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Lommen MJJ, Hoekstra S, van den Brink RHS, Lenaert B. Fear generalization predicts post-traumatic stress symptoms: A two-year follow-up study in Dutch fire fighters. J Anxiety Disord 2024; 103:102855. [PMID: 38484507 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2024.102855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2023] [Revised: 01/20/2024] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 04/21/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Excessive fear generalization has been associated with pathological anxiety, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, studies investigating the longitudinal relationship between generalization and the development of anxiety symptomatology are scarce. This study aims to test the predictive value of fear generalization for PTSD symptoms in a high-risk profession sample and to explore the relationship between generalization and neuroticism, which are both linked to PTSD. METHOD Longitudinal data from a multi-wave study in 529 Dutch fire-fighters were used. Fear generalization, PTSD symptoms and neuroticism were assessed at baseline. PTSD symptoms were reevaluated at six, 12, 18, and 24 months. Generalization was assessed in a differential conditioning paradigm by measuring expectancies of an aversive outcome when presented with stimuli similar to previously conditioned stimuli. RESULTS Higher expectancy ratings towards stimuli most similar to safety signals predicted PTSD symptoms at follow-up after controlling for baseline PTSD symptoms, whereas higher expectancy ratings towards stimuli most similar to danger signals was associated with neuroticism. Neuroticism weakened the predictive power of fear generalization when considered simultaneously. DISCUSSION These findings suggest that heightened fear generalization is associated with the development of anxiety and trauma-related symptoms. Targeting problematic fear generalization may be a promising intervention approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miriam J J Lommen
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology, University of Groningen, the Netherlands.
| | | | - Rob H S van den Brink
- Department of Psychiatry, Rob Giel Research Center, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Bert Lenaert
- Department of Life Span Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Open University, Heerlen, the Netherlands; Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
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2
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Gao Y, Fan M, Li Y, Zhao S, Chen W, Zhang D, Zheng X. Contingency Reversal in Conditioned Fear Learning: The Moderated Mediation Model of Intolerance of Uncertainty and Instruction. Psychol Res Behav Manag 2024; 17:1007-1020. [PMID: 38500554 PMCID: PMC10945213 DOI: 10.2147/prbm.s447426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Objective The study aimed to examine the roles of anxiety and intolerance of uncertainty (IU) in conditioned fear learning under an uncertain context induced by the contingency reversal of the association between the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus (CS-US). Methods The study sample comprised 53 participants, randomly divided into two groups: a non-instruction group and an instruction group. The experimental procedure encompassed five stages: pre-acquisition, acquisition, generalization, reversal acquisition, and reversal generalization. Our study primarily focused on analyzing a moderated mediation model. Results In the instructed group, we observed that the reversed fear generalization response was directly influenced by the pre-reversal fear generalization response, while also being indirectly mediated by the IU factor. However, in the non-instructed group, we did not find a significant mediating effect of IU. Moreover, we noted that the mediation of IU was contingent on the instructional information. It is noteworthy that anxiety did not exhibit a discernible role in conditioned fear within the uncertainty condition in our study. Conclusion The findings provide novel insights into fear-related phenomena, emphasizing the intricate interplay between individual traits and fear generalization under conditions of uncertainty. They contribute to understanding the mechanisms of emotional and cognitive interactions in uncertain conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Gao
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510663, People’s Republic of China
| | - Min Fan
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510663, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yu Li
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510663, People’s Republic of China
| | - Shaochen Zhao
- Guangdong-Hongkong-Macao Policing Model Innovation Research Center, China People’s Police University, Guangzhou, 510663, People’s Republic of China
| | - Wei Chen
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510663, People’s Republic of China
| | - Donghuan Zhang
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510663, People’s Republic of China
| | - Xifu Zheng
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510663, People’s Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition, and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, 510663, People’s Republic of China
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3
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On making (and turning adaptive to) maladaptive aversive memories in laboratory rodents. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 147:105101. [PMID: 36804263 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2022] [Revised: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2023]
Abstract
Fear conditioning and avoidance tasks usually elicit adaptive aversive memories. Traumatic memories are more intense, generalized, inflexible, and resistant to attenuation via extinction- and reconsolidation-based strategies. Inducing and assessing these dysfunctional, maladaptive features in the laboratory are crucial to interrogating posttraumatic stress disorder's neurobiology and exploring innovative treatments. Here we analyze over 350 studies addressing this question in adult rats and mice. There is a growing interest in modeling several qualitative and quantitative memory changes by exposing already stressed animals to freezing- and avoidance-related tests or using a relatively high aversive training magnitude. Other options combine aversive/fearful tasks with post-acquisition or post-retrieval administration of one or more drugs provoking neurochemical or epigenetic alterations reported in the trauma aftermath. It is potentially instructive to integrate these procedures and incorporate the measurement of autonomic and endocrine parameters. Factors to consider when defining the organismic and procedural variables, partially neglected aspects (sex-dependent differences and recent vs. remote data comparison) and suggestions for future research (identifying reliable individual risk and treatment-response predictors) are discussed.
