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Mattera A, Cavallo A, Granato G, Baldassarre G, Pagani M. A Biologically Inspired Neural Network Model to Gain Insight Into the Mechanisms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy. Front Psychol 2022; 13:944838. [PMID: 35911047 PMCID: PMC9326218 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.944838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is a well-established therapeutic method to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, how EMDR exerts its therapeutic action has been studied in many types of research but still needs to be completely understood. This is in part due to limited knowledge of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying EMDR, and in part to our incomplete understanding of PTSD. In order to model PTSD, we used a biologically inspired computational model based on firing rate units, encompassing the cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala. Through the modulation of its parameters, we fitted real data from patients treated with EMDR or classical exposure therapy. This allowed us to gain insights into PTSD mechanisms and to investigate how EMDR achieves trauma remission.
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Effects of UCS Intensity and Duration of Exposure of Nonreinforced CS on Conditioned Electrodermal Responses: An Experimental Analysis of the Incubation Theory of Anxiety. Psychol Rep 2020. [DOI: 10.1177/00332941930733pt132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Eysenck's incubation theory of fear or anxiety was examined in a human Pavlovian conditioning experiment with skin-conductance responses as the dependent variable. The conditioned stimuli (CSs) were fear-relevant slides (snakes and spiders) and the unconditioned stimuli (UCSs) were aversive tones. Different groups of subjects were presented two tone intensities during the acquisition phase and three durations of nonreinforced CS (extinction phase) in a delay differential conditioning paradigm. Resistance to extinction of conditioned skin-conductance responses (conditioned fear responses) exhibited was largest for high intensity of tone and short presentations of the nonreinforced CS (CS + presented alone). The result tends to support Eysenck's incubation theory of anxiety.
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Careaga MBL, Girardi CEN, Suchecki D. Understanding posttraumatic stress disorder through fear conditioning, extinction and reconsolidation. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2016; 71:48-57. [PMID: 27590828 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.08.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2016] [Revised: 07/20/2016] [Accepted: 08/16/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Careaga MBL, Girardi CEN, Suchecki D. Understanding posttraumatic stress disorder through fear conditioning, extinction and reconsolidation. NEUROSCI BIOBEHAV REV -Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychopathology characterized by exacerbation of fear response. A dysregulated fear response may be explained by dysfunctional learning and memory, a hypothesis that was proposed decades ago. A key component of PTSD is fear conditioning and the study of this phenomenon in laboratory has expanded the understanding of the underlying neurobiological changes in PTSD. Furthermore, traumatic memories are strongly present even years after the trauma and maintenance of this memory is usually related to behavioral and physiological maladaptive responses. Persistence of traumatic memory may be explained by a dysregulation of two memory processes: extinction and reconsolidation. The former may explain the over-expression of fear responses as an imbalance between traumatic and extinction memory. The latter, in turn, explains the maintenance of fear responses as a result of enhancing trauma-related memories. Thus, this review will discuss the importance of fear conditioning for the establishment of PTSD and how failure in extinction or abnormal reconsolidation may contribute to the maintenance of fear response overtime.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Carlos Eduardo Neves Girardi
- Departamento de Psicobiologia - Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Deborah Suchecki
- Departamento de Psicobiologia - Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
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Joos E, Vansteenwegen D, Vervliet B, Hermans D. Repeated Activation of a CS-US-Contingency Memory Results in Sustained Conditioned Responding. Front Psychol 2013; 4:305. [PMID: 23755034 PMCID: PMC3667234 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2012] [Accepted: 05/13/2013] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Individuals seem to differ in conditionability, i.e., the ease by which the contingent presentation of two stimuli will lead to a conditioned response. In contemporary learning theory, individual differences in the etiology and maintenance of anxiety disorders are, among others, explained by individual differences in temperamental variables (Mineka and Zinbarg, 2006). One such individual difference variable is how people process a learning experience when the conditioning stimuli are no longer present. Repeatedly thinking about the conditioning experience, as in worry or rumination, might prolong the initial (fear) reactions and as such, might leave certain individuals more vulnerable to developing an anxiety disorder. However, in human conditioning research, relatively little attention has been devoted to the processing of a memory trace after its initial acquisition, despite its potential influences on subsequent performance. Post-acquisition processing can be induced by mental reiteration of a conditioned stimulus-unconditioned stimulus (CS-US)-contingency. Using a human conditioned suppression paradigm, we investigated the effect of repeated activations of a CS-US-contingency memory on the level of conditioned responding at a later test. Results of three experiments showed more sustained responding to a "rehearsed" CS+ as compared to a "non-rehearsed" CS+. Moreover, the second experiment showed no effect of rehearsal when only the CS was rehearsed instead of the CS-US-contingency. The third experiment demonstrated that mental CS-US-rehearsal has the same effect regardless of whether it was cued by the CS and a verbal reference to the US or by a neutral signal, making the rehearsal "purely mental." In sum, it was demonstrated that post-acquisition activation of a CS-US-contingency memory can impact conditioned responding, underlining the importance of post-acquisition processes in conditioning. This might indicate that individuals who are more prone to mentally rehearse information condition more easily.
