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Li X, Yang Y, Wang R, Zhou L, Zheng X. Secure attachment priming inhibits the generalization of conditioned fear. BMC Psychol 2024; 12:358. [PMID: 38890761 PMCID: PMC11186254 DOI: 10.1186/s40359-024-01857-9] [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: 04/15/2024] [Accepted: 06/14/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Fear overgeneralization constitutes a susceptibility factor contributing to the development and maintenance of anxiety spectrum disorders. Extant research has demonstrated that exposure to positive and supportive social relationships attenuates fear acquisition and promotes the extinction of conditioned fear responses. However, the literature lacks investigation into the effect of secure attachment priming on inhibiting the generalization of conditioned fear. METHODS In this study, college students were recruited via online platforms to voluntarily engage in the experimental procedures, resulting in 57 subjects whose data were deemed suitable for analysis. The experimental protocol consisted of four consecutive phases: pre-acquisition, acquisition, priming, and generalization. The priming phase consisted of two experimental conditions: secure attachment priming (experimental group) and positive emotion priming (control group). This study adopted the perceptual discrimination fear conditioning paradigm, employing subjective expectancy of shock ratings and skin conductance responses as primary assessment indices. Individual difference variables were measured using corresponding psychological measurement scales. RESULTS In terms of generalization degree, a notable divergence surfaced in the skin conductance responses across various generalization materials between the secure attachment priming group and the control group. Similarly, during generalization extinction, a significant disparity emerged in the skin conductance responses across different generalization phases between the secure attachment priming group and the control group. In addition, individual differences analyses revealed that the inhibitory effect of secure attachment priming on fear generalization was not affected by intolerance of uncertainty and attachment orientations. Conversely, slope analyses confirmed that as intolerance of uncertainty increased, the inhibitory effect of positive emotion priming on fear generalization was attenuated. CONCLUSION The findings suggest that activating participants' representations of secure attachment via imagination effectively attenuates the generalization of perceptual fear at the physiological level. The inhibitory effect of secure attachment priming appears to be distinct from positive emotional modulation and remains unaffected by individual trait attachment styles. These results offer novel insights and avenues for the prevention and clinical intervention of anxiety spectrum disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xu Li
- Center for Counseling and Psychological Services, Guangdong University of Petrochemical Technology, Maoming, Guangdong, 525000, China.
| | - Yong Yang
- School of Educational Science, Xinyang Normal University, Xinyang, China
| | - Ranran Wang
- Center for Counseling and Psychological Services, Guangdong University of Petrochemical Technology, Maoming, Guangdong, 525000, China
| | - Lehong Zhou
- Center for Counseling and Psychological Services, Guangdong University of Petrochemical Technology, Maoming, Guangdong, 525000, China
| | - Xifu Zheng
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
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Wong AHK, Franzen M, Wieser MJ. Unconditioned stimulus devaluation decreases the generalization of costly safety behaviors. J Anxiety Disord 2024; 103:102847. [PMID: 38422593 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2024.102847] [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: 09/15/2023] [Revised: 01/09/2024] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Safety behaviors are often maladaptive in clinical anxiety as they typically persist without realistic threat and cause various impairments. In the laboratory, safety behaviors are modelled by responses to a conditioned stimulus (CS) that reduce the occurrence of an expected aversive unconditioned stimulus (US). Preliminary evidence suggests that US devaluation, a procedure that decreases US aversiveness, devalues the threat value of the CS and thus diminishes safety behaviors to the CS. This study (n = 78) aimed to extend this finding and examined whether US-devaluation can reduce the generalization of safety behaviors to various stimuli. After acquiring safety behaviors to CSs of different categories, the US predicted by one CS category was devalued. In test, participants showed a selective reduction in safety behaviors to novel stimuli of the devalued CS category, reflecting a decrease in generalization of safety behaviors. Trait anxiety was associated with persistent generalized safety behaviors to novel stimuli of the devalued category. We discuss how US devaluation may improve treatment outcome but also the challenges of clinical translation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex H K Wong
- Department of Psychology, Educational Sciences, and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Burgemeester Oudlaan 50, 3062 PA Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Minita Franzen
- Department of Psychology, Educational Sciences, and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Burgemeester Oudlaan 50, 3062 PA Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Matthias J Wieser
- Department of Psychology, Educational Sciences, and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Burgemeester Oudlaan 50, 3062 PA Rotterdam, the Netherlands
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Wu Q, Xu L, Wan J, Yu Z, Lei Y. Intolerance of uncertainty affects the behavioral and neural mechanisms of higher generalization. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhae153. [PMID: 38615238 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae153] [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: 01/10/2023] [Revised: 03/13/2024] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 04/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is associated with several anxiety disorders. In this study, we employed rewards and losses as unconditioned positive and negative stimuli, respectively, to explore the effects of an individual's IU level on positive and negative generalizations using magnetic resonance imaging technology. Following instrumental learning, 48 participants (24 high IU; 24 low IU) were invited to complete positive and negative generalization tasks; their behavioral responses and neural activities were recorded by functional magnetic resonance imaging. The behavior results demonstrated that participants with high IUs exhibited higher generalizations to both positive and negative cues as compared with participants having low IUs. Neuroimaging results demonstrated that they exhibited higher activation levels in the right anterior insula and the default mode network (i.e. precuneus and posterior cingulate gyrus), as well as related reward circuits (i.e. caudate and right putamen). Therefore, higher generalization scores and the related abnormal brain activation may be key markers of IU as a vulnerability factor for anxiety disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi Wu
- Institute for Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, China
| | - Lei Xu
- Institute for Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, China
| | - Jiaming Wan
- Institute for Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, China
| | - Zhang Yu
- Institute for Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, China
| | - Yi Lei
- Institute for Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, China
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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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Chen S, Cui Q. Manipulating reinforcement probability changes the temporal overestimation of anticipated aversive stimuli. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2024; 88:389-403. [PMID: 37815675 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-023-01882-0] [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: 04/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/11/2023]
Abstract
The interval timing can be distorted by emotions. Previous studies indicated that anticipated fear stimuli can lead to temporal overestimation, similar to the effects observed from direct exposure to fear stimuli. However, this time distortion may not always manifest when anticipated. This study aimed to systematically examine the effect of the reinforcement probability of anticipated fear stimuli on time perception in predictable emotional scenarios. The experiment established 100% fear conditioning by associating a conditioned stimulus (CS+) with an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US), electrical stimulation. Participants completed a temporal bisection task under different cues (threat CS+ and safe CS-) expectations. Participants were explicitly informed that an aversive electrical stimulus would always follow the threat cues (CS+) with 100% probability, though in reality, different blocks presented the threat cue with probability manipulation of 50 and 100%. Results showed that only in the 50% reinforcement probability, participants overestimated the duration when anticipating aversive electrical stimulation, while no significant differences were observed in the 100% reinforcement probability. Additionally, the effect of anxiety on temporal judgment failed to capture the overall trend as fixed effects but only contributed to the individual variations as random effects. The findings suggest that the anticipated aversive electrical stimulation may lead to temporal overestimation. Furthermore, the results indicate that a reliable approach for manipulating the effect of anticipated aversive electrical stimulation on temporal overestimation is to establish 100% fear conditioning and use a reinforcement probability like 50%.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shihao Chen
- School of Psychology, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, 116029, China
| | - Qian Cui
- School of Psychology, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, 116029, China.
