAS, LITHUANIA) 2020; 56:E144. [PMID: 32210162 PMCID: PMC7143763 DOI: 10.3390/medicina56030144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2020] [Revised: 03/09/2020] [Accepted: 03/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Ficus benghalensis (FB) is a commonly found tree in Pakistan and its various parts have folkloric importance in managing neurological ailments. In the present study, methanolic extract of its bark has been tested on an experimental animal model to evaluate memory-enhancing, anxiolytic and antidepressant activities to validate the claimed therapeutic potential. Materials and Methods: Methanolic extract of freshly isolated bark was prepared and subjected to preliminary phytochemical studies and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis for the presence of phytocomponents. To evaluate its effect on spatial learning, passive-avoidance test-step through (PAT-ST), Y-maze and Morris water maze (MWM) tests were carried out. Open-field (OFT) and elevated plus maze (EPM) tests were employed to explore the anti-anxiety potential of FB while a forced swimming test (FST) was utilized to assess its anti-depressant prospective. FB doses of 100, 200 and 300 mg/kg with positive and negative controls given to Sprague Dawley (SD) rats. Results: phytochemical studies showed the presence of various phytoconstituents including alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenes, phenolics and anthraquinones. The presence of synephrine, aspargine, glucose, fructose and fatty acids was revealed by GC-MS analysis. FB administration led to significant improved memory retention when evaluated through passive avoidance (p < 0.05), Y-maze (p < 0.05) and Morris water maze (p < 0.05) tests in a scopolamine model of amnesic rats. When tested by open field and elevated plus maze tests, FB demonstrated anxiety-resolving characteristics (p < 0.05) as animals dared to stay in open areas more than a control group. Mobility time was increased and immobility time was reduced (p < 0.05-0.01) in rats treated with FB, unveiling the anti-depressant importance of F. benghalensis. Conclusion: methanolic extract of F. benghalensis bark furnished scientific proof behind folkloric claims of the memory improving, anxiety-reducing and depression-resolving characteristics of the plant. These activities might be possible due to interaction of its phytoconstituents with serotonergic, glutamatergic, cholinergic and GABAergic systems in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Humna Malik
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, Pakistan; (H.M.); (S.J.)
| | - Sana Javaid
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, Pakistan; (H.M.); (S.J.)
- Department of Pharmacy, The Women University, Multan 60000, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Fawad Rasool
- Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, Pakistan;
| | - Noreen Samad
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, Pakistan;
| | - Syed Rizwan Ahamad
- Central laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia;
| | - Faleh Alqahtani
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Imran Imran
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, Pakistan; (H.M.); (S.J.)
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123
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Pittig A, Wong AH, Glück VM, Boschet JM. Avoidance and its bi-directional relationship with conditioned fear: Mechanisms, moderators, and clinical implications. Behav Res Ther 2020; 126:103550. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2020.103550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2019] [Revised: 12/16/2019] [Accepted: 01/07/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
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Hypervigilance for Bodily Sensations in the Back During a Movement Task in People With Chronic and Recurrent Low Back Pain. Clin J Pain 2020; 36:524-532. [PMID: 32080002 DOI: 10.1097/ajp.0000000000000823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The current study assessed the role of hypervigilance for bodily sensations in the back in long-term low back pain problems. METHODS People with chronic low back pain, recurrent low back pain, and no low back pain were compared on the extent to which they attended to somatosensory stimuli on the back during a movement task. To measure hypervigilance, somatosensory event-related potentials (SEPs) to task-irrelevant tactile stimuli on the back were measured when preparing movements in either a threatening or a neutral condition, indicated by a cue signaling possible pain on the back during movement or not. RESULTS Results showed stronger attending to stimuli on the back in the threat condition than in the neutral condition, as reflected by increased amplitude of the N96 SEP. However, this effect did not differ between groups. Similarly, for all 3 groups the amplitude of the P172 was larger for the threatening condition, suggesting a more general state of arousal resulting in increased somatosensory responsiveness. No significant associations were found between somatosensory attending to the back and theorized antecedents such as pain catastrophizing, pain-related fear, and pain vigilance. DISCUSSION The current study confirmed that individuals preparing a movement attended more toward somatosensory stimuli at the lower back when anticipating back pain during the movement, as measured by the N96 SEP. However, no differences were found between participants with chronic low back pain or recurrent low back pain, or the pain-free controls.
