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Reversing threat contingencies enhances generalization of conditioned fear. LEARNING AND MOTIVATION 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.lmot.2022.101843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Hunt C, Webler R, Emich A, Fhong K, Hiljus J, Lissek S. Pre-COVID-19 fear conditioning responses predict COVID-19-related anxiety: evidence from an exploratory study. ANXIETY, STRESS, AND COPING 2022; 35:547-556. [PMID: 35114878 DOI: 10.1080/10615806.2022.2033735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2021] [Revised: 12/23/2021] [Accepted: 01/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Fear conditioning represents the prevailing model by which organisms acquire novel threat contingencies. However, little work has been devoted to linking laboratory measures of fear conditioning to the development of real-world threat responses. To fill this gap, the present study explored whether individual differences in a laboratory-based fear conditioning measure could predict levels of COVID-19-related anxiety and avoidance assessed during the first month of the pandemic. DESIGN AND METHOD Forty-eight undergraduate students who had previously participated in two fear conditioning experiments prior to COVID-19 completed a survey assessing COVID-19 anxiety and avoidance. The fear conditioning experiment involved learning to discriminate between a shape contingently associated with mild electric shock (CS+) and two other shapes that were not (CS-). RESULTS Increased subjective anxiety to our laboratory CS+ prior to the pandemic predicted heightened COVID-19 anxiety. Follow-up analyses revealed that participants with high COVID-19 anxiety exhibited increased anxiety to CS+ during the final experimental block relative to participants with low COVID-19 anxiety. CONCLUSIONS Findings from this exploratory study tentatively implicate fear conditioning in the development of real-world fear responses and underscore the importance of investigating laboratory fear conditioning as a predictor of anxiety responses to real-world threats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Hunt
- Clinical Science and Psychopathology Research Program, Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Campus, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Ryan Webler
- Clinical Science and Psychopathology Research Program, Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Campus, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Abigail Emich
- Clinical Science and Psychopathology Research Program, Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Campus, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Kimberly Fhong
- Clinical Science and Psychopathology Research Program, Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Campus, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Jenna Hiljus
- Clinical Science and Psychopathology Research Program, Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Campus, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Shmuel Lissek
- Clinical Science and Psychopathology Research Program, Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Campus, Minneapolis, MN, USA
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Hunt C, Fleig R, Almy B, Lissek S. Heightened false alarms of conditioned threat predict longitudinal increases in GAD and SAD symptoms over the first year of college. J Anxiety Disord 2022; 87:102539. [PMID: 35134626 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2022.102539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2021] [Revised: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Lab-based fear-conditioning studies have repeatedly implicated exaggerated threat reactivity to benign (unreinforced) stimuli as concurrent markers of clinical anxiety, but little work has examined the strength of false alarms as a longitudinal predictor of anxiety problems. As such, we tested whether heightened false alarms of conditioned threat assessed in participants' first semester of college predicted second-semester symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and social anxiety disorder (SAD) - two anxiety conditions that are common in college students, have been associated with excessive false alarms, and have yet to be assessed with longitudinal conditioning designs. Here, we focused on the predictive effects of behavioral threat responses (threat expectancy, subjective anxiety, avoidance) given their greater potential for translation to the clinic. Results implicate conditioning-related increases in anxiety to safe stimuli resembling the danger-cue as prospective predictors of GAD. In contrast, SAD was predicted by non-specific elevations in anxiety to a broad set of safe stimuli, as well as by increased threat expectancy toward cues least resembling the conditioned danger cue. These findings suggest that risk for GAD and SAD are captured by distinct, behavioral indicators of false-alarms that may be more feasibly collected in clinical settings compared to alternative experimental anxiety measures like psychophysiological responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Hunt
- Clinical Science and Psychopathology Research Program, Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota-Twin City Campus, USA.