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Aslanidou A, Andreatta M, Wong AHK, Wieser MJ. No influence of threat uncertainty on fear generalization. Psychophysiology 2024; 61:e14423. [PMID: 37623276 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14423] [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: 03/13/2023] [Revised: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
Fear overgeneralization and perceived uncertainty about future outcomes have been suggested as risk factors for clinical anxiety. However, little is known regarding how they influence each other. In this study, we investigated whether different levels of threat uncertainty influence fear generalization. Three groups of healthy participants underwent a differential fear conditioning protocol followed by a generalization test. All groups learned to associate one female face (conditioned stimulus, CS+) with a female scream (unconditioned stimulus, US), whereas the other face (CS-) was not associated with the scream. In order to manipulate threat uncertainty, one group (low uncertainty, n = 26) received 80%, the second group (moderate uncertainty, n = 32) received 60%, and the third group (high uncertainty, n = 30) 40% CS-US contingency. In the generalization test, all groups saw CS+ and CS- again along with four morphs resembling the CSs in steps of 20%. Subjective (expectancy, valence, and arousal ratings), psychophysiological (skin conductance response, SCR), and visuocortical (steady-state visual evoked potentials, ssVEPs) indices of fear were registered. Participants expected the US according to their reinforcement schedules and the discriminative responses to CS+/CS- increased with more uncertainty in skin conductance. However, acquisition of conditioned fear was not evident in ssVEPs. During the generalization test, we found no effect of threat uncertainty in any of the measured variables, but the strength of generalization for threat expectancy ratings was positively correlated with dispositional intolerance of uncertainty. This study suggests that mere threat uncertainty does not modulate fear generalization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asimina Aslanidou
- Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Marta Andreatta
- Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Alex H K Wong
- Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Matthias J Wieser
- Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
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Pinto EA, Van Damme S, Torta DM, Meulders A. Modulation of attention to pain by goal-directed action: a somatosensory evoked potentials approach. PeerJ 2023; 11:e16544. [PMID: 38144185 PMCID: PMC10748472 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.16544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 12/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Attentional processes are modulated by current goal pursuit. While pursuing salient cognitive goals, individuals prioritize goal-related information and suppress goal-irrelevant ones. This occurs in the context of pain too, where nonpain cognitive goal pursuit was found to have inhibitory effects on pain-related attention. Crucially, how pursuing nonpain motor goals affects pain-related somatosensory attention is still unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate whether nonpain motor goal pursuit would attenuate pain-related somatosensory attention. Methods Healthy volunteers (N = 45) performed a robotic arm conditioning task where movements were paired with conflicting (pain and reward), threatening (only pain) or neutral (no pain and no reward) outcomes. To increase the motivational value of pursuing the nonpain motor goal, in the conflicting condition participants could receive a reward for a good motor performance. To examine somatosensory attention during movement, somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs; N120 and P200) were obtained in response to innocuous tactile stimuli administered on a pain-relevant or pain-irrelevant body location. We expected that the threat of pain would enhance somatosensory attention. Furthermore, we expected that the possibility of getting a reward would inhibit this effect, due to pain-reward interactions. Results Against our predictions, the amplitude of the N120 did not differ across movement types and locations. Furthermore, the P200 component showed significantly larger SEPs for conflicting and threat movements compared to neutral, suggesting that the threat of pain increased somatosensory attention. However, this effect was not modulated by nonpain motor goal pursuit, as reflected by the lack of modulation of the N120 and P200 in the conflicting condition as compared to the threat condition. This study corroborates the idea that pain-related somatosensory attention is enhanced by threat of pain, even when participants were motivated to move to obtain a reward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleana A. Pinto
- Department of Experimental-Clinical and Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
| | - Stefaan Van Damme
- Department of Experimental-Clinical and Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Diana M. Torta
- Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Ann Meulders
- Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Experimental Health Psychology, Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
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Jhang YT, Liang CW. The effect of uncertainty on attentional bias in subclinical worriers: Evidence from reaction time and eye-tracking. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry 2023; 81:101842. [PMID: 36827945 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2023.101842] [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: 08/27/2022] [Revised: 01/28/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES High-worry individuals have been assumed to show attentional bias towards threat, particularly under high uncertainty. This study experimentally investigated the effect of uncertainty on attentional bias in subclinical worriers. METHODS A visual dot-probe task combined with eye-tracking was used to assess participants' attentional bias towards blurred and unfiltered stimuli. Fifty high-worry and 47 low-worry participants were randomly assigned to either the high- or low-uncertainty threat condition. Aversive noise bursts were delivered either unpredictably (the high-uncertainty threat condition) or predictably (the low-uncertainty threat condition) during the visual dot-probe task. RESULTS In the low-uncertainty threat condition, high-worry participants exhibited enhanced attentional engagement towards blurred pictures compared to low-worry participants. They also had shorter initial fixation latencies on blurred pictures than on unfiltered pictures. In the high-uncertainty threat condition, high-worry participants demonstrated more difficulty in disengaging from threatening pictures compared to low-worry participants. LIMITATION First, this study used a nonclinical sample. Second, the power was limited with regard to the analysis of eye-movement data. Third, anxiety and worry induced by noise bursts were measured using subjective rating scales only. Fourth, some picture characteristics, such as luminosity and complexity, were not controlled. Finally, uncertainty related to delivery of noise bursts and pictures were both manipulated dichotomously. CONCLUSION This study highlights the importance of uncertainty in the maintenance of attentional bias towards threat-related pictures in high-worry individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Ting Jhang
- Department of Psychiatry, Taoyuan Psychiatric Center, Ministry of Health and Welfare, No.71, Longshou St., Taoyuan Dist., Taoyuan City, Taiwan, ROC.
| | - Chi-Wen Liang
- Department of Psychology, Chung Yuan Christian University, No. 200, Zhongbei Rd., Zhong Li Dist., Taoyuan City, Taiwan, ROC.
