1
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Shner-Livne G, Barak N, Shitrit I, Abend R, Shechner T. Late positive potential reveals sustained threat contingencies despite extinction in adolescents but not adults. Psychol Med 2024:1-12. [PMID: 39238134 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291724001314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/07/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Major theories link threat learning processes to anxiety symptoms, which typically emerge during adolescence. While this developmental stage is marked by substantial maturation of the neural circuity involved in threat learning, research directly examining adolescence-specific patterns of neural responding during threat learning is scarce. This study compared adolescents and adults in acquisition and extinction of conditioned threat responses assessed at the cognitive, psychophysiological, and neural levels, focusing on the late positive potential (LPP), an event-related potential (ERP) component indexing emotional valence. METHOD Sixty-five adults and 63 adolescents completed threat acquisition and extinction, 24 h apart, using the bell conditioning paradigm. Self-reported fear, skin conductance responses (SCR), and ERPs were measured. RESULTS Developmental differences emerged in neural and psychophysiological responses during threat acquisition, with adolescents displaying heightened LPP responses to threat and safety cues as well as heightened threat-specific SCR compared to adults. During extinction, SCR suggested comparable reduction in conditioned threat responses across groups, while LPP revealed incomplete extinction only among adolescents. Finally, age moderated the link between anxiety severity and LPP-assessed extinction, whereby greater anxiety severity was associated with reduced extinction among younger participants. CONCLUSIONS In line with developmental theories, adolescence is characterized by a specific age-related difficulty adapting to diminishing emotional significance of prior threats, contributing to heightened vulnerability to anxiety symptoms. Further, LPP appears to be sensitive to developmental differences in threat learning and may thus potentially serve as a useful biomarker in research on adolescents, threat learning, and anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gil Shner-Livne
- School of Psychological Sciences and the Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Nadav Barak
- School of Psychological Sciences and the Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Ido Shitrit
- School of Psychological Sciences and the Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Rany Abend
- Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel
| | - Tomer Shechner
- School of Psychological Sciences and the Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
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2
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Wong AHK, Pittig A, Engelhard IM. The generalization of threat beliefs to novel safety stimuli induced by safety behaviors. Behav Brain Res 2024; 470:115078. [PMID: 38825020 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2024] [Revised: 04/08/2024] [Accepted: 05/30/2024] [Indexed: 06/04/2024]
Abstract
Safety behaviors are responses that can reduce or even prevent an expected threat. Moreover, empirical studies have shown that using safety behaviors to a learnt safety stimulus can induce threat beliefs to it. No research so far has examined whether threat beliefs induced this way generalize to other novel stimuli related to the safety stimulus. Using a fear and avoidance conditioning model, the current study (n=116) examined whether threat beliefs induced by safety behaviors generalize to other novel generalization stimuli (GSs). Participants first acquired safety behaviors to a threat predicting conditioned stimulus (CSthreat). Safety behaviors could then be performed in response to one safe stimulus (CSsafeShift) but not to another (CSsafe). In a following generalization test, participants showed a significant but small increase in threat expectancies to GSs related to CSsafeShift compared to GSs related to CSsafe. Interestingly, the degree of safety behaviors used to the CSsafeShift predicted the subsequent increase in generalized threat expectancies, and this link was elevated in trait anxious individuals. The findings suggest that threat beliefs induced by unnecessary safety behaviors generalize to other related stimuli. This study provides a potential explanation for the root of threat belief acquisition to a wide range of stimuli or situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex H K Wong
- Department of Psychology, Educational Sciences, and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Burgemeester Oudlaan 50, Rotterdam 3062 PA, the Netherlands.