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Zhu X, Suarez-Jimenez B, Lazarov A, Such S, Marohasy C, Small SS, Wager TD, Lindquist MA, Lissek S, Neria Y. Sequential fear generalization and network connectivity in trauma exposed humans with and without psychopathology. Commun Biol 2022; 5:1275. [PMID: 36414703 PMCID: PMC9681725 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-04228-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
While impaired fear generalization is known to underlie a wide range of psychopathology, the extent to which exposure to trauma by itself results in deficient fear generalization and its neural abnormalities is yet to be studied. Similarly, the neural function of intact fear generalization in people who endured trauma and did not develop significant psychopathology is yet to be characterized. Here, we utilize a generalization fMRI task, and a network connectivity approach to clarify putative behavioral and neural markers of trauma and resilience. The generalization task enables longitudinal assessments of threat discrimination learning. Trauma-exposed participants (TE; N = 62), compared to healthy controls (HC; N = 26), show lower activity reduction in salience network (SN) and right executive control network (RECN) across the two sequential generalization stages, and worse discrimination learning in SN measured by linear deviation scores (LDS). Comparison of resilient, trauma-exposed healthy control participants (TEHC; N = 31), trauma exposed individuals presenting with psychopathology (TEPG; N = 31), and HC, reveals a resilience signature of network connectivity differences in the RECN during generalization learning measured by LDS. These findings may indicate a trauma exposure phenotype that has the potential to advance the development of innovative treatments by targeting and engaging specific neural dysfunction among trauma-exposed individuals, across different psychopathologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xi Zhu
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.,New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Amit Lazarov
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.,School School of Psychological Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - Sara Such
- Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, USA
| | - Caroline Marohasy
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Scott S Small
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.,New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Neurology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, USA
| | - Tor D Wager
- Neuroscience Department, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
| | - Martin A Lindquist
- Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Shmuel Lissek
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Yuval Neria
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA. .,New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA. .,Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
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5
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Robust Permutation Tests for Penalized Splines. STATS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/stats5030053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Penalized splines are frequently used in applied research for understanding functional relationships between variables. In most applications, statistical inference for penalized splines is conducted using the random effects or Bayesian interpretation of a smoothing spline. These interpretations can be used to assess the uncertainty of the fitted values and the estimated component functions. However, statistical tests about the nature of the function are more difficult, because such tests often involve testing a null hypothesis that a variance component is equal to zero. Furthermore, valid statistical inference using the random effects or Bayesian interpretation depends on the validity of the utilized parametric assumptions. To overcome these limitations, I propose a flexible and robust permutation testing framework for inference with penalized splines. The proposed approach can be used to test omnibus hypotheses about functional relationships, as well as more flexible hypotheses about conditional relationships. I establish the conditions under which the methods will produce exact results, as well as the asymptotic behavior of the various permutation tests. Additionally, I present extensive simulation results to demonstrate the robustness and superiority of the proposed approach compared to commonly used methods.