| | - Ryan Fleig
- Clinical Science and Psychopathology Research Program, Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota-Twin City Campus, USA
| | - Brandon Almy
- Clinical Science and Psychopathology Research Program, Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota-Twin City Campus, USA
| | - Shmuel Lissek
- Clinical Science and Psychopathology Research Program, Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota-Twin City Campus, USA
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4
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Heightened generalized conditioned fear and avoidance in women and underlying psychological processes. Behav Res Ther 2022; 151:104051. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2022.104051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2020] [Revised: 01/12/2022] [Accepted: 01/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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5
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Polusny MA, Marquardt CA, Campbell EH, Filetti CR, Noël VV, Disner SG, Schaefer JD, Davenport N, Lissek S, Noorbaloochi S, Sponheim SR, Erbes CR. Advancing Research on Mechanisms of Resilience (ARMOR) Longitudinal Cohort Study of New Military Recruits: Results from a Feasibility Pilot Study. RESEARCH IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT 2021; 18:212-229. [PMID: 34887706 DOI: 10.1080/15427609.2021.1964898] [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: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Psychological resilience as a longitudinal process is highly relevant for understanding the functioning outcomes of military populations. Here, we review the extant literature on resilience among military service members, focusing on National Guard Soldiers. Our specific project (Advancing Research on Mechanisms of Resilience, "ARMOR") aims to develop a comprehensive model of resilience using a multilevel perspective. We report results from our prospective pilot study (n = 103) conducted in preparation for our large-scale longitudinal cohort study of Basic Combat Training (BCT) and its impact on military recruits' wellbeing. Results support feasibility of the larger study, evidence for a new measure of BCT stressor exposure, and demonstrate preliminary associations with BCT-related stressors and longitudinal changes in adaptive functioning. Future directions for our larger study will utilize data from survey responses, structured clinical interviews, neurobehavioral tasks, and neurobiological measures (functional and structural MRI and electroencephalography [EEG]) to examine individual differences in self-regulation as a predictor of resilience-related processes. ARMOR is well positioned to elucidate mechanisms that could be targeted for promoting wellbeing, preventing psychopathology, and facilitating long-term recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa A Polusny
- Minneapolis VA Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN.,Center for Care Delivery and Outcomes Research, Minneapolis, MN.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
| | - Craig A Marquardt
- Minneapolis VA Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
| | - Emily Hagel Campbell
- Center for Care Delivery and Outcomes Research, Minneapolis, MN.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
| | - Clarissa R Filetti
- Minneapolis VA Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
| | - Valentin V Noël
- Minneapolis VA Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
| | - Seth G Disner
- Minneapolis VA Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
| | | | - Nicholas Davenport
- Minneapolis VA Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
| | - Shmuel Lissek
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
| | - Siamak Noorbaloochi
- Minneapolis VA Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN.,Center for Care Delivery and Outcomes Research, Minneapolis, MN.,Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
| | - Scott R Sponheim
- Minneapolis VA Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
| | - Christopher R Erbes
- Minneapolis VA Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN.,Center for Care Delivery and Outcomes Research, Minneapolis, MN.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
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Berg H, Hunt C, Cooper SE, Olatunji BO, Lissek S. Generalization of conditioned disgust and the attendant maladaptive avoidance: Validation of a novel paradigm and effects of trait disgust-proneness. Behav Res Ther 2021; 146:103966. [PMID: 34560412 DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2021.103966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2021] [Revised: 09/04/2021] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Overgeneralization of conditioned fear to safe stimuli that resemble a previously-learned threat-cue is a well-studied correlate of clinical anxiety, yet whether conditioned disgust generalizes remains unknown, as does the extent to which such generalization is associated with disgust-related traits and maladaptive outcomes. The present study addresses this gap by adapting a validated fear-generalization paradigm to assess conditioned disgust and behavioral avoidance to a disgust-cue (CS+) paired with a disgusting video clip, and safe generalization stimuli parametrically varying in perceptual similarity to CS+. For comparison, levels of fear generalization were also assessed using the original fear-generalization paradigm. In both paradigms, costly and unnecessary avoidance to safe threat-cue approximations analogues maladaptive outcomes of generalization. In the disgust paradigm only, disgust-proneness was associated with elevated perceived risk to safe stimuli and increases in the extent to which such elevations were accompanied by maladaptive avoidance. Comparable levels of generalization, and positive associations between generalization and maladaptive avoidance, were found across disgust and fear paradigms. Results confirm that conditioned disgust is subject to generalization, implicate generalized disgust as a source of maladaptive avoidance particularly among those prone to disgust, and suggest a potential role for these processes in the etiology and maintenance of disgust-related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah Berg
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, 75 E River Rd, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.
| | - Christopher Hunt
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, 75 E River Rd, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.
| | - Samuel E Cooper
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, 75 E River Rd, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.
| | - Bunmi O Olatunji
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, PMB 407817, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA.
| | - Shmuel Lissek
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, 75 E River Rd, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.