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Ahn S, Lee SH, Lee KS. Impact of Intolerance of Uncertainty on Brain Structural Changes in Panic Disorder. Psychiatry Investig 2023; 20:1069-1076. [PMID: 37997335 PMCID: PMC10678144 DOI: 10.30773/pi.2023.0181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2023] [Revised: 08/06/2023] [Accepted: 08/20/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This study investigated the impact of intolerance of uncertainty (IU) on structural changes in the brain and symptom severity in patients with panic disorder. METHODS This study included 90 participants diagnosed with panic disorder. The IU Scale, Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ), Self-Forgiveness Scale (SFS), and Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF) were used. A voxel-wise correlation analysis was conducted to investigate the structural differences in the gray matter. RESULTS As IU increased, the cortical thickness of the right lingual gyrus decreased significantly, while the gray matter volume of the right pars triangularis increased. The cortical thickness of the right lingual gyrus showed a significant negative correlation with the BDI-II score and a positive correlation with the SFS. Additionally, the gray matter volume of the right pars triangularis was positively correlated with the PDSS, PSWQ, and BDI-II scores and negatively correlated with the mental health domain of the SF. CONCLUSION According to our findings, elevated IU in participants with panic disorder was associated with cortical thinning in the lingual gyrus and increased gray matter volume in the pars triangularis. These structural alterations may also have an impact on perceived quality of life, as well as high levels of depression and anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sungjun Ahn
- Department of Psychiatry, CHA Bundang Medical Center, CHA University, Seongnam, Republic of Korea
| | - Sang-Hyuk Lee
- Department of Psychiatry, CHA Bundang Medical Center, CHA University, Seongnam, Republic of Korea
| | - Kang Soo Lee
- Department of Psychiatry, CHA Bundang Medical Center, CHA University, Seongnam, Republic of Korea
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Song J, Cho E, Cho IK, Lee D, Kim J, Kim H, Chung S. Mediating Effect of Intolerance of Uncertainty and Cancer-Related Dysfunctional Beliefs About Sleep on Psychological Symptoms and Fear of Progression Among Cancer Patients. Psychiatry Investig 2023; 20:912-920. [PMID: 37899214 PMCID: PMC10620329 DOI: 10.30773/pi.2023.0127] [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] [Received: 04/23/2023] [Revised: 07/02/2023] [Accepted: 07/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/31/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This study aimed to explore the mediating effects of cancer-related dysfunctional beliefs regarding sleep and intolerance of uncertainty on the effect of depression, insomnia, and anxiety on fear of progression (FoP). METHODS We retrospectively reviewed medical records of patients with cancer who visited the Sleep Clinic for cancer patients in Asan Medical Center for the first time between December 2021 and March 2022. Data collected included age, sex, types of cancer, staging, current treatment modalities, and history of surgical procedures. In addition, psychological symptoms were rated using the Insomnia Severity Scale (ISI), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 items (PHQ-9), State subcategory of the State and Trait of Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S), Short form of Fear of Progression Questionnaire, Cancer-related Dysfunctional Beliefs about Sleep scale (C-DBS), single item of pain and fatigue, Connor Davidson Resilience Scale 2-item (CD-RISC2), and Intolerance of Uncertainty-12 (IUS-12). The predictive variables for FoP were determined by linear regression analysis. RESULTS The FoP was significantly correlated with age (r=-0.289), ISI (r=0.178), PHQ-9 (r=0.703), STAI-S (r=0.377), fatigue (r=0.452), CD-RISC2 (r=-0.270), IUS-12 (r=0.585), and C-DBS (r=0.427, all p<0.01). A mediation analysis showed that intolerance of uncertainty and dysfunctional beliefs about sleep mediated the relationship of FoP with insomnia, depression, or anxiety. CONCLUSION Psychological support for intolerance of uncertainty and cancer-related dysfunctional beliefs about sleep in patients with cancer may be beneficial to reduce their FoP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaeeun Song
- University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Ulsan, Republic of Korea
| | - Eulah Cho
- Department of Psychiatry, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Inn-Kyu Cho
- Department of Psychiatry, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Dongin Lee
- Department of Psychiatry, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jiyoung Kim
- Department of Psychiatry, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Harin Kim
- Department of Psychiatry, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Seockhoon Chung
- Department of Psychiatry, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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Lipp A, Macit B, Woud ML, Dere E, Zlomuzica A. Conscious knowledge of CS-UCS contingency information affects extinction retrieval of conditioned disgust responses: Findings from an online de novo disgust conditioning task. Int J Clin Health Psychol 2023; 23:100368. [PMID: 36762035 PMCID: PMC9883280 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2023.100368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/10/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective The present study aimed to establish and develop an online de novo conditioning paradigm for the measurement of conditioned disgust responses. We further explored the effects of explicit instructions about the CS-UCS contingency on extinction learning and retrieval of conditioned disgust responses. Method The study included a sample of 115 healthy participants. Geometric figures served as conditioned stimuli (CS) and disgust-evoking pictures as unconditioned stimuli (UCS). During disgust conditioning, the CS+ was paired with the UCS (66% reinforcement) and the CS- remained unpaired; during extinction and retrieval, no UCS was presented. Half of the participants (n = 54) received instructions prior to the disgust extinction stating that the UCS will not be presented anymore. 1-2 days or 7-8 days later participants performed a retrieval test. CS-UCS contingency, disgust and valence ratings were used as dependent measures. Results Successful acquisition of conditioned disgust response was observed on the level of CS-UCS contingency, disgust and valence ratings. While some decline in valence and disgust ratings during the extinction stage was observed, contingency instructions did not significantly affect extinction performance. Retrieval one week later revealed that contingency instructions increased the discrimination of the CSs. Conclusions Extinction of conditioned disgust responses is not affected by explicit knowledge of the CS-UCS contingencies. However, contingency instructions prior to extinction seem to have a detrimental effect on long-term extinction retrieval.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annalisa Lipp
- Department of Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience, Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
- Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany
| | - Beray Macit
- Department of Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience, Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
- Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany
| | - Marcella L. Woud
- Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany
| | - Ekrem Dere
- Department of Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience, Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Armin Zlomuzica
- Department of Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience, Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
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Zhou X, Gu Y, Wang J, Huang L, Lei Y. Intolerance of uncertainty enhances generalisation of cued conditioned threat: An event-related potential study. Biol Psychol 2023; 181:108601. [PMID: 37295767 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108601] [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: 07/27/2022] [Revised: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 06/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Overgeneralisation is one of the aetiologies of anxiety disorders and is closely associated with elevated intolerance of uncertainty (IU) levels. However, the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Considering the inconsistency of previous results and the high sensitivity of IU to uncertainty, the present study investigated the effect of IU on threat generalisation in predictable and unpredictable conditions. We compared self-reported unconditioned stimuli (US) expectancy and event-related potentials (ERPs) during generalisation in high IU (n = 34) and low IU (n = 35) participants. The results indicated that high IU was associated with higher US expectancy for generalisation stimuli (GS) than with low IU. At the electrophysiological level, compared to low IU, high IU showed increased P1 to ambiguous GS as well as decreased early late positive potential (LPP) to GS in unpredictable conditions, and no differential response to GS in late LPP in predictable conditions. These findings suggest that IU enhances threat generalisation and may be related to increased early automatic attention to ambiguous stimulus and inadequate late elaborate processing in a high uncertainty context. These findings might contribute to the treatment of mood disorders characterized by high IU.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao Zhou
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yuanyuan Gu
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
| | - Jinxia Wang
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
| | - Lihui Huang
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China.
| | - Yi Lei
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China.
