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Kobelt M, Waldhauser GT, Rupietta A, Heinen R, Rau EMB, Kessler H, Axmacher N. The memory trace of an intrusive trauma-analog episode. Curr Biol 2024; 34:1657-1669.e5. [PMID: 38537637 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.03.005] [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: 08/25/2023] [Revised: 12/05/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
Intrusive memories are a core symptom of posttraumatic stress disorder. Compared with memories of everyday events, they are characterized by several seemingly contradictory features: intrusive memories contain distinct sensory and emotional details of the traumatic event and can be triggered by various perceptually similar cues, but they are poorly integrated into conceptual memory. Here, we conduct exploratory whole-brain analyses to investigate the neural representations of trauma-analog experiences and how they are reactivated during memory intrusions. We show that trauma-analog movies induce excessive processing and generalized representations in sensory areas but decreased blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) responses and highly distinct representations in conceptual/semantic areas. Intrusive memories activate generalized representations in sensory areas and reactivate memory traces specific to trauma-analog events in the anterior cingulate cortex. These findings provide the first evidence of how traumatic events could distort memory representations in the human brain, which may form the basis for future confirmatory research on the neural representations of traumatic experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Kobelt
- Department of Neuropsychology, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum 44801, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
| | - G T Waldhauser
- Department of Neuropsychology, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum 44801, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
| | - A Rupietta
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum 44787, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
| | - R Heinen
- Department of Neuropsychology, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum 44801, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
| | - E M B Rau
- Department of Neuropsychology, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum 44801, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
| | - H Kessler
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Campus Fulda, Universität Marburg, Marburg 35032, Hessen, Germany; Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, LWL University Hospital, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum 44791, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
| | - N Axmacher
- Department of Neuropsychology, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum 44801, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
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2
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Tamman AJF, Abdallah CG, Dunsmoor JE, Cisler JM. Neural differentiation of emotional faces as a function of interpersonal violence among adolescent girls. J Psychiatr Res 2024; 172:90-101. [PMID: 38368703 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2024.02.015] [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: 04/04/2023] [Revised: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 02/02/2024] [Indexed: 02/20/2024]
Abstract
Interpersonal violence (IV) is associated with altered neural threat processing and risk for psychiatric disorder. Representational similarity analysis (RSA) is a multivariate approach examining the extent to which differences between stimuli correspond to differences in multivoxel activation patterns to these stimuli within each ROI. Using RSA, we examine overlap in neural patterns between threat and neutral faces in youth with IV. Participants were female adolescents aged 11-17 who had a history of IV exposure (n = 77) or no history of IV, psychiatric diagnoses, nor psychiatric medications (n = 37). Participants completed a facial emotion processing task during fMRI. Linear mixed models indicated that increasing hippocampal differentiation of fear and neutral faces was associated with increasing IV severity. Increased neural differentiation of these facial stimuli in the left and right hippocampus was associated with increasing physical abuse severity. Increased differentiation by the dACC correlated with increasing physical assault severity. RSA for most ROIs were not significantly associated with univariate activity, except for a positive association between amygdala RSA and activity to fear faces. Differences in statistically significant ROIs for physical assault and physical abuse may highlight distinct effects of trauma type on encoding of threat vs. neutral faces. Null associations between RSA and univariate activation in most ROIs suggest unique contributions of RSA for understanding IV compared to traditional activation. Implications include understanding mechanisms of risk in IV and trauma-specific treatment selection. Future work should replicate these findings in longitudinal studies and identify sensitive periods for neural alterations in RSA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda J F Tamman
- Baylor College of Medicine, Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
| | - Chadi G Abdallah
- Baylor College of Medicine, Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA; US Department of Veterans Affairs, National Center for PTSD - Clinical Neurosciences Division, VA Connecticut, West Haven, CT 06516, USA; Core for Advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (CAMRI), Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Joseph E Dunsmoor
- Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA; Center for Learning and Memory, Department of Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Josh M Cisler
- Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA; Institute for Early Life Adversity Research, The University of Texas at Austin, Dell Medical School, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Austin, TX 78712, USA
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3
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Wen Z, Pace-Schott EF, Lazar SW, Rosén J, Åhs F, Phelps EA, LeDoux JE, Milad MR. Distributed neural representations of conditioned threat in the human brain. Nat Commun 2024; 15:2231. [PMID: 38472184 PMCID: PMC10933283 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46508-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Detecting and responding to threat engages several neural nodes including the amygdala, hippocampus, insular cortex, and medial prefrontal cortices. Recent propositions call for the integration of more distributed neural nodes that process sensory and cognitive facets related to threat. Integrative, sensitive, and reproducible distributed neural decoders for the detection and response to threat and safety have yet to be established. We combine functional MRI data across varying threat conditioning and negative affect paradigms from 1465 participants with multivariate pattern analysis to investigate distributed neural representations of threat and safety. The trained decoders sensitively and specifically distinguish between threat and safety cues across multiple datasets. We further show that many neural nodes dynamically shift representations between threat and safety. Our results establish reproducible decoders that integrate neural circuits, merging the well-characterized 'threat circuit' with sensory and cognitive nodes, discriminating threat from safety regardless of experimental designs or data acquisition parameters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenfu Wen
- Department of Psychiatry, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Faillace Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Edward F Pace-Schott
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Sara W Lazar
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Jörgen Rosén
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Fredrik Åhs
- Department of Psychology and Social Work, Mid Sweden University, Östersund, Sweden
| | | | - Joseph E LeDoux
- Department of Psychiatry, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- Center for Neural Science and Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
- The Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Mohammed R Milad
- Department of Psychiatry, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
- Faillace Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
- The Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
- Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA.
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4
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Crombie KM, Azar A, Botsford C, Heilicher M, Jaeb M, Gruichich TS, Schomaker CM, Williams R, Stowe ZN, Dunsmoor JE, Cisler JM. Decoding context memories for threat in large-scale neural networks. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhae018. [PMID: 38300181 PMCID: PMC10839849 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2023] [Revised: 01/08/2024] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 02/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Humans are often tasked with determining the degree to which a given situation poses threat. Salient cues present during prior events help bring online memories for context, which plays an informative role in this process. However, it is relatively unknown whether and how individuals use features of the environment to retrieve context memories for threat, enabling accurate inferences about the current level of danger/threat (i.e. retrieve appropriate memory) when there is a degree of ambiguity surrounding the present context. We leveraged computational neuroscience approaches (i.e. independent component analysis and multivariate pattern analyses) to decode large-scale neural network activity patterns engaged during learning and inferring threat context during a novel functional magnetic resonance imaging task. Here, we report that individuals accurately infer threat contexts under ambiguous conditions through neural reinstatement of large-scale network activity patterns (specifically striatum, salience, and frontoparietal networks) that track the signal value of environmental cues, which, in turn, allows reinstatement of a mental representation, primarily within a ventral visual network, of the previously learned threat context. These results provide novel insight into distinct, but overlapping, neural mechanisms by which individuals may utilize prior learning to effectively make decisions about ambiguous threat-related contexts as they navigate the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin M Crombie
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, 1601 Trinity Street, Building B, Austin, TX 78712, United States
- Department of Kinesiology, The University of Alabama, 620 Judy Bonner Drive, Box 870312, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, United States
| | - Ameera Azar
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, 1601 Trinity Street, Building B, Austin, TX 78712, United States
| | - Chloe Botsford
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin—Madison, 6001 Research Park Boulevard, Madison, WI 53719, United States
| | - Mickela Heilicher
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin—Madison, 6001 Research Park Boulevard, Madison, WI 53719, United States
| | - Michael Jaeb
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin—Madison, 6001 Research Park Boulevard, Madison, WI 53719, United States
| | - Tijana Sagorac Gruichich
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin—Madison, 6001 Research Park Boulevard, Madison, WI 53719, United States
| | - Chloe M Schomaker
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, 1601 Trinity Street, Building B, Austin, TX 78712, United States
| | - Rachel Williams
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin—Madison, 6001 Research Park Boulevard, Madison, WI 53719, United States