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125
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Paulus MP. Driven by Pain, Not Gain: Computational Approaches to Aversion-Related Decision Making in Psychiatry. Biol Psychiatry 2020; 87:359-367. [PMID: 31653478 PMCID: PMC7012695 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.08.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2019] [Revised: 08/02/2019] [Accepted: 08/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Although it is well known that "losses loom larger than gains," computational approaches to aversion-related decision making (ARDM) for psychiatric disorders is an underdeveloped area. Computational models of ARDM have been implemented primarily as state-dependent reinforcement learning models with bias parameters to quantify Pavlovian associations, and differential learning rates to quantify instrumental updating have been shown to depend on context, involve complex cost calculations, and include the consideration of counterfactual outcomes. Little is known about how individual differences influence these models relevant to anxiety-related conditions or addiction-related dysfunction. It is argued that model parameters reflecting 1) Pavlovian biases in the context of reinforcement learning or 2) hyperprecise prior beliefs in the context of active inference play an important role in the emergence of dysfunctional avoidance behaviors. The neural implementation of ARDM includes brain areas that are important for valuation (ventromedial prefrontal cortex) and positive reinforcement-related prediction errors (ventral striatum), but also aversive processing (insular cortex and cerebellum). Computational models of ARDM will help to establish a quantitative explanatory account of the development of anxiety disorders and addiction, but such models also face several challenges, including limited evidence for stability of individual differences, relatively low reliability of tasks, and disorder heterogeneity. Thus, it will be necessary to develop robust, reliable, and model-based experimental probes; recruit larger sample sizes; and use single case experimental designs for better pragmatic and explanatory biological models of psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin P Paulus
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research, Tulsa, Oklahoma; Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California.
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126
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Piccardi L, Guariglia P, Nori R, Palmiero M. The Role of Emotional Landmarks in Embodied and Not-Embodied Tasks. Brain Sci 2020; 10:brainsci10020058. [PMID: 31972964 PMCID: PMC7071467 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci10020058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2019] [Revised: 01/17/2020] [Accepted: 01/18/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The role of emotional landmarks in navigation has been scarcely studied. Previous findings showed that valence and arousal of landmarks increase landmark’s salience and improve performance in navigational memory tasks. However, no study has directly explored the interplay between valence and arousal of emotionally laden landmarks in embodied and not-embodied navigational tasks. At the aim, 115 college students have been subdivided in five groups according to the landmarks they were exposed (High Positive Landmarks HPL; Low Positive Landmarks LPL; High Negative Landmarks HNL; Low Negative Landmarks LNL and Neutral Landmarks NeuL). In the embodied tasks participants were asked to learn a path in a first-person perspective and to recall it after five minutes, whereas in the not-embodied tasks participants were asked to track the learned path on a silent map and to recognize landmarks among distractors. Results highlighted firstly the key role of valence in the embodied task related to the immediate learning, but not to the delayed recall of the path, probably because of the short retention interval used. Secondly, results showed the importance of the interplay between valence and arousal in the non-embodied tasks, specifically, neutral and high negative emotional landmarks yielded the lowest performance probably because of the avoidance learning effect. Implications for future research directions are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Piccardi
- Life, Health and Environmental Science Department, L’Aquila University, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
- Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging Unit, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
- Correspondence:
| | - Paola Guariglia
- Facoltà di Scienze dell’Uomo e della Società, Università degli Studi Kore, 94100 Enna, Italy;
| | - Raffaella Nori
- Department of Psychology, Bologna University, 40127 Bologna, Italy;
| | - Massimiliano Palmiero
- Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Bergamo, 24129 Bergamo, Italy;
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127
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Pi G, Gao D, Wu D, Wang Y, Lei H, Zeng W, Gao Y, Yu H, Xiong R, Jiang T, Li S, Wang X, Guo J, Zhang S, Yin T, He T, Ke D, Li R, Li H, Liu G, Yang X, Luo MH, Zhang X, Yang Y, Wang JZ. Posterior basolateral amygdala to ventral hippocampal CA1 drives approach behaviour to exert an anxiolytic effect. Nat Commun 2020; 11:183. [PMID: 31924799 PMCID: PMC6954243 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13919-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2019] [Accepted: 12/05/2019] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The basolateral amygdala (BLA) and ventral hippocampal CA1 (vCA1) are cellularly and functionally diverse along their anterior-posterior and superficial-deep axes. Here, we find that anterior BLA (aBLA) and posterior BLA (pBLA) innervate deep-layer calbindin1-negative (Calb1-) and superficial-layer calbindin1-positive neurons (Calb1+) in vCA1, respectively. Photostimulation of pBLA-vCA1 inputs has an anxiolytic effect in mice, promoting approach behaviours during conflict exploratory tasks. By contrast, stimulating aBLA-vCA1 inputs induces anxiety-like behaviour resulting in fewer approaches. During conflict stages of the elevated plus maze task vCA1Calb1+ neurons are preferentially activated at the open-to-closed arm transition, and photostimulation of vCA1Calb1+ neurons at decision-making zones promotes approach with fewer retreats. In the APP/PS1 mouse model of Alzheimer's disease, which shows anxiety-like behaviour, photostimulating the pBLA-vCA1Calb1+ circuit ameliorates the anxiety in a Calb1-dependent manner. These findings suggest the pBLA-vCA1Calb1+ circuit from heterogeneous BLA-vCA1 connections drives approach behaviour to reduce anxiety-like behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guilin Pi
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education of China and Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Di Gao
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education of China and Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Dongqin Wu
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education of China and Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Yali Wang
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education of China and Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
- Department of Physiology and Neurology, Key Laboratory for Brain Research of Henan Province, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453000, China
| | - Huiyang Lei
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education of China and Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Wenbo Zeng
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology (CEBSIT), Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China
| | - Yang Gao
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education of China and Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Huiling Yu
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education of China and Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Rui Xiong
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education of China and Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Tao Jiang
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education of China and Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Shihong Li
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education of China and Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Xin Wang
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education of China and Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Jing Guo
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education of China and Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Si Zhang
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education of China and Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Taoyuan Yin
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education of China and Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Ting He
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education of China and Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Dan Ke
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education of China and Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Ruining Li
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education of China and Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Honglian Li
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education of China and Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Gongping Liu
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education of China and Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Xifei Yang
- Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Shenzhen, Shenzhen Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, 8 Longyuan Road, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Min-Hua Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology (CEBSIT), Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China
| | - Xiaohui Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience & Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100000, China
| | - Ying Yang
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education of China and Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
| | - Jian-Zhi Wang
- Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education of China and Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
- Co-innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, Nantong, 226001, China.