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Sandhu TR, Xiao B, Lawson RP. Transdiagnostic computations of uncertainty: towards a new lens on intolerance of uncertainty. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 148:105123. [PMID: 36914079 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2022] [Revised: 02/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/08/2023] [Indexed: 03/13/2023]
Abstract
People radically differ in how they cope with uncertainty. Clinical researchers describe a dispositional characteristic known as "intolerance of uncertainty", a tendency to find uncertainty aversive, reported to be elevated across psychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions. Concurrently, recent research in computational psychiatry has leveraged theoretical work to characterise individual differences in uncertainty processing. Under this framework, differences in how people estimate different forms of uncertainty can contribute to mental health difficulties. In this review, we briefly outline the concept of intolerance of uncertainty within its clinical context, and we argue that the mechanisms underlying this construct may be further elucidated through modelling how individuals make inferences about uncertainty. We will review the evidence linking psychopathology to different computationally specified forms of uncertainty and consider how these findings might suggest distinct mechanistic routes towards intolerance of uncertainty. We also discuss the implications of this computational approach for behavioural and pharmacological interventions, as well as the importance of different cognitive domains and subjective experiences in studying uncertainty processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy R Sandhu
- Department of Psychology, Downing Place, University of Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK; MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, 15 Chaucer Road, CB2 7EF, UK.
| | - Bowen Xiao
- Department of Psychology, Downing Place, University of Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Rebecca P Lawson
- Department of Psychology, Downing Place, University of Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK; MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, 15 Chaucer Road, CB2 7EF, UK
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14
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Zhou X, Gu Y, Huang L, Lei Y. Individual differences in contextual threat generalisation and uncertainty: The role of intolerance of uncertainty. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2023. [PMID: 37105530 DOI: 10.1002/ijop.12911] [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: 06/23/2022] [Accepted: 04/05/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023]
Abstract
Threat generalisation is an adaptive process that is essential for individual survival. In contrast, over-generalisation is a pathological process that underlies the development of anxiety disorders. Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is an individual characteristic known to influence threat generalisation by altering the responses to threat in uncertain situations. However, how it affects contextual threat generalisation remains unclear. Here, we used a novel paradigm to investigate whether contextual threat generalisation varied between individuals depending on their IU level (high or low) and the predictability of a situation (predictable or unpredictable). We analysed shock expectancy in 82 participants (age: 18-27 years) during threat acquisition and generalisation. Results showed that compared with the low IU group, the high IU group exhibited increased contextual threat generalisation to threat-related cues in unpredictable situation. These findings suggest that IU could be a marker for anxiety disorder susceptibility, as well as a target for anxiety treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao Zhou
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yuanyuan Gu
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
| | - Lihui Huang
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yi Lei
- Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China
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15
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Morriss J, Abend R, Zika O, Bradford DE, Mertens G. Neural and psychophysiological markers of intolerance of uncertainty. Int J Psychophysiol 2023; 184:94-99. [PMID: 36630825 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2023.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jayne Morriss
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
| | - Rany Abend
- Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel
| | - Ondrej Zika
- Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany; Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Gaëtan Mertens
- Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, the Netherlands
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16
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Wiese AD, Lim SL, Filion DL, Kang SS. Intolerance of uncertainty and neural measures of anticipation and reactivity for affective stimuli. Int J Psychophysiol 2023; 183:138-147. [PMID: 36423712 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.11.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Revised: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is a transdiagnostic construct referring to the aversive interpretation of contexts characterized by uncertainty. Indeed, there is a growing body of research examining individual differences in IU and how these are associated with emotional anticipation and reactivity during periods of certainty and uncertainty, however, how these associations are reflected via neurophysiological indices remain understudied and poorly understood. The present study examined the relationship between self-reported IU and neurophysiological measures of emotional anticipation and reactivity, namely stimulus preceding negativity (SPN) and late positive potential (LPP), and self-report measures of emotional experiences. These measures were captured during an S1-S2 picture viewing tasks in which participants were presented with cues (S1) that either indicated the affective valence of upcoming picture (S2) or provided no information about the valence. Findings here provide evidence for significant associations between SPN amplitude and IU scores during uncertain and certain-positive cueing conditions, and significant associations between LPP amplitude and IU scores during both certain- and uncertain-negative picture viewing conditions that appear driven by prospective IU sub-scores. These positive associations between IU and SPN amplitude are suggestive of heightened emotional anticipation following S1 cues, while positive associations between IU and LPP are suggestive of heightened emotional reactivity following S2 images. These findings are discussed in detail relative to existing IU literature, and potential implications of these findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew D Wiese
- Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, United States of America
| | - Seung-Lark Lim
- Department of Psychology, University of Missouri - Kansas City, United States of America
| | - Diane L Filion
- Department of Psychology, University of Missouri - Kansas City, United States of America
| | - Seung Suk Kang
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Missouri - Kansas City, United States of America.