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Affiliation(s)
- Els Joos
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Debora Vansteenwegen
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Bram Vervliet
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Dirk Hermans
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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Settling the stimulus-substitution issue is a prerequisite for sound nonteleological neural analysis of heart-rate deceleration conditioning. Behav Brain Sci 2010. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x00030715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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Abstract
Two theories have been advanced to explain the paradoxical increase in fear and avoidance seen after short unreinforced exposures to phobic stimuli. Incubation theory (Eysenck, 1968) and sensitization theory (Watts, 1971) are similar with regard to the conditions specified for enhancement of such responses. However, an incubated response is seen as specific to the CS in question, whereas sensitized responsiveness is a more generalized process. Subjects were either exposed or not exposed to a feared stimulus (cockroaches), and were then administered generalization tests to the same stimulus or to a non-feared stimulus (toad). Measures of subjective anxiety, behavioural avoidance and physiological activity were taken. No evidence was found for the enhancement phenomenon to either phobic material or non-feared material. The phenomenon does not appear to be a reliable one.
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Incubation of Anxiety: A Theory Prematurely Hatched. Behav Cogn Psychother 2009. [DOI: 10.1017/s0141347300009034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
In a recent paper Eysenck asked why conditioned responses show incrementation. In several publications he has provided the outline of an answer, which he has used in proposing a theory of the development of neuroses. It is suggested here that in the way he sets out the problem and in the development of his theory of incubation he overstates the applicability of the theory, incorporates questionable assumptions, and omits thorough consideration of competing accounts. The theory focuses on classical conditioning to the near-exclusion of other processes of behaviour change, ignores the consequences and social context of neurotic behaviour, and provides an incomplete discussion of the temporal patterning of relevant events. By taking a view which is broader in terms of psychological processes, environmental events, and temporal sequences, alternative models of the development of phobias can be offered. These involve classical and operant conditioning, and observational and informational learning.
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Armfield JM. Cognitive vulnerability: a model of the etiology of fear. Clin Psychol Rev 2006; 26:746-68. [PMID: 16806621 DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2006.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2005] [Revised: 01/31/2006] [Accepted: 03/03/2006] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
This paper attempts to fill the partial theoretical vacuum surrounding the understanding of fear acquisition. A review of recent and contemporary theories of the etiology of fear is presented, serving as a justification for further theorizing and allowing for greater understanding of those aspects of fear that remain to be adequately explained. A new model of the etiology of specific fears is subsequently put forward and the various aspects and implications of this model are discussed. How an individual perceives a stimulus is proposed as being critical in determining fear in relation to the stimulus. In particular, perceptions of the stimulus as uncontrollable, unpredictable, dangerous and disgusting create a schema of vulnerability. The Cognitive Vulnerability Model integrates much of the extensive body of research on fears and specific phobias into a unifying theory of the etiology of fear. The model offers parsimonious explanations for the various characteristics of specific fears and phobias.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason M Armfield
- Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health, School of Dentistry, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia.
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Ponnusamy R, Nissim HA, Barad M. Systemic blockade of D2-like dopamine receptors facilitates extinction of conditioned fear in mice. Learn Mem 2005; 12:399-406. [PMID: 16077018 PMCID: PMC1183258 DOI: 10.1101/lm.96605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 101] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2004] [Accepted: 06/07/2005] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Extinction of conditioned fear in animals is the explicit model of behavior therapy for human anxiety disorders, including panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Based on previous data indicating that fear extinction in rats is blocked by quinpirole, an agonist of dopamine D2 receptors, we hypothesized that blockade of D2 receptors might facilitate extinction in mice, while agonists should block extinction, as they do in rats. One day after fear conditioning mice with three pairings of a white noise conditional stimulus (CS) with moderate footshock, we injected the D2 antagonist, sulpiride, the D2 agonist, quinpirole, or vehicle, just before repeated CS presentations to generate extinction. We assayed fear by measuring behavioral freezing during extinction presentations and then drug-free during CS presentations 1 d later. We found that sulpiride injections before extinction training facilitated extinction memory 24 h later, while quinpirole partially blocked extinction memory compared with vehicle-injected controls. Notably, sulpiride treatment yielded significant extinction after spaced CS presentations, which yield no extinction at all in vehicle-treated mice. These findings suggest that dopamine D2-mediated signaling contributes physiological inhibition of extinction, and that D2 antagonists may be useful adjuncts to behavior therapy of human anxiety disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ravikumar Ponnusamy