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Cross-Validation, Information Theory, or Maximum Likelihood? A Comparison of Tuning Methods for Penalized Splines. STATS 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/stats4030042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Functional data analysis techniques, such as penalized splines, have become common tools used in a variety of applied research settings. Penalized spline estimators are frequently used in applied research to estimate unknown functions from noisy data. The success of these estimators depends on choosing a tuning parameter that provides the correct balance between fitting and smoothing the data. Several different smoothing parameter selection methods have been proposed for choosing a reasonable tuning parameter. The proposed methods generally fall into one of three categories: cross-validation methods, information theoretic methods, or maximum likelihood methods. Despite the well-known importance of selecting an ideal smoothing parameter, there is little agreement in the literature regarding which method(s) should be considered when analyzing real data. In this paper, we address this issue by exploring the practical performance of six popular tuning methods under a variety of simulated and real data situations. Our results reveal that maximum likelihood methods outperform the popular cross-validation methods in most situations—especially in the presence of correlated errors. Furthermore, our results reveal that the maximum likelihood methods perform well even when the errors are non-Gaussian and/or heteroscedastic. For real data applications, we recommend comparing results using cross-validation and maximum likelihood tuning methods, given that these methods tend to perform similarly (differently) when the model is correctly (incorrectly) specified.
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Wang J, Sun X, Lu J, Dou H, Lei Y. Generalization gradients for fear and disgust in human associative learning. Sci Rep 2021; 11:14210. [PMID: 34244571 PMCID: PMC8270915 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-93544-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous research indicates that excessive fear is a critical feature in anxiety disorders; however, recent studies suggest that disgust may also contribute to the etiology and maintenance of some anxiety disorders. It remains unclear if differences exist between these two threat-related emotions in conditioning and generalization. Evaluating different patterns of fear and disgust learning would facilitate a deeper understanding of how anxiety disorders develop. In this study, 32 college students completed threat conditioning tasks, including conditioned stimuli paired with frightening or disgusting images. Fear and disgust were divided into two randomly ordered blocks to examine differences by recording subjective US expectancy ratings and eye movements in the conditioning and generalization process. During conditioning, differing US expectancy ratings (fear vs. disgust) were found only on CS-, which may demonstrated that fear is associated with inferior discrimination learning. During the generalization test, participants exhibited greater US expectancy ratings to fear-related GS1 (generalized stimulus) and GS2 relative to disgust GS1 and GS2. Fear led to longer reaction times than disgust in both phases, and the pupil size and fixation duration for fear stimuli were larger than for disgust stimuli, suggesting that disgust generalization has a steeper gradient than fear generalization. These findings provide preliminary evidence for differences between fear- and disgust-related stimuli in conditioning and generalization, and suggest insights into treatment for anxiety and other fear- or disgust-related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinxia Wang
- Institute for Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610066, China.,Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Jyvaskyla, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Xiaoying Sun
- Ningxia College of Construction, Ningxia, 750021, China
| | - Jiachen Lu
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - HaoRan Dou
- Institute for Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610066, China.,Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Jyvaskyla, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Yi Lei
- Institute for Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, 610066, China. .,Center for Neurogenetics, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen, 518057, China.
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Matsuda VDV, Tejada MB, Motta-Teixeira LC, Ikebara JM, Cardoso DS, Machado-Nils AV, Lee VY, Diccini I, Arruda BP, Martins PP, Dias NMM, Tessarotto RP, Raeisossadati R, Bruno M, Takase LF, Kihara AH, Nogueira MI, Xavier GF, Takada SH. Impact of neonatal anoxia and hypothermic treatment on development and memory of rats. Exp Neurol 2021; 340:113691. [PMID: 33713657 DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2021.113691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2020] [Revised: 02/18/2021] [Accepted: 03/07/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) is well established as a standard treatment for term and near-term infants. However, therapeutic effects of hypothermia following neonatal anoxia in very premature babies remains inconclusive. The present rodent model of preterm neonatal anoxia has been shown to alter developmental milestones and hippocampal neurogenesis, and to disrupt spatial learning and memory in adulthood. These effects seem to be reduced by post-insult hypothermia. Epigenetic-related mechanisms have been postulated as valuable tools for developing new therapies. Dentate gyrus neurogenesis is regulated by epigenetic factors. This study evaluated whether TH effects in a rodent model of preterm oxygen deprivation are based on epigenetic alterations. The effects of TH on both developmental features (somatic growth, maturation of physical characteristics and early neurological reflexes) and performance of behavioral tasks at adulthood (spatial reference and working memory, and fear conditioning) were investigated in association with the possible involvement of the epigenetic