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17
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Radoman M, Gorka SM. Intolerance of uncertainty and functional connectivity of the anterior insula during anticipation of unpredictable reward. Int J Psychophysiol 2023; 183:1-8. [PMID: 36122824 PMCID: PMC11062179 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.09.003] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2021] [Revised: 09/04/2022] [Accepted: 09/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Individuals with high intolerance of uncertainty (IU) tend to display maladaptive cognitive, behavioral, physiological, and/or neural responses during anticipation of uncertain or ambiguous outcomes, both positive and negative in valence. Importantly, high IU has been proposed as a key transdiagnostic phenotypic risk factor for the onset and maintenance of several psychiatric disorders. Within the context of reward processing, high IU has been related to dysfunctional reward anticipation, which may be mediated by hyperactive anterior insula (AIC) response to uncertainty. The present study further investigated the relationship between the AIC and IU by examining the association between individual differences in IU and task-based functional connectivity of the right AIC using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Participants (N = 171) completed a self-report measure of IU and a reward anticipation task during fMRI. Generalized psychophysiological interaction (gPPI) analyses were performed with a seed in the right AIC. In the U-threat model, we found that greater self-reported levels of IU were correlated with increased functional connectivity between the right AIC and the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). In the P-threat model, we did not find these associations, perhaps indicating that they may be more robust during uncertainty. These preliminary findings suggest that parts of salience and central executive control networks may be impacted by and underlie the expression of IU. Future studies should examine the generalizability of these findings to clinical populations and investigate how disruption of these functional networks may contribute to psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milena Radoman
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1601 W Taylor Street, Chicago, IL 60612, USA; Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Illinois at Chicago, 840 S Wood Street, Chicago, IL 60612, USA; The Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Illinois at Chicago, 840 S Wood Street, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
| | - Stephanie M Gorka
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Ohio State University, 1670 Upham Drive, Columbus, OH 43205, USA
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18
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Morriss J, Goh K, Hirsch CR, Dodd HF. Intolerance of uncertainty heightens negative emotional states and dampens positive emotional states. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1147970. [PMID: 37032949 PMCID: PMC10073686 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1147970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 04/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Individuals high in self-reported Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) tend to view uncertainty as unbearable and stressful. Notably, IU is transdiagnostic, and high levels of IU are observed across many different emotional disorders (e.g., anxiety, depression). Research has primarily focused on how IU evokes and modulates emotional states such as fear and anxiety. However, recent research suggests that IU may have relevance for a broader range of emotional states. Here, an online survey was conducted to examine whether IU evokes and modulates a range of negative (e.g., fear/anxiety, sadness/upset, anger/frustration, disgust) and positive (e.g., happiness/joy, excitement/enthusiasm, surprise/interest) emotional states. Findings within a community sample (n = 231) revealed that individuals with higher levels of IU report: (1) that uncertainty in general and uncertainty under ambiguity are more likely to evoke negative emotional states and less likely to evoke positive emotional states, (2) that uncertainty under risk is less likely to evoke positive emotional states, and (3) that uncertainty heightens existing negative emotional states and dampens existing positive emotional states. Importantly, these IU-related findings remained when controlling for current experiences of general distress, anxious arousal, and anhedonic depression. Taken together, these findings suggest that IU is involved in evoking and modulating a wide array of emotional phenomena, which likely has relevance for transdiagnostic models and treatment plans for emotional disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jayne Morriss
- Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
- *Correspondence: Jayne Morriss,
| | - Kimberly Goh
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom
| | - Colette R. Hirsch
- King’s College London, Institute of Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience, London, United Kingdom
- South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
| | - Helen F. Dodd
- College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
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19
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Reduction of costly safety behaviors after extinction with a generalization stimulus is determined by individual differences in generalization rules. Behav Res Ther 2023; 160:104233. [PMID: 36450199 DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2022.104233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Revised: 10/07/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Exposure-based treatment involves repeated presentation of feared stimuli or situations in the absence of perceived threat (i.e., extinction learning). However, the stimulus or situation of fear acquisition (CS+) is highly unlikely to be replicated and presented during treatment. Thereby, stimuli that resemble the CS+ (generalization stimuli; GSs) are typically presented. Preliminary evidence suggests that depending on how one generalizes fear (i.e., different generalization rules), presenting the same GS in extinction leads to differential effectiveness of extinction learning. The current study aimed to extend this finding to safety behaviors. After differential fear and avoidance conditioning, participants exhibited discrete generalization gradients that were consistent with their reported generalization rules (Similarity vs Linear). The Linear group showed stronger safety behaviors to a selected GS compared to the Similarity group, presumably due to higher threat expectancy. After extinction learning to this GS, the Linear group exhibited stronger reduction in safety behaviors generalization compared to the Similarity group. The results show that identifying distinct generalization rules allows one to predict expectancy violation to the extinction stimulus, in addition to corroborating the idea that strongly violating threat expectancy leads to better extinction learning and its generalization. With regard to clinical implications, identifying one's generalization rule (e.g., threat beliefs) help designing exposure sessions that evoke strong expectancy violation, enhancing the reduction in the generalization of maladaptive safety behaviors.
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20
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Newsome P, Ruiz SG, Gold AL, Pine DS, Abend R. Fear-potentiated startle reveals diminished threat extinction in pathological anxiety. Int J Psychophysiol 2023; 183:81-91. [PMID: 36442665 PMCID: PMC9812922 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.11.011] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2022] [Revised: 10/13/2022] [Accepted: 11/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Major theories propose that perturbed threat learning is central to pathological anxiety, but empirical support is inconsistent. Failures to detect associations with anxiety may reflect limitations in quantifying conditioned responses to anticipated threat, and hinder translation of theory into empirical work. In prior work, we could not detect threat-specific anxiety effects on states of conditioned threat using psychophysiology in a large sample of patients and healthy comparisons. Here, we examine the utility of an alternative fear potentiated startle (FPS) scoring in revealing associations between anxiety and threat conditioning and extinction in this dataset. Secondary analyses further explored associations among conditioned threat responses, subcortical morphometry, and treatment outcomes. METHODS Youths and adults with anxiety disorders and healthy comparisons (n = 306; 178 female participants; 8-50 years) previously completed a well-validated differential threat learning paradigm. FPS and skin conductance response (SCR) quantified psychophysiological responses during threat conditioning and extinction. In this report, we examined normalizing raw FPS scores to intertrial intervals (ITI) to address challenges in more common approaches to FPS scoring which could mask group effects. Secondary analyses examined associations between FPS and subcortical morphometry and with response to exposure-based cognitive behavioral therapy in a subsample of patients. RESULTS Patients and comparisons showed comparable differential threat conditioning using FPS and SCR. While SCR suggested comparable extinction between groups, FPS revealed stronger retention of threat contingency during extinction in individuals with anxiety disorders. Extinction indexed with FPS was not associated with age, morphometry, or anxiety treatment outcome. CONCLUSION ITI-normalized FPS may have utility in detecting difficulties in extinguishing conditioned threat responses in anxiety. These findings provide support for extinction theories of anxiety and encourage continued research on aberrant extinction in pathological anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip Newsome
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Sonia G Ruiz
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Andrea L Gold
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Daniel S Pine
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Rany Abend
- Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University, Israel.