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Influence of Perceptual and Conceptual Information on Fear Generalization: A Behavioral and Event-Related Potential Study. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2021; 21:1054-1065. [PMID: 34021495 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-021-00912-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Learned fear can be generalized through both perceptual and conceptual information. This study investigated how perceptual and conceptual similarities influence this generalization process. Twenty-three healthy volunteers completed a fear-generalization test as brain activity was recorded in the form of event-related potentials (ERPs). Participants were exposed to a de novo fear acquisition paradigm with four categories of conditioned stimuli (CS): two conceptual cues (animals and furniture); and two perceptual cues (blue and purple shapes). Animals (C+) and purple shapes (P+) were paired with the unconditioned stimulus (US), whereas furniture (C-) and blue shapes (P-) never were. The generalized stimuli were thus blue animals (C+P+, determined danger), blue furniture (C-P+, perceptual danger), purple animals (C+P-, conceptual danger), and purple furniture (C-P-, determined safe). We found that perceptual cues elicited larger fear responses and shorter reaction times than did conceptual cues during fear acquisition. This suggests that a perceptually related pathway might evoke greater fear than a conceptually based route. During generalization, participants were more afraid of C+ exemplars than of C- exemplars. Furthermore, C+ trials elicited greater N400 amplitudes. Thus, participants appear able to use conceptually based cues to infer the value of the current stimuli. Additionally, compared with C+ exemplars, we found an enhanced late positive potential effect in response to C- exemplars, which seems to reflect a late inhibitory process and might index safety learning. These findings may offer new insights into the pathological mechanism of anxiety disorders.
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Sauer KS, Jungmann SM, Witthöft M. Emotional and Behavioral Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Health Anxiety, Intolerance of Uncertainty, and Distress (In)Tolerance. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2020; 17:E7241. [PMID: 33022993 PMCID: PMC7578938 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17197241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2020] [Revised: 09/27/2020] [Accepted: 09/28/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic represents a worldwide threat to mental health. To optimize the allocation of health care resources, research on specific vulnerability factors, such as health anxiety, intolerance of uncertainty, and distress (in)tolerance, and particularly their effect on the time course of SARS-CoV-2 related anxiety appears crucial for supporting high risk groups suffering from elevated mental distress during the pandemic. N = 887 participants (78.4% female; Mage = 38.15, SD = 17.04) completed an online survey in Germany (April to mid-May 2020), comprising measures of SARS-CoV-2 related anxiety, health anxiety, safety and preventive behavior, intolerance of uncertainty, and distress intolerance. Higher levels of health anxiety pre and during COVID-19 were associated with an initially intensified increase (b = 1.10, p < 0.001), but later on a more rapid dampening (b = -0.18, p < 0.001) of SARS-CoV-2 related anxiety. SARS-CoV-2 related preventive behavior was intensified by both pre (b = 0.06, p = 0.01) and during (b = 0.15, p < 0.001) COVID-19 health anxiety, while reassurance behavior only was associated with health anxiety during COVID-19 (b = 0.14, p < 0.001). Distress intolerance and intolerance of uncertainty did not moderate the relationship between health anxiety and SARS-CoV-2 related anxiety and behavior. The results suggest detrimental effects of health anxiety on the emotional and behavioral response to virus outbreaks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karoline S. Sauer
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy, and Experimental Psychopathology, Johannes Gutenberg-University of Mainz, Wallstraße 3, 55122 Mainz, Germany; (S.M.J.); (M.W.)
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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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10
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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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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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12
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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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Pittig A, Dehler J. Same fear responses, less avoidance: Rewards competing with aversive outcomes do not buffer fear acquisition, but attenuate avoidance to accelerate subsequent fear extinction. Behav Res Ther 2019; 112:1-11. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2018.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2018] [Revised: 09/17/2018] [Accepted: 11/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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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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15
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Pittig A, Treanor M, LeBeau RT, Craske MG. The role of associative fear and avoidance learning in anxiety disorders: Gaps and directions for future research. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2018; 88:117-140. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.03.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 115] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2017] [Revised: 02/16/2018] [Accepted: 03/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
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