| | - Zachary N Stowe
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin—Madison, 6001 Research Park Boulevard, Madison, WI 53719, United States
| | - Joseph E Dunsmoor
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, 1601 Trinity Street, Building B, Austin, TX 78712, United States
- Institute for Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, United States
- Department of Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, Stop C7000, Austin, TX 78712, United States
| | - Josh M Cisler
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, 1601 Trinity Street, Building B, Austin, TX 78712, United States
- Institute for Early Life Adversity Research, The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, 1601 Trinity Street, Building B, Austin, TX 78712, United States
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5
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Laing PAF, Dunsmoor JE. Pattern separation of fear extinction memory. Learn Mem 2023; 30:110-115. [PMID: 37433642 PMCID: PMC10353259 DOI: 10.1101/lm.053760.123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/13/2023]
Abstract
While fear generalizes widely, extinction is stimulus-specific. Using a hybrid conditioning/episodic memory paradigm, subjects encoded nonrepeating category exemplars during fear conditioning and extinction. Twenty-four hours later, a surprise memory test included old, similar, and novel category exemplars. Results showed strong dissociation between pattern completion (generalization) and pattern separation (discrimination) in episodic memory for items encoded during fear conditioning versus extinction, respectively. These data suggest that directly threat-conditioned stimuli are better recognized at the expense of mnemonic precision, whereas discrimination is enhanced for extinguished stimuli. Overly precise extinction memory may be a contributing factor to fear relapse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick A F Laing
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA
- Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA
| | - Joseph E Dunsmoor
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA
- Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA
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6
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Webler RD, Oathes DJ, van Rooij SJH, Gewirtz JC, Nahas Z, Lissek SM, Widge AS. Causally mapping human threat extinction relevant circuits with depolarizing brain stimulation methods. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 144:105005. [PMID: 36549377 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.105005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Revised: 11/17/2022] [Accepted: 12/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Laboratory threat extinction paradigms and exposure-based therapy both involve repeated, safe confrontation with stimuli previously experienced as threatening. This fundamental procedural overlap supports laboratory threat extinction as a compelling analogue of exposure-based therapy. Threat extinction impairments have been detected in clinical anxiety and may contribute to exposure-based therapy non-response and relapse. However, efforts to improve exposure outcomes using techniques that boost extinction - primarily rodent extinction - have largely failed to date, potentially due to fundamental differences between rodent and human neurobiology. In this review, we articulate a comprehensive pre-clinical human research agenda designed to overcome these failures. We describe how connectivity guided depolarizing brain stimulation methods (i.e., TMS and DBS) can be applied concurrently with threat extinction and dual threat reconsolidation-extinction paradigms to causally map human extinction relevant circuits and inform the optimal integration of these methods with exposure-based therapy. We highlight candidate targets including the amygdala, hippocampus, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, and mesolimbic structures, and propose hypotheses about how stimulation delivered at specific learning phases could strengthen threat extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan D Webler
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
| | - Desmond J Oathes
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Sanne J H van Rooij
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Jonathan C Gewirtz
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA; Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, AZ, USA
| | - Ziad Nahas
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, AZ, USA
| | - Shmuel M Lissek
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Alik S Widge
- Department of Psychiatry and Medical Discovery Team on Addictions, University of Minnesota Medical School, MN, USA
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7
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Abstract
Sleep plays a crucial role in the consolidation of memories, including those for fear acquisition and extinction training. This chapter reviews findings from studies testing this relationship in laboratory, naturalistic, and clinical settings. While evidence is mixed, several studies in humans have linked fear and extinction recall/retention to both rapid eye-movement and slow wave sleep. Sleep appears to further aid in the processing of both simulated and actual trauma and improves psychotherapeutic treatment outcomes in those with anxiety and trauma- and stressor-related disorders. This chapter concludes with a discussion of the current challenges facing sleep and emotional memory research in addition to suggestions for improving future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan Bottary
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA
- Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Laura D Straus
- Department of Research, San Francisco VA Health Care System, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Edward F Pace-Schott
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Charlestown, MA, USA.