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21
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Tashjian SM, Wise T, Mobbs D. Model-based prioritization for acquiring protection. PLoS Comput Biol 2022; 18:e1010805. [PMID: 36534704 PMCID: PMC9810162 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Revised: 01/03/2023] [Accepted: 12/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Protection often involves the capacity to prospectively plan the actions needed to mitigate harm. The computational architecture of decisions involving protection remains unclear, as well as whether these decisions differ from other beneficial prospective actions such as reward acquisition. Here we compare protection acquisition to reward acquisition and punishment avoidance to examine overlapping and distinct features across the three action types. Protection acquisition is positively valenced similar to reward. For both protection and reward, the more the actor gains, the more benefit. However, reward and protection occur in different contexts, with protection existing in aversive contexts. Punishment avoidance also occurs in aversive contexts, but differs from protection because punishment is negatively valenced and motivates avoidance. Across three independent studies (Total N = 600) we applied computational modeling to examine model-based reinforcement learning for protection, reward, and punishment in humans. Decisions motivated by acquiring protection evoked a higher degree of model-based control than acquiring reward or avoiding punishment, with no significant differences in learning rate. The context-valence asymmetry characteristic of protection increased deployment of flexible decision strategies, suggesting model-based control depends on the context in which outcomes are encountered as well as the valence of the outcome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah M. Tashjian
- Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, United States of America
| | - Toby Wise
- Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, United States of America
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Dean Mobbs
- Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, United States of America
- Computation and Neural Systems, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, United States of America
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22
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Conner CM, Kim PS, White SW, Mazefsky CA. The role of emotion dysregulation and intolerance of uncertainty in autism: Transdiagnostic factors influencing co-occurring conditions. RESEARCH IN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES 2022; 130:104332. [PMID: 36116227 DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2022.104332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Revised: 07/11/2022] [Accepted: 09/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are more likely to have co-occurring psychiatric conditions such as depression and anxiety. Transdiagnostic constructs such as intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and emotion dysregulation (ED) have both been shown to be individually associated with depression and anxiety in those with ASD. AIMS The current study examined the relationship between IU and ED, depression, and anxiety in an ED treatment-seeking sample and examined whether ED acts as a mediator between IU-depression and IU-anxiety. METHODS AND PROCEDURES We examined baseline scores for 78 adolescents and young adults (12-21 years old) who were participating in an ED treatment. We assessed for correlations between IU, Reactivity and Dysphoria, anxiety, and depression symptoms, and then conducted mediation analyses to determine whether Reactivity and Dysphoria functioned as a mediator in IU- anxiety and IU- depression relationships. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS Concordant with prior research, ED, IU, anxiety, and depression scores were correlated. Both Reactivity and Dysphoria were found to mediate both IU-depression and IU-anxiety. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS Findings suggest that ED contributes to how IU affects psychopathology. Furthermore, both IU and ED may be pertinent treatment targets for individuals with depression or anxiety and ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caitlin M Conner
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
| | - Paul S Kim
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | | | - Carla A Mazefsky
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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23
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Resting-state heart rate variability (HRV) mediates the association between perceived chronic stress and ambiguity avoidance. Sci Rep 2022; 12:17645. [PMID: 36271286 PMCID: PMC9587282 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-22584-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 10/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Chronic stress is associated with profound behavioral and physiological alterations, including intolerance to uncertainty and reduced resting-state heart-rate-variability (HRV). Critically, uncertainty may arise in situations with known probabilities (risk) or unknown probabilities (ambiguity). Whether associations between chronic stress and decision-making under uncertainty are dependent on the specific type of uncertain decisions, and whether physiological alterations play a role in these putative associations is not yet clear. Here, ninety-two healthy adults that exhibit various levels of perceived chronic stress underwent resting-state HRV recording before completing a behavioral task that involves decision-making under either risk or ambiguity. Computational modelling quantified participants' behavioral attitudes of approach and avoidance separately for risk and ambiguity. Results indicate, as expected, that perceived chronic stress is positively associated with intolerance to uncertainty and negatively associated with resting-state HRV. Contrary to expectations, behavioral attitudes towards risk and ambiguity were not directly associated with perceived chronic stress, yet HRV fully mediated the association between chronic stress and ambiguity avoidance. Taken together and given the direction of the associations, elevated HRV despite chronic stress may foster adaptive behavior in the form of avoiding ambiguous situations, and hence contribute to reduced exposure to uncertainty and to lower levels of allostatic load.
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24
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Malivoire BL, Marcotte-Beaumier G, Sumantry D, Koerner N. Correlates of Dampening and Savoring in Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Int J Cogn Ther 2022; 15:414-433. [PMID: 36161248 PMCID: PMC9483300 DOI: 10.1007/s41811-022-00145-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Chronic worry and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) symptoms are associated with infrequent savoring, and high dampening, of positive emotions. The goal of the present study was to investigate the indirect role of GAD-relevant processes, including intolerance of uncertainty (IU), fear of negative emotional contrasts, and negative beliefs about positive emotion and its regulation, in the relationship between GAD symptom severity and the tendency to engage in dampening and not savor positive emotions. Community participants (N = 233) completed questionnaires online. In separate models, IU, fear of negative emotional contrasts, and negative beliefs about positive emotion and its regulation fully mediated the relationships between GAD symptom severity and greater dampening and lower savoring. However, controlling for depression, only IU remained a significant mediator. A post hoc latent analysis of the mediators provided support for an underlying construct that may reflect intolerance of uncomfortable states. Intolerance of uncomfortable states was found to significantly mediate the relationship between GAD symptoms and greater dampening and lower savoring. Difficulty withstanding uncertainty may be particularly relevant in understanding why people with elevated GAD symptoms engage in efforts to avoid experiencing positive emotions. Further, the findings suggest that there may be a common factor underlying a variety of GAD-associated constructs reflecting a broad intolerance of uncomfortable inner states. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bailee L. Malivoire
- Department of Psychology, Toronto Metropolitan University, 350 Victoria St, ON Toronto, Canada
| | - Gabrielle Marcotte-Beaumier
- Département de Psychologie, Université du Québec À Montréal, 405 Rue Sainte-Catherine Est, Montréal, QC Canada
| | - David Sumantry
- Department of Psychology, Toronto Metropolitan University, 350 Victoria St, ON Toronto, Canada
| | - Naomi Koerner
- Department of Psychology, Toronto Metropolitan University, 350 Victoria St, ON Toronto, Canada
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25
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Wroblewski A, Hollandt M, Yang Y, Ridderbusch IC, Pietzner A, Szeska C, Lotze M, Wittchen HU, Heinig I, Pittig A, Arolt V, Koelkebeck K, Rothkopf CA, Adolph D, Margraf J, Lueken U, Pauli P, Herrmann MJ, Winkler MH, Ströhle A, Dannlowski U, Kircher T, Hamm AO, Straube B, Richter J. Sometimes I feel the fear of uncertainty: How intolerance of uncertainty and trait anxiety impact fear acquisition, extinction and the return of fear. Int J Psychophysiol 2022; 181:125-140. [PMID: 36116610 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2022] [Revised: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 09/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
It is hypothesized that the ability to discriminate between threat and safety is impaired in individuals with high dispositional negativity, resulting in maladaptive behavior. A large body of research investigated differential learning during fear conditioning and extinction protocols depending on individual differences in intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and trait anxiety (TA), two closely-related dimensions of dispositional negativity, with heterogenous results. These might be due to varying degrees of induced threat/safety uncertainty. Here, we compared two groups with high vs. low IU/TA during periods of low (instructed fear acquisition) and high levels of uncertainty (delayed non-instructed extinction training and reinstatement). Dependent variables comprised subjective (US expectancy, valence, arousal), psychophysiological (skin conductance response, SCR, and startle blink), and neural (fMRI BOLD) measures of threat responding. During fear acquisition, we found strong threat/safety discrimination for both groups. During early extinction (high uncertainty), the low IU/TA group showed an increased physiological response to the safety signal, resulting in a lack of CS discrimination. In contrast, the high IU/TA group showed strong initial threat/safety discrimination in physiology, lacking discriminative learning on startle, and reduced neural activation in regions linked to threat/safety processing throughout extinction training indicating sustained but non-adaptive and rigid responding. Similar neural patterns were found after the reinstatement test. Taken together, we provide evidence that high dispositional negativity, as indicated here by IU and TA, is associated with greater responding to threat cues during the beginning of delayed extinction, and, thus, demonstrates altered learning patterns under changing environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrian Wroblewski
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior - CMBB, Philipps-University Marburg, Germany.