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128
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Glogan E, Gatzounis R, Meulders M, Meulders A. Generalization of instrumentally acquired pain-related avoidance to novel but similar movements using a robotic arm-reaching paradigm. Behav Res Ther 2020; 124:103525. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2019.103525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2019] [Revised: 10/01/2019] [Accepted: 11/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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129
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San Martín C, Jacobs B, Vervliet B. Further characterization of relief dynamics in the conditioning and generalization of avoidance: Effects of distress tolerance and intolerance of uncertainty. Behav Res Ther 2020; 124:103526. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2019.103526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2019] [Revised: 10/24/2019] [Accepted: 11/19/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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130
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Fullana M, Dunsmoor J, Schruers K, Savage H, Bach D, Harrison B. Human fear conditioning: From neuroscience to the clinic. Behav Res Ther 2020; 124:103528. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2019.103528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2019] [Revised: 11/26/2019] [Accepted: 11/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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131
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Somatosensory attending to the lower back is associated with response speed of movements signaling back pain. Brain Res 2019; 1723:146383. [PMID: 31419425 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2019.146383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2018] [Revised: 06/14/2019] [Accepted: 08/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The present study investigated if preparing a movement that is expected to evoke pain results in hesitation to initiate the movement (i.e., avoidance) and, especially, if the allocation of attention to the threatened body part mediates such effect. To this end, healthy volunteers (N = 33) performed a postural perturbation task recruiting lower back muscles. In 'threat trials', the movement was sometimes followed by an experimental pain stimulus on the back, whereas in 'no-threat trials', a non-painful control stimulus was applied. Electroencephalography (EEG) was used to assess attending to the lower back. Specifically, somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) to task-irrelevant tactile stimuli administered to the lower back were recorded during movement preparation. Reaction times (RTs) were recorded to assess movement initiation. The results revealed faster responses and enhanced somatosensory attending to the lower back on threat trials than on no-threat trials. Importantly, the amplitude of the N95 SEP component predicted RTs and was found to partially mediate the effect of pain anticipation on movement initiation. These findings suggest that somatosensory attending might be a potential mechanism by which pain anticipation can modulate motor execution.
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132
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Bontrup C, Taylor WR, Fliesser M, Visscher R, Green T, Wippert PM, Zemp R. Low back pain and its relationship with sitting behaviour among sedentary office workers. APPLIED ERGONOMICS 2019; 81:102894. [PMID: 31422243 DOI: 10.1016/j.apergo.2019.102894] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2019] [Revised: 06/14/2019] [Accepted: 07/03/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The relationships between sedentary lifestyle, sitting behaviour, and low back pain (LBP) remain controversial. In this study, we investigated the relationship between back pain and occupational sitting habits in 64 call-centre employees. A textile pressure mat was used to evaluate and parameterise sitting behaviour over a total of 400 h, while pain questionnaires evaluated acute and chronic LBP. Seventy-five percent of the participants reported some level of either chronic or acute back pain. Individuals with chronic LBP demonstrated a possible trend (t-test not significant) towards more static sitting behaviour compared to their pain-free counterparts. Furthermore, a greater association was found between sitting behaviour and chronic LBP than for acute pain/disability, which is plausibly due to a greater awareness of pain-free sitting positions in individuals with chronic pain compared to those affected by acute pain.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Michael Fliesser
- Sociology of Health and Physical Activity, Department of Health Science, University of Potsdam, Germany
| | | | - Tamara Green
- Sociology of Health and Physical Activity, Department of Health Science, University of Potsdam, Germany
| | - Pia-Maria Wippert
- Sociology of Health and Physical Activity, Department of Health Science, University of Potsdam, Germany
| | - Roland Zemp
- Institute for Biomechanics, ETH Zurich, Switzerland.