operator Enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (Ezh2), possibly related to long-lasting effects on hippocampal neurogenesis. Results showed that TH reduced both anoxia-induced hippocampal neurodegeneration and anoxia-induced impairments on risk assessment behavior, acquisition of spatial memory, and extinction of auditory and contextual fear conditioning. In contrast, TH did not prevent developmental alterations caused by neonatal anoxia and did not restore hippocampal neurogenesis or cause changes in EZH2 levels. In conclusion, despite the beneficial effects of TH in hippocampal neurodegeneration and in reversing disruption of performance of behavioral tasks following oxygen deprivation in prematurity, these effects seem not related to developmental alterations and hippocampal neurogenesis and, apparently, is not caused by Ezh2-mediated epigenetic alteration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor Daniel Vasquez Matsuda
- Neuroscience and Behaviour Laboratory, Department of Physiology, Institute of Biosciences, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil; Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Anatomy, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Martin Bustelo Tejada
- Department of Pediatrics, Maastricht University Medical Center (MUMC), Maastricht, the Netherlands; Experimental Neuropathology Laboratory, Institute of Cellular Biology and Neuroscience "Prof. E. De Robertis" (IBCN), Faculty of Medicine, University of Buenos Aires, CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNs), Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands; Biomedical Sciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Catholic University of Cuyo, San Juan, Argentina; Neurogenetics Laboratory, Universidade Federal do ABC, São Bernardo do Campo, SP, Brazil
| | - Lívia Clemente Motta-Teixeira
- Neuroscience and Behaviour Laboratory, Department of Physiology, Institute of Biosciences, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Juliane Midori Ikebara
- Neurogenetics Laboratory, Universidade Federal do ABC, São Bernardo do Campo, SP, Brazil
| | | | - Aline Vilar Machado-Nils
- Neuroscience and Behaviour Laboratory, Department of Physiology, Institute of Biosciences, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Vitor Yonamine Lee
- Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Anatomy, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Isabelle Diccini
- Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Anatomy, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Bruna Petrucelli Arruda
- Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Anatomy, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil; Neurogenetics Laboratory, Universidade Federal do ABC, São Bernardo do Campo, SP, Brazil
| | | | | | | | - Reza Raeisossadati
- Neurogenetics Laboratory, Universidade Federal do ABC, São Bernardo do Campo, SP, Brazil
| | - Martin Bruno
- Biomedical Sciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Catholic University of Cuyo, San Juan, Argentina; National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET), Argentina
| | - Luiz Fernando Takase
- Department of Morphology and Pathology, Biological Sciences and Health Center, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil
| | | | - Maria Inês Nogueira
- Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Anatomy, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Gilberto Fernando Xavier
- Neuroscience and Behaviour Laboratory, Department of Physiology, Institute of Biosciences, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Silvia Honda Takada
- Neurogenetics Laboratory, Universidade Federal do ABC, São Bernardo do Campo, SP, Brazil.
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Memories of 100 years of human fear conditioning research and expectations for its future. Behav Res Ther 2020; 135:103732. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2020.103732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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10
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Predicting susceptibility and resilience in an animal model of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Transl Psychiatry 2020; 10:243. [PMID: 32694545 PMCID: PMC7374603 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-020-00929-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2020] [Revised: 06/25/2020] [Accepted: 07/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder whose pathogenesis relies on a maladaptive expression of the memory for a life-threatening experience, characterized by over-consolidation, generalization, and impaired extinction, which are responsible of dramatic changes in arousal, mood, anxiety, and social behavior. Even if subjects experiencing a traumatic event during lifetime all show an acute response to the trauma, only a subset of them (susceptible) ultimately develops PTSD, meanwhile the others (resilient) fully recover after the first acute response. However, the dynamic relationships between the interacting brain circuits that might potentially link trauma-related experiences to the emergence of susceptible and resilient PTSD phenotypes in individuals is not well understood. Toward the first step to reach this goal, we have implemented our experimental PTSD model previously developed, making it suitable to differentiate between susceptible (high responders, HR) and resilient (low responders, LR) rats in terms of over-consolidation, impaired extinction, and social impairment long after trauma. Rats were exposed to five footshocks paired with social isolation. One week after trauma but before extinction, animals were tested in the Open Field and Social Interaction tasks for the identification of a predictive variable to identify susceptible and resilient animals before the possible appearance of a PTSD-like phenotype. Our findings show that exploratory activity after trauma in a novel environment is a very robust variable to predict susceptibility towards a PTSD-like phenotype. This experimental model is thus able to screen and differentiate, before extinction learning and potential therapeutic intervention, susceptible and resilient PTSD-like rats.
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