| | - Maike Hollandt
- Department of Psychology, University of Greifswald, Germany
| | - Yunbo Yang
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior - CMBB, Philipps-University Marburg, Germany
| | - Isabelle C Ridderbusch
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior - CMBB, Philipps-University Marburg, Germany
| | - Anne Pietzner
- Department of Psychology, University of Greifswald, Germany
| | | | - Martin Lotze
- Functional Imaging Unit, Diagnostic Radiology and Neuroradiology of the University Medicine Greifswald, Germany
| | - Hans-Ulrich Wittchen
- Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Germany
| | - Ingmar Heinig
- Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
| | - Andre Pittig
- Translational Psychotherapy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany
| | - Volker Arolt
- Institute for Translational Psychiatry, University of Münster, Germany
| | - Katja Koelkebeck
- LVR-Hospital Essen, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany
| | | | - Dirk Adolph
- Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany
| | - Jürgen Margraf
- Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany
| | - Ulrike Lueken
- Center for Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Wuerzburg, Germany; Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany
| | - Paul Pauli
- Department of Psychology I, Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg, Germany
| | - Martin J Herrmann
- Center for Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Wuerzburg, Germany
| | - Markus H Winkler
- Department of Psychology I, Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg, Germany
| | - Andreas Ströhle
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Charité Mitte, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin und Berliner Institut für Gesundheitsforschung, Germany
| | - Udo Dannlowski
- Institute for Translational Psychiatry, University of Münster, Germany
| | - Tilo Kircher
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior - CMBB, Philipps-University Marburg, Germany
| | - Alfons O Hamm
- Department of Psychology, University of Greifswald, Germany
| | - Benjamin Straube
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior - CMBB, Philipps-University Marburg, Germany
| | - Jan Richter
- Department of Psychology, University of Greifswald, Germany
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Krypotos AM, Alves M, Crombez G, Vlaeyen JWS. The role of intolerance of uncertainty when solving the exploration-exploitation dilemma. Int J Psychophysiol 2022; 181:33-39. [PMID: 36007711 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Revised: 08/09/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
When making behavioral decisions, individuals need to balance between exploiting known options or exploring new ones. How individuals solve this exploration-exploitation dilemma (EED) is a key research question across psychology, leading to attempting to disentangle the cognitive mechanisms behind it. A potential predictive factor of performance in an EED is intolerance of uncertainty (IU), an individual difference factor referring to the extent to which uncertain situations are reported to be aversive. Here, we present the results of a series of exploratory analyses in which we tested the relationship between IU and performance in an EED task. For this, we compiled data from 3 experiments, in which participants received the opportunity to exploit different movements in order to avoid a painful stimulus and approach rewards. For decomposing performance in this task, we used different computational models previously employed in studies on the EED. Then, the parameters of the winning model were correlated with the scores of participants in the IU scale. Correlational and cluster analyses, within both frequentists and Bayesian frameworks, did not provide strong evidence for a relation between EED and IU, apart from the decay rate and the subscale "tendency to become paralyzed in the face of uncertainty". Given the theoretical relation between EED and IU, we propose research with different experimental paradigms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angelos-Miltiadis Krypotos
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Utrecht University, the Netherlands; Research Group Health Psychology, KU Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Maryna Alves
- Research Group Health Psychology, KU Leuven, Belgium
| | - Geert Crombez
- Department of Experimental-Clinical and Heath Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium
| | - Johan W S Vlaeyen
- Research Group Health Psychology, KU Leuven, Belgium; Experimental Health Psychology, Maastricht University, the Netherlands
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27
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Lipp OV, Luck CC, Ney LJ, Waters AM. Intolerance of uncertainty affects electrodermal responses during fear acquisition: Evidence from electrodermal responses to unconditional stimulus omission. Int J Psychophysiol 2022; 180:17-26. [PMID: 35878731 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2022] [Revised: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 07/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Past research has shown that Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) affects Pavlovian fear conditioning processes. In particular, extinction of learned fear is delayed in those reporting high IU. Reports of differences during acquisition are less consistent with most of the studies reporting no evidence for effects of IU. This may be due to past studies' focus on first interval electrodermal responses or fear potentiated startle, rather than on indices that may better capture uncertainty - like the response to the absence of a probabilistic unconditional stimulus. The current analysis combined data across three experiments that employed a 50 % reinforcement schedule and assessed electrodermal responses and (in two experiments) ratings of conditional stimulus pleasantness. Participants scoring high on IU showed overall larger electrodermal first interval responses during habituation and acquisition but did not differ from those scoring low on IU in differential conditioning (the difference between CS+ and CS-), as indicated by electrodermal first or second interval responses or ratings of CS pleasantness. However, participants high in IU showed larger differential third interval electrodermal responses to the omission of the electro-tactile unconditional stimulus during acquisition. Some evidence for this difference emerged in each experiment, supporting the reliability of the result. The current results suggest that effects of IU emerge in conditions of high uncertainty in Pavlovian fear learning tasks, such as during the omission of probabilistic unconditional stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ottmar V Lipp
- School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Australia.
| | - Camilla C Luck
- School of Population Health, Curtin University, Australia
| | - Luke J Ney
- School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
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28
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The role of relief, perceived control, and prospective intolerance of uncertainty in excessive avoidance in uncertain-threat environments. Int J Psychophysiol 2022; 179:89-100. [PMID: 35820508 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2021] [Revised: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 07/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Excessive avoidance is a key feature of pathological anxiety. However, the precise mechanisms underlying the development of excessive avoidance are still unknown. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that excessive avoidance, especially in individuals with high Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) is aimed at distress reduction via the enhancement of subjective perceived control in uncertain-threat environments. In our experiment, participants learned to avoid an uncertain aversive sound through a discriminated free operant procedure. In a later test phase in extinction, we manipulated the amount of avoidance responses available per trial by creating a limited and an unrestricted response condition. Nonetheless, the aversive sound could be effectively avoided in both conditions. We measured response frequency, avoidance confidence ratings and anxiety-predisposing traits such as intolerance of uncertainty, trait anxiety and distress tolerance. The degree of distress suffered during trials was inferred from post-trial relief ratings that were requested after trials in which the aversive sound had been omitted. In the avoidance acquisition phase, we found a positive association between prospective intolerance of uncertainty (P-IU) and the decline rate of distress. This relationship was not significant, however, when inhibitory intolerance of uncertainty (I-IU) was controlled for. At test, we found that the increase in avoidance responses led to distress reduction through the enhancement of avoidance confidence. Finally, we found a significant modulating role of P-IU in the effect of response limit on distress reduction that lends further support to our hypothesis. Specifically, P-IU was positively associated with the effect of response limit on distress. However, such modulating role was not significant when controlling for trait anxiety or I-IU.