| | - Andre Pittig
- Translational Psychotherapy, Institute of Psychology, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Kurze-Geismar-Straße 1, Göttingen 37073, Germany
| | - Iris M Engelhard
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80140, Utrecht 3508 TC, the Netherlands
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3
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Castagna PJ, Edgar EV, Delpech R, Topel S, Kortink ED, van der Molen MJW, Crowley MJ. Computational modeling of social evaluative decision-making elucidates individual differences in adolescent anxiety. JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE : THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE 2024. [PMID: 38961725 DOI: 10.1111/jora.12999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 06/26/2024] [Indexed: 07/05/2024]
Abstract
Adolescents experience significant developmental changes during a time of heightened sensitivity to social cues, particularly rejection by peers, which can be especially overwhelming for those with elevated levels of social anxiety. Social evaluative decision-making tasks have been useful in uncovering the neural correlates of information processing biases; however, linking youths' task-based performance to individual differences in psychopathology (e.g., anxiety symptoms) has proven more elusive. Here, we address this weakness with drift diffusion modeling to decompose youths' performance on the social judgment paradigm (SJP) to determine if this approach is useful in discovering individual differences in anxiety symptoms, as well as puberty, age, and sex. A sample of 103 adolescents (55 males, Mage = 14.49, SD = 1.69) completed the SJP and self-report measures of anxiety, as well as self- and parent-reported measures of puberty. The decision threshold parameter, reflecting the amount of evidence needed to make a social evaluative decision, predicted youth self-reported anxiety, above and beyond typical metrics of SJP performance. Our results highlight the potential advantage of parsing task performance according to the underlying cognitive processes. Future research would likely benefit from applying computational modeling approaches to social judgment tasks when attempting to uncover performance-based individual differences in psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter J Castagna
- Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA
| | - Elizabeth V Edgar
- Yale School of Medicine, Yale Child Study Center, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Raphaëlle Delpech
- Yale School of Medicine, Yale Child Study Center, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Selin Topel
- Clinical Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Elise D Kortink
- Developmental and Educational Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Melle J W van der Molen
- Developmental and Educational Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Michael J Crowley
- Yale School of Medicine, Yale Child Study Center, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
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4
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Rosenberg BM, Young KS, Nusslock R, Zinbarg RE, Craske MG. Anhedonia is associated with overgeneralization of conditioned fear during late adolescence and early adulthood. J Anxiety Disord 2024; 105:102880. [PMID: 38833961 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2024.102880] [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: 11/10/2023] [Revised: 04/24/2024] [Accepted: 05/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/06/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pavlovian fear paradigms involve learning to associate cues with threat or safety. Aberrances in Pavlovian fear learning correlate with psychopathology, especially anxiety disorders. This study evaluated symptom dimensions of anxiety and depression in relation to Pavlovian fear acquisition and generalization. METHODS 256 participants (70.31 % female) completed a Pavlovian fear acquisition and generalization paradigm at ages 18-19 and 21-22 years. Analyses focused on indices of learning (self-reported US expectancy, skin conductance). Multilevel models tested associations with orthogonal symptom dimensions (Anhedonia-Apprehension, Fears, General Distress) at each timepoint. RESULTS All dimensions were associated with weaker acquisition of US expectancies at each timepoint. Fears was associated with overgeneralization only at age 21-22. General Distress was associated with overgeneralization only at age 18-19. Anhedonia-Apprehension was associated with overgeneralization at ages 18-19 and 21-22. CONCLUSIONS Anhedonia-Apprehension disrupts Pavlovian fear acquisition and increases overgeneralization of fear. These effects may emerge during adolescence and remain into young adulthood. General Distress and Fears also contribute to overgeneralization of fear, but these effects may vary as prefrontal mechanisms of fear inhibition continue to develop during late adolescence. Targeting specific symptom dimensions, particularly Anhedonia-Apprehension, may decrease fear generalization and augment interventions built on Pavlovian principles, such as exposure therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin M Rosenberg
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA.
| | - Katherine S Young
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Robin Nusslock
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA; Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Richard E Zinbarg
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA; The Family Institute at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Michelle G Craske
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA
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5
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Baker AE, Padgaonkar NT, Galván A, Peris TS. Anxiety may alter the role of fronto-striatal circuitry in adolescent risky decision-making. J Affect Disord 2024; 348:238-247. [PMID: 38160886 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.12.063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2023] [Revised: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/24/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Anxiety disorders often emerge in adolescence and are associated with risk aversion. Risk aversion conflicts with the typical adolescent approach-motivated phenotype and can interfere with learning and contribute to symptom maintenance. METHODS We investigated the neural and behavioral correlates of risk avoidance in a diverse sample of adolescents (N = 137; MAge = 11.3; 34.3 % white, 22.1 % Latino, 20 % Asian, 14.3 % Black, 9.3 % Mixed Race) as they completed a task involving risky decision-making and response inhibition during fMRI. Voluntary cautious choice was compared to successful response inhibition to isolate the neural systems underlying the decision to avoid a risk and identify their relation to risk-taking and anxiety in adolescents. RESULTS Anxious adolescents self-reported more avoidance but demonstrated normative risk-taking on the laboratory task. Interestingly, they responded quickly during response inhibition but took longer to decide in the face of risk. All youth showed widespread recruitment of decision-making and salience network regions when deciding to avoid risk. The neural mechanisms driving avoidance differed based on anxiety such that left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) activation was linked to risk avoidance in adolescents with low anxiety and risk-taking in anxious adolescents, while striatal connectivity was linked to risk avoidance in anxious adolescents and risk-taking in those with low anxiety. LIMITATIONS This work is cross-sectional and therefore cannot speak to causality or directionality of effects. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that the neural mechanisms contributing to adolescent risk-taking may function to promote avoidance in anxious youth, increasing vulnerability to maladaptive avoidance and further anxiety development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda E Baker
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, 502 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States of America.