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133
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Marchal P, Villar ME, Geng H, Arrufat P, Combe M, Viola H, Massou I, Giurfa M. Inhibitory learning of phototaxis by honeybees in a passive-avoidance task. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019; 26:1-12. [PMID: 31527185 PMCID: PMC6749929 DOI: 10.1101/lm.050120.119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2019] [Accepted: 08/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Honeybees are a standard model for the study of appetitive learning and memory. Yet, fewer attempts have been performed to characterize aversive learning and memory in this insect and uncover its molecular underpinnings. Here, we took advantage of the positive phototactic behavior of bees kept away from the hive in a dark environment and established a passive-avoidance task in which they had to suppress positive phototaxis. Bees placed in a two-compartment box learned to inhibit spontaneous attraction to a compartment illuminated with blue light by associating and entering into that chamber with shock delivery. Inhibitory learning resulted in an avoidance memory that could be retrieved 24 h after training and that was specific to the punished blue light. The memory was mainly operant but involved a Pavlovian component linking the blue light and the shock. Coupling conditioning with transcriptional analyses in key areas of the brain showed that inhibitory learning of phototaxis leads to an up-regulation of the dopaminergic receptor gene Amdop1 in the calyces of the mushroom bodies, consistently with the role of dopamine signaling in different forms of aversive learning in insects. Our results thus introduce new perspectives for uncovering further cellular and molecular underpinnings of aversive learning and memory in bees. Overall, they represent an important step toward comparative learning studies between the appetitive and the aversive frameworks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Marchal
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, F-31062 Toulouse cedex 09, France
| | - Maria Eugenia Villar
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, F-31062 Toulouse cedex 09, France
| | - Haiyang Geng
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, F-31062 Toulouse cedex 09, France.,College of Bee Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Patrick Arrufat
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, F-31062 Toulouse cedex 09, France
| | - Maud Combe
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, F-31062 Toulouse cedex 09, France
| | - Haydée Viola
- Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencias (IBCN) "Dr Eduardo De Robertis," CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires (C1121ABG), Argentina
| | - Isabelle Massou
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, F-31062 Toulouse cedex 09, France
| | - Martin Giurfa
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, F-31062 Toulouse cedex 09, France.,College of Bee Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
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134
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Ganho-Ávila A, Gonçalves ÓF, Guiomar R, Boggio PS, Asthana MK, Krypotos AM, Almeida J. The effect of cathodal tDCS on fear extinction: A cross-measures study. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0221282. [PMID: 31532768 PMCID: PMC6750569 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0221282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2019] [Accepted: 08/02/2019] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Extinction-based procedures are often used to inhibit maladaptive fear responses. However, because extinction procedures show efficacy limitations, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been suggested as a promising add-on enhancer. OBJECTIVE In this study, we tested how cathodal tDCS over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex affects extinction and tried to unveil the processes at play that boost the effectiveness of extinction procedures and its translational potential to the treatment of anxiety disorders. METHODS We implemented a fear conditioning paradigm whereby 41 healthy women (mean age = 20.51 ± 5.0) were assigned to either cathodal tDCS (n = 27) or sham tDCS (n = 16). Fear responses were measured with self-reports, autonomic responses, and implicit avoidance tendencies. RESULTS Cathodal tDCS shows no statistically significant effect in extinction, according to self-reports, and seems to even negatively affect fear conditioned skin conductance responses. However, one to three months after the tDCS session and extinction, we found a group difference in the action tendencies towards the neutral stimuli (F (1, 41) = 12.04, p = .001, ηp2 = .227), with the cathodal tDCS group (as opposed to the sham group) showing a safety learning (a positive bias towards the CS-), with a moderate effect size. This suggests that cathodal tDCS may foster stimuli discrimination, leading to a decreased generalization effect. DISCUSSION Cathodal tDCS may have enhanced long-term distinctiveness between threatening cues and perceptively similar neutral cues through a disambiguation process of the value of the neutral stimuli-a therapeutic target in anxiety disorders. Future studies should confirm these results and extend the study of cathodal tDCS effect on short term avoidance tendencies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Ganho-Ávila
- Proaction Laboratory, Cognitive and Behavior Center for Research and Intervention Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Neuropsychophysiology Lab, CiPsi, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
| | - Óscar F. Gonçalves
- Neuropsychophysiology Lab, CiPsi, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
- Spaulding Neuromodulation Center, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States of America
| | - Raquel Guiomar
- Proaction Laboratory, Cognitive and Behavior Center for Research and Intervention Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Paulo Sérgio Boggio
- Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory and Developmental Disorders Program, Center for Health and Biological Sciences, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Manish Kumar Asthana
- Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory and Developmental Disorders Program, Center for Health and Biological Sciences, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, São Paulo, Brazil
- Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, India
| | | | - Jorge Almeida
- Proaction Laboratory, Cognitive and Behavior Center for Research and Intervention Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
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135
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Becker S, Bräscher AK, Bannister S, Bensafi M, Calma-Birling D, Chan RCK, Eerola T, Ellingsen DM, Ferdenzi C, Hanson JL, Joffily M, Lidhar NK, Lowe LJ, Martin LJ, Musser ED, Noll-Hussong M, Olino TM, Pintos Lobo R, Wang Y. The role of hedonics in the Human Affectome. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 102:221-241. [PMID: 31071361 PMCID: PMC6931259 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2018] [Revised: 03/25/2019] [Accepted: 05/03/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Experiencing pleasure and displeasure is a fundamental part of life. Hedonics guide behavior, affect decision-making, induce learning, and much more. As the positive and negative valence of feelings, hedonics are core processes that accompany emotion, motivation, and bodily states. Here, the affective neuroscience of pleasure and displeasure that has largely focused on the investigation of reward and pain processing, is reviewed. We describe the neurobiological systems of hedonics and factors that modulate hedonic experiences (e.g., cognition, learning, sensory input). Further, we review maladaptive and adaptive pleasure and displeasure functions in mental disorders and well-being, as well as the experience of aesthetics. As a centerpiece of the Human Affectome Project, language used to express pleasure and displeasure was also analyzed, and showed that most of these analyzed words overlap with expressions of emotions, actions, and bodily states. Our review shows that hedonics are typically investigated as processes that accompany other functions, but the mechanisms of hedonics (as core processes) have not been fully elucidated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanne Becker
- Department of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany.