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Neuropsychiatric Institute and Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
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Sandin B, Chorot P. Resistance to extinction of conditioned electrodermal responses: a study of the incubation fear hypothesis. Psychol Rep 2002; 91:37-46. [PMID: 12353802 DOI: 10.2466/pr0.2002.91.1.37] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
In the present study we examined Eysenck's incubation hypothesis of fear. Probability of skin conductance response (SCR) was analyzed for a sample of 79 undergraduate women, ranging in age from 18 to 25 years. Different groups of participants were conditioned to two levels of unconditioned stimuli (UCS) intensity and presented to three levels of unreinforced conditioned stimuli (CS) exposures (extinction phase) in a delay differential conditioning paradigm. The CSs were fear-relevant slides (snakes and spiders) and the UCSs were aversive tones. Analysis did not show a clear incubation effect; instead an increased resistance to extinction of SCR probability in association to the high-UCS and the short unreinforced CS presentation was evident. Findings support partially Eysenck's incubation theory of fear/anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bonifacio Sandin
- Facultad de Psicologia, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Madrid, Spain
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SANDIN BONIFACIO. RESISTANCE TO EXTINCTION OF CONDITIONED ELECTRODERMAL RESPONSES: A STUDY OF THE INCUBATION FEAR HYPOTHESIS. Psychol Rep 2002. [DOI: 10.2466/pr0.91.5.37-46] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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Chorot P, Sandín B. Effects of UCS intensity and duration of exposure of nonreinforced CS on conditioned electrodermal responses: an experimental analysis of the incubation theory of anxiety. Psychol Rep 1993; 73:931-41. [PMID: 8302996 DOI: 10.2466/pr0.1993.73.3.931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Eysenck's incubation theory of fear or anxiety was examined in a human Pavlovian conditioning experiment with skin-conductance responses as the dependent variable. The conditioned stimuli (CSs) were fear-relevant slides (snakes and spiders) and the unconditioned stimuli (UCSs) were aversive tones. Different groups of subjects were presented two tone intensities during the acquisition phase and three durations of nonreinforced CS (extinction phase) in a delay differential conditioning paradigm. Resistance to extinction of conditioned skin-conductance responses (conditioned fear responses) exhibited was largest for high intensity of tone and short presentations of the nonreinforced CS (CS+presented alone). The result tends to support Eysenck's incubation theory of anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Chorot
- Departmento de Psicología de la Personalidad, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancía, Madrid, Spain
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Classical conditioning: The hegemony is not ubiquitous. Behav Brain Sci 1993. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x00030727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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Abstract
The present experiment was designed to test Eysenck's hypothesis that repeated exposure to an unreinforced CS of brief duration following acquisition of a classical aversive CR may lead to a progressive increase in the strength of that CR, provided that the UCS is intense and the CR has drive-like properties. Using a between-groups design, normal human subjects were given identical classical acquisition trials, followed by extinction trials where CS duration was either 2, 8 or 16 sec. The UCS was of fixed high intensity. Dependent measures were tonic and phasic heart rate and skin conductance. No evidence of incubation was found as a function of CS duration. Nor was there any indication that CS duration differentially affected resistance to extinction. A small number of subjects showed evidence of incubation with heart rate measures during extinction. However, there was no indication that this enhancement was governed by the parameters suggested by Eysenck. UCR amplitude, which showed a positive correspondence with CS-bound activity throughout the trials, did not reliably predict incubation. Problems concerning both the definition and the demonstration of incubation are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Richards
- Neurological Institute, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032
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Sandin B, Chorot P. The incubation theory of fear/anxiety: experimental investigation in a human laboratory model of Pavlovian conditioning. Behav Res Ther 1989; 27:9-18. [PMID: 2914009 DOI: 10.1016/0005-7967(89)90114-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
The aim of this work was to test Eysenck's incubation theory of fear/anxiety in human Pavlovian B conditioning of heart rate (HR) responses. The conditioned stimuli (CSs) were phobia-relevant slides (snakes and spiders) and the unconditioned stimuli (UCSs) were aversive noises. The subjects were presented with two levels of noise intensity during acquisition and three levels of nonreinforced CS presentation (CS-only) in a delay differential (CS+/CS-) conditioning paradigm (2 x 3 x 2). Consistent with the incubation theory, conditioned HR acceleratory responses were sustained (resistance to extinction) for high-noise intensity and short-presentations of CS-only subjects. During the extinction phase, HR acceleratory responses quickly extinguished in low-noise intensity groups after the first presentations of CS-only. These findings were interpreted as support for the incubation theory of phobic fear.
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Boyd TL. The interactive effects of stimulus generalization decrement and contextual pre-exposure cues upon fear incubation. Behav Res Ther 1984. [DOI: 10.1016/0005-7967(84)90030-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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