| | - Namita Tanya Padgaonkar
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, 757 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States of America
| | - Adriana Galván
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, 502 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States of America; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, 757 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States of America
| | - Tara S Peris
- Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Los Angeles, CA 90024, United States of America
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Klein Z, Shner-Livne G, Danon-Kraun S, Ginat-Frolich R, Pine DS, Shechner T. Enhanced late positive potential to conditioned threat cue during delayed extinction in anxious youth. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2024; 65:215-228. [PMID: 37157184 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.13814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Deficits in threat learning relate to anxiety symptoms. Since several anxiety disorders arise in adolescence, impaired adolescent threat learning could contribute to adolescent changes in risk for anxiety. This study compared threat learning among anxious and non-anxious youth using self-reports, peripheral psychophysiology measures, and event-related potentials. Because exposure therapy, the first-line treatment for anxiety disorders, is largely based on principles of extinction learning, the study also examined the link between extinction learning and treatment outcomes among anxious youth. METHODS Clinically anxious (n = 28) and non-anxious (n = 33) youth completed differential threat acquisition and immediate extinction. They returned to the lab a week later to complete a threat generalization test and a delayed extinction task. Following these two experimental visits, anxious youth received exposure therapy for 12 weeks. RESULTS Anxious as compared to non-anxious youth demonstrated elevated cognitive and physiological responses across acquisition and immediate extinction learning, as well as greater threat generalization. In addition, anxious youth showed enhanced late positive potential response to the conditioned threat cue compared to the safety cue during delayed extinction. Finally, aberrant neural response during delayed extinction was associated with poorer treatment outcomes. CONCLUSIONS The study emphasizes differences between anxious and non-anxious youth in threat learning processes and provides preliminary support for a link between neural processing during delayed extinction and exposure-based treatment outcome in pediatric anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zohar Klein
- School of Psychological Sciences and the Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Gil Shner-Livne
- School of Psychological Sciences and the Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Shani Danon-Kraun
- School of Psychological Sciences and the Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Rivkah Ginat-Frolich
- School of Psychological Sciences and the Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Daniel S Pine
- National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Tomer Shechner
- School of Psychological Sciences and the Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
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7
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Berg F, Margraf J, Wannemüller A. Calibrating your own fears: Feasibility of a remote fear conditioning paradigm with semi-subjective stimulus calibration and differences in fear learning. Learn Behav 2023; 51:246-261. [PMID: 36239878 PMCID: PMC9568901 DOI: 10.3758/s13420-022-00545-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Fear conditioning studies have occurred mostly in the laboratory, but recently researchers have started to adapt fear conditioning procedures for remote application. Standardization of aversive stimulus material not causing unnecessarily strong discomfort remains an issue especially relevant to research without experimental supervision. The present study introduces a novel semi-subjective method to calibrate aversive sounds in a remotely conducted fear conditioning paradigm. To demonstrate feasibility and proof of concept, 165 participants completed the paradigm, calibrating the loudness of an aversive sound without the guidance of an experimental instructor. This study also aimed to replicate existing findings of participant groups that differed in their early CS-UCS contingency awareness. Participants were classified as Accurate (UCS more likely after the CS+ than CS-), Poor (UCS more likely after the CS- than CS+, or UCS unlikely after either CS), and Threat Biased (UCS equally likely after the CS+ and CS-). Results indicated both the feasibility and efficacy of the paradigm, with participants showing typical patterns of fear learning. Threat Biased participants showed significantly higher uncertainty towards safety signals. There were no differences between the groups in terms of personality traits, thus questioning whether these attributes mediate differences in fear learning and the emergence of anxiety disorders. Using semi-subjective sound calibration appears to be functional, and future studies may consider implementing the new method when remotely administering fear conditioning paradigms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederic Berg
- Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Massenbergstraße 9, 44787, Bochum, Germany.