| | - Anne-Kathrin Bräscher
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy and Experimental Psychopathology, University of Mainz, Wallstr. 3, 55122 Mainz, Germany.
| | | | - Moustafa Bensafi
- Research Center in Neurosciences of Lyon, CNRS UMR5292, INSERM U1028, Claude Bernard University Lyon 1, Lyon, Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier, 95 bd Pinel, 69675 Bron Cedex, France.
| | - Destany Calma-Birling
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 800 Algoma, Blvd., Clow F011, Oshkosh, WI 54901, USA.
| | - Raymond C K Chan
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
| | - Tuomas Eerola
- Durham University, Palace Green, DH1 RL3, Durham, UK.
| | - Dan-Mikael Ellingsen
- Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, CNY149-2301, 13th St, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
| | - Camille Ferdenzi
- Research Center in Neurosciences of Lyon, CNRS UMR5292, INSERM U1028, Claude Bernard University Lyon 1, Lyon, Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier, 95 bd Pinel, 69675 Bron Cedex, France.
| | - Jamie L Hanson
- University of Pittsburgh, Department of Psychology, 3939 O'Hara Street, Rm. 715, Pittsburgh, PA 15206, USA.
| | - Mateus Joffily
- Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique (GATE), 93 Chemin des Mouilles, 69130, Écully, France.
| | - Navdeep K Lidhar
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canada.
| | - Leroy J Lowe
- Neuroqualia (NGO), 36 Arthur Street, Truro, NS, B2N 1X5, Canada.
| | - Loren J Martin
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canada.
| | - Erica D Musser
- Department of Psychology, Center for Childen and Families, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th St., Miami, FL 33199, USA.
| | - Michael Noll-Hussong
- Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Division of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Saarland University Medical Centre, Kirrberger Strasse 100, D-66421 Homburg, Germany.
| | - Thomas M Olino
- Temple University, Department of Psychology, 1701N. 13th St, Philadelphia, PA 19010, USA.
| | - Rosario Pintos Lobo
- Department of Psychology, Center for Childen and Families, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th St., Miami, FL 33199, USA.
| | - Yi Wang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
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136
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Selbing I, Olsson A. Anxious behaviour in a demonstrator affects observational learning. Sci Rep 2019; 9:9181. [PMID: 31235886 PMCID: PMC6591253 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-45613-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2019] [Accepted: 06/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans can acquire fear through the observation of others’ (learning models’) threat responses. These responses can be direct responses to aversive stimuli, or anticipatory responses to threats. Most research focuses on learning from observation of direct responses only. Here, we investigated how observational fear conditioning is influenced by a learning model’s typically anxious anticipatory responses. High anxiety individuals often display typically anxious anticipatory behaviour, such as worsened discrimination between safe and unsafe stimuli, characterized by increased threat responses to safe stimuli. We hypothesized that observation of an anxiously behaving model would worsen discriminatory learning. To this end, we developed an observational conditioning paradigm where a learning model was exposed to one safe and one unsafe stimuli. The learning model displayed anticipatory aversion to either to the unsafe stimulus only (Non-Anxious Model group) or to both the safe and unsafe stimuli (Anxious Model group) in addition to reacting directly to an aversive stimulus paired with the unsafe stimulus. Contrary to expectations, discriminatory learning was not worsened in the Anxious Model group compared to the Non-Anxious Model group. Rather, we saw more robust discriminatory learning in the Anxious Model group. The study provides a first step towards understanding the effect of other’s anticipatory responses in general and typically anxious anticipatory responses in particular, on observational fear learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ida Selbing
- Division of Psychology, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Andreas Olsson
- Division of Psychology, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77, Stockholm, Sweden
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137
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Armstrong T, Engel M, Press T, Sonstroem A, Reed J. Fast-forwarding disgust conditioning: US pre-exposure facilitates the acquisition of oculomotor avoidance. MOTIVATION AND EMOTION 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s11031-019-09770-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
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138
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Allen M, Handy J, Miller D, Servatius R. Avoidance learning and classical eyeblink conditioning as model systems to explore a learning diathesis model of PTSD. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 100:370-386. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2018] [Revised: 03/04/2019] [Accepted: 03/05/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
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139
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Janssens T, Meulders A, Cuyvers B, Colloca L, Vlaeyen JW. Placebo and nocebo effects and operant pain-related avoidance learning. Pain Rep 2019; 4:e748. [PMID: 31583361 PMCID: PMC6749895 DOI: 10.1097/pr9.0000000000000748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2019] [Revised: 03/25/2019] [Accepted: 03/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Research on learning in placebo and nocebo has relied predominantly on Pavlovian conditioning procedures. Operant learning procedures may more accurately model learning in real-life situations in which placebo and nocebo effects occur. OBJECTIVES To investigate the development and persistence of placebo and nocebo effects using an operant avoidance learning task. METHODS Pain-free participants (n = 58) could learn to avoid pain by performing movements that differed in difficulty and intensity of painful stimulation. Participants performed movements in 2 contexts. In the high cost of avoidance context, pain stimulus intensity reduced with increasing movement difficulty. In the low cost of avoidance context, contingencies were reversed. Participants rated pain expectations and pain intensity. During test, movement difficulties were unchanged, but participants always received a medium-intensity pain stimulus. Placebo and nocebo effects were defined as lower/higher pain intensity ratings for trajectories that previously resulted in low/high-intensity compared with medium-intensity stimulation. RESULTS As expected, participants acquired differential movement-pain expectations and differential movement choices. Testing with a medium-intensity pain stimulus quickly erased differences in movement choice across contexts, but differences in pain expectations were maintained. Pain modulation across context was in line with movement-pain expectations. However, we only observed placebo effects within the low cost of avoidance context and found no evidence of nocebo effects. CONCLUSION Operant learning can change pain expectations, pain modulation, and pain-related avoidance behavior. Persisting pain expectations suggest that acquired pain beliefs may be resistant to disconfirmation, despite self-initiated experience with novel pain-movement contingencies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Janssens