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8
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LaBar KS. Neuroimaging of Fear Extinction. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2023; 64:79-101. [PMID: 37455302 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2023_429] [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] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
Extinguishing fear and defensive responses to environmental threats when they are no longer warranted is a critical learning ability that can promote healthy self-regulation and, ultimately, reduce susceptibility to or maintenance of affective-, trauma-, stressor-,and anxiety-related disorders. Neuroimaging tools provide an important means to uncover the neural mechanisms of effective extinction learning that, in turn, can abate the return of fear. Here I review the promises and pitfalls of functional neuroimaging as a method to investigate fear extinction circuitry in the healthy human brain. I discuss the extent to which neuroimaging has validated the core circuits implicated in rodent models and has expanded the scope of the brain regions implicated in extinction processes. Finally, I present new advances made possible by multivariate data analysis tools that yield more refined insights into the brain-behavior relationships involved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin S LaBar
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
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9
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Hennings AC, Cooper SE, Lewis-Peacock JA, Dunsmoor JE. Pattern analysis of neuroimaging data reveals novel insights on threat learning and extinction in humans. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 142:104918. [PMID: 36257347 PMCID: PMC11163873 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2022] [Revised: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Several decades of rodent neurobiology research have identified a network of brain regions that support Pavlovian threat conditioning and extinction, focused predominately on the amygdala, hippocampus, and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Surprisingly, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have shown inconsistent evidence for these regions while humans undergo threat conditioning and extinction. In this review, we suggest that translational neuroimaging efforts have been hindered by reliance on traditional univariate analysis of fMRI. Whereas univariate analyses average activity across voxels in a given region, multivariate pattern analyses (MVPA) leverage the information present in spatial patterns of activity. MVPA therefore provides a more sensitive analysis tool to translate rodent neurobiology to human neuroimaging. We review human fMRI studies using MVPA that successfully bridge rodent models of amygdala, hippocampus, and mPFC function during Pavlovian learning. We also highlight clinical applications of these information-sensitive multivariate analyses. In sum, we advocate that the field should consider adopting a variety of multivariate approaches to help bridge cutting-edge research on the neuroscience of threat and anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Augustin C Hennings
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA; Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Samuel E Cooper
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Jarrod A Lewis-Peacock
- Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA; Center for Learning and Memory, Department of Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Joseph E Dunsmoor
- Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA; Center for Learning and Memory, Department of Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
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10
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Laing PAF, Felmingham KL, Davey CG, Harrison BJ. The neurobiology of Pavlovian safety learning: Towards an acquisition-expression framework. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 142:104882. [PMID: 36150453 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2022] [Revised: 09/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Safety learning creates associations between conditional stimuli and the absence of threat. Studies of human fear conditioning have accumulated evidence for the neural signatures of safety over various paradigms, aligning on several common brain systems. While these systems are often interpreted as underlying safety learning in a generic sense, they may instead reflect the expression of learned safety, pertaining to processes of fear inhibition, positive affect, and memory. Animal models strongly suggest these can be separable from neural circuits implicated in the conditioning process itself (or safety acquisition). While acquisition-expression distinctions are ubiquitous in behavioural science, this lens has not been applied to safety learning, which remains a novel area in the field. In this mini-review, we overview findings from prevalent safety paradigms in humans, and synthesise these with insights from animal models to propose that the neurobiology of safety learning be conceptualised along an acquisition-expression model, with the aim of stimulating richer brain-based characterisations of this important process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick A F Laing
- Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Australia.
| | - Kim L Felmingham
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Australia
| | - Christopher G Davey
- Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Australia
| | - Ben J Harrison
- Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Australia.