| | - Jürgen Margraf
- Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Massenbergstraße 9, 44787, Bochum, Germany
| | - André Wannemüller
- Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Massenbergstraße 9, 44787, Bochum, Germany
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8
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Gao Y, Zhao S, Yang Z, Fu H, Luo K, Chen W, Fan M, Song Y, Zheng X. Role of Cue Training, Context, and Stimulus Intensity on Fear Generalization in Humans. Behav Sci (Basel) 2023; 13:479. [PMID: 37366731 DOI: 10.3390/bs13060479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Revised: 05/27/2023] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Fear generalization is a crucial mechanism underlying maladaptive behavior, but factors influencing this process are not fully understood. We investigated the effects of cue training and context on fear generalization and how cognitive rules influence responses to different conditions. We also examined the role of stimulus intensity in fear generalization to provide insight into fear generalization mechanisms. Participants (n = 104) completed a fear emotion task with two stages: acquisition and generalization testing. Subjective fear expectancy ratings were used as outcome measures. Participants who received single threat cue training exhibited stronger fear generalization responses than those who received discrimination training with threat and safe cues. Participants who received discrimination training and used linear rules had the strongest fear response to the largest stimulus. Therefore, a safe cue may mitigate fear generalization but could increase fear responses to more intense stimuli. Altering context did not change the fear generalization response because fear generalization is mainly governed by the association between the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned fear stimulus. The present study emphasizes the multifaceted nature of fear generalization and the importance of examining multiple factors to understand this phenomenon. These findings elucidate fear learning and provide insights needed for effective interventions for maladaptive behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Gao
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
| | - Shaochen Zhao
- Research Center for Guangdong-HongKong-Marcao Policing Model Innovation, China People's Police University, Guangzhou 510663, China
| | - Zifan Yang
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
| | - Haote Fu
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
| | - Keying Luo
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
| | - Wei Chen
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
| | - Min Fan
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
| | - Yidan Song
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
| | - Xifu Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
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9
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Towner E, Chierchia G, Blakemore SJ. Sensitivity and specificity in affective and social learning in adolescence. Trends Cogn Sci 2023:S1364-6613(23)00092-X. [PMID: 37198089 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Revised: 03/23/2023] [Accepted: 04/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Adolescence is a period of heightened affective and social sensitivity. In this review we address how this increased sensitivity influences associative learning. Based on recent evidence from human and rodent studies, as well as advances in computational biology, we suggest that, compared to other age groups, adolescents show features of heightened Pavlovian learning but tend to perform worse than adults at instrumental learning. Because Pavlovian learning does not involve decision-making, whereas instrumental learning does, we propose that these developmental differences might be due to heightened sensitivity to rewards and threats in adolescence, coupled with a lower specificity of responding. We discuss the implications of these findings for adolescent mental health and education.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Towner
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, UK.
| | - Gabriele Chierchia
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy; Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, UK
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10
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Klein Z, Abend R, Shmuel S, Shechner T. Unique Associations between Conditioned Cognitive and Physiological Threat Responses and Facets of Anxiety Symptomatology in Youth. Biol Psychol 2022; 170:108314. [PMID: 35301083 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2022.108314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2022] [Revised: 03/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
This study examined associations between anxiety symptomatology and cognitive and physiological threat responses during threat learning in a large sample of children and adolescents. Anxiety symptomatology severity along different dimensions (generalized anxiety, separation anxiety, social anxiety, and panic symptoms) was measured using parental and self-reports. Participants completed differential threat acquisition and extinction using an age-appropriate threat conditioning task. They then returned to the lab after 7-10 days to complete an extinction recall task that also assessed threat generalization. Results indicated that more severe overall anxiety was associated with greater cognitive and physiological threat responses during acquisition, extinction, and extinction recall. During acquisition and extinction, all anxiety dimensions manifested greater cognitive threat responses, while panic, separation anxiety, and social anxiety symptoms, but not generalized anxiety, were related to heightened physiological threat responses. In contrast, when we assessed generalization of cognitive threat responses, we found only generalized anxiety symptoms were associated with greater threat response generalization. The study provides preliminary evidence of specificity in threat responses during threat learning across youth with different anxiety symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zohar Klein
- School of Psychological Sciences and the Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center, University of Haifa, Israel
| | - Rany Abend
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Shahar Shmuel
- School of Psychological Sciences and the Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center, University of Haifa, Israel
| | - Tomer Shechner
- School of Psychological Sciences and the Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center, University of Haifa, Israel.
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11
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Wong AHK, Pittig A. Avoiding a feared stimulus: Modelling costly avoidance of learnt fear in a sensory preconditioning paradigm. Biol Psychol 2021; 168:108249. [PMID: 34973369 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2021] [Revised: 12/23/2021] [Accepted: 12/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Avoidance of learnt fear prevents the onset of a feared stimulus and the threat that follows. In anxiety-related disorders, it turns pathological given its cost and persistence in the absence of realistic threat. The current study examined the acquisition of costly avoidance of learnt fear in healthy individuals (n = 45), via a sensory preconditioning paradigm. Two neutral preconditioning stimuli (PSs) were paired with two neutral conditioned stimuli (CSs). One CS then came to predict an aversive outcome whereas the other CS came to predict safety. In test, participants engaged in stronger avoidance to the PS associated with the fear-related CS than the PS associated with the safety-related CS. Of note, executing behavioral avoidance led to missing out a competing reward, thus rendering avoidance costly. The results also provide preliminary evidence that threat anticipation and a negative change in valence play a role in driving costly avoidance of learnt fear. Future studies should examine how avoidance of learnt fear maintains pathological anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex H K Wong
- Department of Psychology (Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy), University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
| | - Andre Pittig
- Department of Psychology (Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy), University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany; Translational Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Erlangen, Germany
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