- Health Psychology, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
| | - Ann Meulders
- Health Psychology, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
- Research Group Behavioral Medicine, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Bien Cuyvers
- Health Psychology, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
| | - Luana Colloca
- Department of Pain Translational Symptom Science, School of Nursing, University of Maryland, BaltimoreMD, USA
- Department of Anesthesiology/Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Center to Advance Chronic Pain Research, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Johan W.S. Vlaeyen
- Health Psychology, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
- Research Group Behavioral Medicine, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
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140
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Meulders A. From fear of movement-related pain and avoidance to chronic pain disability: a state-of-the-art review. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2018.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
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141
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Tribian A, Vinstrup J, Sundstrup E, Jay K, Bös K, Andersen LL. Physical activity during work and leisure show contrasting associations with fear-avoidance beliefs: cross-sectional study among more than 10,000 wage earners of the general working population. Scand J Pain 2019; 18:71-79. [PMID: 29794279 DOI: 10.1515/sjpain-2017-0136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2017] [Accepted: 12/18/2017] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS The association between different types of physical activity and fear-avoidance beliefs remains unclear. This study investigates the association between work-related and leisure-time physical activity with fear-avoidance beliefs in the general working population. METHODS Currently employed wage earners (n=10,427) from the 2010 round of the Danish Work Environment Cohort Study replied to questions about work, lifestyle and health. General linear models controlling for lifestyle, psychosocial work factors, education, pain, medication-use and chronic diseases tested associations of work-related and leisure-time physical activity (explanatory variables) with fear-avoidance beliefs (outcome variable, scale 0-100). RESULTS The level of fear-avoidance was 41.7 (SD 27.3), 38.0 (SD 26.9) and 54.3 (SD 27.7) among the general working population, a subgroup of pain-free individuals, and a subgroup with back disease, respectively. In the general working population, the level of fear-avoidance among those with low, moderate and high physical activity during leisure were 47 [95% confidence intervals (CI) 45-49], 44 (95% CI 42-46) and 43 (95% CI 41-45), and physical activity at work were 40 (95% CI 39-42), 44 (95% CI 42-46) and 49 (95% CI 48-51), respectively. Individuals with back disease and a high level of physical activity at work showed the overall highest level of fear-avoidance whereas pain-free individuals with a low level of physical activity at work showed the overall lowest level of fear-avoidance. CONCLUSIONS Physical activity during work and leisure shows contrasting associations with fear-avoidance beliefs. While high physical activity during leisure is associated with lower levels, high physical activity at work is associated with higher levels of fear-avoidance. IMPLICATIONS The present results may reflect some deeply rooted negative beliefs about pain and work in the population. On the societal level, campaigns may be a possible way forward as these have shown to improve beliefs about musculoskeletal pain and work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annika Tribian
- National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Institute of Sports and Sports Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Jonas Vinstrup
- National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Physical Activity and Human Performance Group, SMI, Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Emil Sundstrup
- National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kenneth Jay
- National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark.,The Carrick Institute - Clinical Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, Cape Canaveral, FL, USA
| | - Klaus Bös
- Institute of Sports and Sports Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Lars L Andersen
- Physical Activity and Human Performance Group, SMI, Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.,National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Lersø Parkallé 105, Copenhagen, Denmark, Phone: +45 3916 5319
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142
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Sympathetic and Self-Reported Threat Reactivity in Social Anxiety: Modulation by Threat Certainty and Avoidance Behavior. JOURNAL OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AND BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s10862-019-09725-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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143