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11
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Role of noradrenergic arousal for fear extinction processes in rodents and humans. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2022; 194:107660. [PMID: 35870717 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2022.107660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Revised: 06/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Fear extinction is a learning mechanism that is pivotal for the inhibition of fear responses towards cues or contexts that no longer predict the occurrence of a threat. Failure of fear extinction leads to fear expression under safe conditions and is regarded to be a cardinal characteristic of many anxiety-related disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder. Importantly, the neurotransmitter noradrenaline was shown to be a potent modulator of fear extinction. Rodent studies demonstrated that excessive noradrenaline transmission after acute stress opens a time window of vulnerability, in which fear extinction learning results in attenuated long-term extinction success. In contrast, when excessive noradrenergic transmission subsides, well-coordinated noradrenaline transmission is necessary for the formation of a long-lasting extinction memory. In addition, emerging evidence suggests that the neuropeptide corticotropin releasing hormone (CRF), which strongly regulates noradrenaline transmission under conditions of acute stress, also impedes long-term extinction success. Recent rodent work - using sophisticated methods - provides evidence for a hypothetical mechanistic framework of how noradrenaline and CRF dynamically orchestrate the neural fear and extinction circuitry to attenuate or to improve fear extinction and extinction recall. Accordingly, we review the evidence from rodent studies linking noradrenaline and CRF to fear extinction learning and recall and derive the hypothetical mechanistic framework of how different levels of noradrenaline and CRF may create a time window of vulnerability which impedes successful long-term fear extinction. We also address evidence from human studies linking noradrenaline and fear extinction success. Moreover, we accumulate emerging approaches to non-invasively measure and manipulate the noradrenergic system in healthy humans. Finally, we emphasize the importance of future studies to account for sex (hormone) differences when examining the interaction between fear extinction, noradrenaline, and CRF. To conclude, NA's effects on fear extinction recall strongly depend on the arousal levels at the onset of fear extinction learning. Our review aimed at compiling the available (mainly rodent) data in a neurobiological framework, suited to derive testable hypotheses for future work in humans.
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12
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Dunsmoor JE, Cisler JM, Fonzo GA, Creech SK, Nemeroff CB. Laboratory models of post-traumatic stress disorder: The elusive bridge to translation. Neuron 2022; 110:1754-1776. [PMID: 35325617 PMCID: PMC9167267 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Revised: 02/18/2022] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating mental illness composed of a heterogeneous collection of symptom clusters. The unique nature of PTSD as arising from a precipitating traumatic event helps simplify cross-species translational research modeling the neurobehavioral effects of stress and fear. However, the neurobiological progress on these complex neural circuits informed by animal models has yet to produce novel, evidence-based clinical treatment for PTSD. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of popular laboratory models of PTSD and provide concrete ideas for improving the validity and clinical translational value of basic research efforts in humans. We detail modifications to simplified animal paradigms to account for myriad cognitive factors affected in PTSD, which may contribute to abnormalities in regulating fear. We further describe new avenues for integrating different areas of psychological research underserved by animal models of PTSD. This includes incorporating emerging trends in the cognitive neuroscience of episodic memory, emotion regulation, social-emotional processes, and PTSD subtyping to provide a more comprehensive recapitulation of the human experience to trauma in laboratory research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph E Dunsmoor
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, Austin, TX, USA; Center for Psychedelic Research and Therapy, University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, Austin, TX, USA.
| | - Josh M Cisler
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, Austin, TX, USA; Institute for Early Life Adversity Research, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA; Center for Psychedelic Research and Therapy, University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Gregory A Fonzo
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, Austin, TX, USA; Institute for Early Life Adversity Research, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA; Center for Psychedelic Research and Therapy, University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Suzannah K Creech
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, Austin, TX, USA; Institute for Early Life Adversity Research, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Charles B Nemeroff
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, Austin, TX, USA; Institute for Early Life Adversity Research, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA; Center for Psychedelic Research and Therapy, University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, Austin, TX, USA.
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