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Xia W, Eyolfson E, Lloyd K, Vervliet B, Dymond S. Living in fear: Low-cost avoidance maintains low-level threat. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry 2019; 62:57-64. [PMID: 30219564 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2018.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2018] [Revised: 09/04/2018] [Accepted: 09/06/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Excessive avoidance of potential threat is a hallmark of anxiety and is thought to maintain fear by preserving the perceived high-threat value of avoided situations. Previous research has shown that the availability of avoidance maintains low-level threat. Here, we investigated whether an opportunity to engage in avoidance in the presence of a low-threat value safety cue would maintain its perceived threat value when avoidance was unavailable. METHODS In a threat conditioning procedure, one conditional danger stimulus (CS+; A+) was followed by an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US; electric shock), and two safety stimuli (CS-; B- and C-) were never followed by the US. Next, clicking a button present during A+ avoided the scheduled US. Avoidance was then made available during C- for participants in the Experimental group but not in the Control group. In the test, all stimuli were presented without the opportunity to avoid. Threat expectancy, eyeblink startle electromyography (EMG), and skin conductance responses (SCRs) were measured. RESULTS Findings showed an increase in threat expectancy for only C- in the Experimental group during the test phase following avoidance learning to similar levels as during threat conditioning. Compared to the Control group, threat expectancy for both B- and C- remained higher in Experimental group. SCR and startle EMG data did not corroborate these findings. LIMITATIONS Further research is needed to test the commonly held clinical assumption that avoidance can increase threat value. CONCLUSIONS Low-cost avoidance maintains low-threat value of safety cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weike Xia
- Experimental Psychopathology Lab, Department of Psychology, Swansea University, Park Campus, Swansea, SA2 8PP, United Kingdom
| | - Eric Eyolfson
- Experimental Psychopathology Lab, Department of Psychology, Swansea University, Park Campus, Swansea, SA2 8PP, United Kingdom
| | - Keith Lloyd
- Swansea University Medical School, Park Campus, Swansea SA2 8PP, United Kingdom
| | - Bram Vervliet
- Behavioral Neuroscience Program, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, 149 13th St, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA; Center for Excellence on Generalization, Department of Psychology, KU Leuven, Tiensestraat 102, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Simon Dymond
- Experimental Psychopathology Lab, Department of Psychology, Swansea University, Park Campus, Swansea, SA2 8PP, United Kingdom; Department of Psychology, Reykjavík University, Menntavegur 1, Nauthólsvík, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland.
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144
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Dymond S. Overcoming avoidance in anxiety disorders: The contributions of Pavlovian and operant avoidance extinction methods. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 98:61-70. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2018] [Revised: 12/13/2018] [Accepted: 01/06/2019] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
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145
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Peymen K, Watteyne J, Borghgraef C, Van Sinay E, Beets I, Schoofs L. Myoinhibitory peptide signaling modulates aversive gustatory learning in Caenorhabditis elegans. PLoS Genet 2019; 15:e1007945. [PMID: 30779740 PMCID: PMC6380545 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1007945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2018] [Accepted: 01/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Aversive learning and memories are crucial for animals to avoid previously encountered stressful stimuli and thereby increase their chance of survival. Neuropeptides are essential signaling molecules in the brain and are emerging as important modulators of learned behaviors, but their precise role is not well understood. Here, we show that neuropeptides of the evolutionarily conserved MyoInhibitory Peptide (MIP)-family modify salt chemotaxis behavior in Caenorhabditis elegans according to previous experience. MIP signaling, through activation of the G protein-coupled receptor SPRR-2, is required for short-term gustatory plasticity. In addition, MIP/SPRR-2 neuropeptide-receptor signaling mediates another type of aversive gustatory learning called salt avoidance learning that depends on de novo transcription, translation and the CREB transcription factor, all hallmarks of long-term memory. MIP/SPRR-2 signaling mediates salt avoidance learning in parallel with insulin signaling. These findings lay a foundation to investigate the suggested orphan MIP receptor orthologs in deuterostomians, including human GPR139 and GPR142. All animals rely on learning and memory processes to learn from experience and thereby increase their chance of survival. Neuropeptides are essential signaling molecules in the brain and are emerging as important modulators of learning and memory processes. We found that the C. elegans receptor SPRR-2 and its ligands, the MIP-1 neuropeptides—which are members of the evolutionarily conserved myoinhibitory peptide system—are required for aversive gustatory learning. Our results provide a basis for investigations into the poorly characterized MIP systems in deuterostomians, including humans, and suggest a possible function in learning for human MIP signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katleen Peymen
- Department of Biology, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jan Watteyne
- Department of Biology, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Elien Van Sinay
- Department of Biology, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
| | - Isabel Beets
- Department of Biology, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
- * E-mail: (IB); (LS)
| | - Liliane Schoofs
- Department of Biology, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Leuven, Belgium
- * E-mail: (IB); (LS)
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146
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Predictors of behavioral avoidance during respiratory symptom provocation. Behav Res Ther 2019; 112:63-67. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2018.11.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2018] [Revised: 10/04/2018] [Accepted: 11/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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147
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Krypotos AM, Vervliet B, Engelhard IM. The validity of human avoidance paradigms. Behav Res Ther 2018; 111:99-105. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2018.10.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2018] [Revised: 08/11/2018] [Accepted: 10/26/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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148
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Leiton CV, Chen E, Cutrone A, Conn K, Mellanson K, Malik DM, Klingener M, Lamm R, Cutrone M, Petrie J, Sheikh J, DiBua A, Cohen B, Floyd TF. Astrocyte HIF-2α supports learning in a passive avoidance paradigm under hypoxic stress. HYPOXIA (AUCKLAND, N.Z.) 2018; 6:35-56. [PMID: 30519596 PMCID: PMC6234990 DOI: 10.2147/hp.s173589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The brain is extensively vascularized, useŝ20% of the body's oxygen, and is highly sensitive to changes in oxygen. While synaptic plasticity and memory are impaired in healthy individuals by exposure to mild hypoxia, aged individuals appear to be even more sensitive. Aging is associated with progressive failure in pulmonary and cardiovascular systems, exposing the aged to both chronic and superimposed acute hypoxia. The HIF proteins, the "master regulators" of the cellular response to hypoxia, are robustly expressed in neurons and astrocytes. Astrocytes support neurons and synaptic plasticity via complex metabolic and trophic mechanisms. The activity of HIF proteins in the brain is diminished with aging, and the increased exposure to chronic and acute hypoxia with aging combined with diminished HIF activity may impair synaptic plasticity. PURPOSE Herein, we test the hypothesis that astrocyte HIF supports synaptic plasticity and learning upon hypoxia. MATERIALS AND METHODS An Astrocyte-specific HIF loss-of-function model was employed, where knock-out of HIF-1α or HIF-2α in GFAP expressing cells was accomplished by cre-mediated recombination. Animals were tested for behavioral (open field and rotarod), learning (passive avoidance paradigm), and electrophysiological (long term potentiation) responses to mild hypoxic challenge. RESULTS In an astrocyte-specific HIF loss-of-function model followed by mild hypoxia, we identified that the depletion of HIF-2α resulted in an impaired passive avoidance learning performance. This was accompanied by an attenuated response to induction in long-term potentiation (LTP), suggesting that the hippocampal circuitry was perturbed upon hypoxic exposure following HIF-2α loss in astrocytes, and not due to hippocampal cell death. We investigated HIF-regulated trophic and metabolic target genes and found that they were not regulated by HIF-2α, suggesting that these specific targets may not be involved in mediating the phenotypes observed. CONCLUSION Together, these results point to a role for HIF-2α in the astrocyte's regulatory role in synaptic plasticity and learning under hypoxia and suggest that even mild, acute hypoxic challenges can impair cognitive performance in the aged population who harbor impaired HIF function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cindy V Leiton
- Department of Pathology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
- Department of Anesthesiology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Elyssa Chen
- Department of Anesthesiology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Alissa Cutrone
- Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Kristy Conn
- Department of Anesthesiology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Kennelia Mellanson
- Department of Pharmacological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Dania M Malik
- Department of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Michael Klingener
- Department of Genetics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Ryan Lamm
- Department of General Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Michael Cutrone
- Department of Anesthesiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - John Petrie
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Bloomberg School of Public health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Joher Sheikh
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Adriana DiBua
- Department of Chemistry, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY, USA
| | - Betsy Cohen
- Computer Science Department, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA, USA
| | - Thomas F Floyd
- Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Management, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX, USA,
- Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX, USA,
- Department of Radiology, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX, USA,
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149
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Krypotos AM, Moscarello JM, Sears RM, LeDoux JE, Galatzer-Levy I. A principled method to identify individual differences and behavioral shifts in signaled active avoidance. Learn Mem 2018; 25:564-568. [PMID: 30322888 PMCID: PMC6191017 DOI: 10.1101/lm.047399.118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2018] [Accepted: 08/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Signaled active avoidance (SigAA) is the key experimental procedure for studying the acquisition of instrumental responses toward conditioned threat cues. Traditional analytic approaches (e.g., general linear model) often obfuscate important individual differences, although individual differences in learned responses characterize both animal and human learning data. However, individual differences models (e.g., latent growth curve modeling) typically require large samples and onerous computational methods. Here, we present an analytic methodology that enables the detection of individual differences in SigAA performance at a high accuracy, even when a single animal is included in the data set (i.e., n = 1 level). We further show an online software that enables the easy application of our method to any SigAA data set.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Justin M Moscarello
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 4235 TAMU, USA
| | - Robert M Sears
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, New York 10962, USA
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York 10016, USA
| | - Joseph E LeDoux
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, New York 10962, USA
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA
| | - Isaac Galatzer-Levy
- Department of Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, New York 10016, USA
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150
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Morriss J, Chapman C, Tomlinson S, van Reekum CM. Escape the bear and fall to the lion: The impact of avoidance availability on threat acquisition and extinction. Biol Psychol 2018; 138:73-80. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2018.08.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2017] [Revised: 06/29/2018] [Accepted: 08/20/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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