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29
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Carsten HP, Härpfer K, Riesel A. A rare scare: The role of intolerance of uncertainty in startle responses and event-related potentials in anticipation of unpredictable threat. Int J Psychophysiol 2022; 179:56-66. [PMID: 35787439 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.06.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2021] [Revised: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) represents a transdiagnostic risk factor for internalizing psychopathology. However, little is known regarding its psychophysiological correlates. IU is thought to render individuals hypersensitive to threatening events, even if the occurrence probability is low. To test this, we recruited 90 students who completed two NPU-threat tests separating temporal unpredictability from probabilistic unpredictability (i.e., probability of occurrence): First, a NPU version in which the timing of threat (i.e., shock) was either predictable or unpredictable but the shock probability was 100 % in each trial. Second, a probabilistic NPU version in which the timing of the shock was also either predictable or unpredictable, but the shock probability was 33 % in each trial. Startle reflex, event-related potentials N1 and P3 locked to auditory startle probes, and anxiety ratings were analyzed. As expected, temporally unpredictable threat modulated startle, N1, and anxiety ratings. IU predicted increased startle to lower shock probability, regardless of the temporal predictability. No evidence emerged for IU affecting N1 or P3. However, IU predicted anxiety ratings to threat conditions regardless of temporal or probabilistic predictability. Individual differences in IU shape startle responses to eventual threat: IU increases automatic defensive responding to unpredictable and potentially threatening situations if the threat probability is low. Individuals with higher IU may tend to "err on the side of caution" with a mismatch between physiological preparation and threat probability, such that the effects of IU are particularly observable in low threat probability conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kai Härpfer
- Department of Psychology, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Anja Riesel
- Department of Psychology, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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30
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Han L, Bai H, Lun B, Li Y, Wang Y, Ni Q. The Prevalence of Fear of Childbirth and Its Association With Intolerance of Uncertainty and Coping Styles Among Pregnant Chinese Women During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:935760. [PMID: 35832593 PMCID: PMC9273116 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.935760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 05/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Fear of childbirth (FOC) is one of the most common psychological symptoms among pregnant women and significantly relates to cesarean section, anxiety, and depression. However, it is not clear the prevalence and risk factors of FOC among Chinese pregnant women since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Aims The objective of this study was to examine the associations between coping styles, intolerance of uncertainty, and FOC. Method From December 2021 to April 2022, a cross-sectional survey was conducted in two hospitals in China through convenient sampling. The cross-sectional survey was conducted among 969 pregnant women, which included the Childbirth Attitude Questionnaire (CAQ), Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale-12 (IUS-12), and Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ). Results The total prevalence of FOC was 67.8%. The percentages of women with mild (a score of 28-39), moderate (40-51), and severe FOC (52-64) were 43.6, 20.2, and 4.0%, respectively. The regression results indicated that primiparas, unplanned pregnancy, few spousal support, intolerance of uncertainty, and negative coping styles were significant risk factors of FOC. Women who adopt positive coping strategies experienced a lower level of childbirth fear. Conclusion These findings suggest that cultivating positive coping styles and obtaining sufficient childbirth information may be helpful for mothers' mental health. Regular screening assessment of perinatal psychological symptoms, such as the high level of intolerance of uncertainty and negative coping styles, should be adopted to reduce the risk of fear of childbirth.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hua Bai
- The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
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31
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Papenfuss I, Lommen MJJ, Huisman M, Ostafin BD. Aversive response to uncertainty as a mediator for the effect of a mindfulness intervention on symptoms of anxiety. Int J Psychophysiol 2022; 179:30-42. [PMID: 35753561 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.06.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Revised: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND Intolerance of uncertainty plays a central role in anxiety and research suggests that it's an important treatment target. Investigating response to uncertainty using other dimensions than self-report, such as physiological responses, can further the effort to understand the role of uncertainty in anxiety more fully. Mindfulness interventions have become increasingly interesting in their application to anxiety, as they foster acceptance of unpleasant aspects of experience. The aims of the study were to examine whether a mindfulness intervention reduced response to uncertainty and anxiety symptoms, and to examine the associations between intolerance of uncertainty, physiological response to uncertainty, mindfulness and anxiety. METHODS Participants were 117 students who completed a two-week mindfulness or audiobook control intervention. At pre- and post-intervention assessments, measures of anxiety, mindfulness, and intolerance of uncertainty were completed and a threat-of-shock task assessing startle responding to unpredictable shock was administered. RESULTS Findings showed a significant effect of the intervention for social anxiety symptoms. Furthermore, intolerance of uncertainty mediated the effect of the intervention on symptoms for social anxiety and worry. No such effects were found for physiological response to uncertainty. CONCLUSION The study adds to the understanding of the role of response to uncertainty in anxiety as well as to its mechanistic role in the context of mindfulness practice. Implications and possible explanations for the non-significant main effects of the intervention on anxiety symptoms and physiological response to uncertainty are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- I Papenfuss
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology, University of Groningen, Grote Kruisstraat 2/1, 9712TS Groningen, the Netherlands.
| | - M J J Lommen
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology, University of Groningen, Grote Kruisstraat 2/1, 9712TS Groningen, the Netherlands.
| | - M Huisman
- Department of Sociology, University of Groningen, Grote Kruisstraat 2/1, 9712TS Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.
| | - B D Ostafin
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology, University of Groningen, Grote Kruisstraat 2/1, 9712TS Groningen, the Netherlands.
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32
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Jovanovic T, Wiltshire CN, Reda MH, France J, Wanna CP, Minton ST, Davie W, Grasser LR, Winters S, Schacter H, Marusak HA, Stenson AF. Uncertain in the face of change: Lack of contingency shift awareness during extinction is associated with higher fear-potentiated startle and PTSD symptoms in children. Int J Psychophysiol 2022; 178:90-98. [PMID: 35718286 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.06.008] [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: 02/14/2022] [Revised: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Intolerance of uncertainty is a transdiagnostic risk factor for fear-related disorders and is associated with higher levels of anxiety in children and adolescents. It is unclear how uncertainty relates to development of psychopathology in children who have experienced trauma in early life. The present study used a fear-potentiated startle paradigm in children to examine associations between uncertainty (assessed as unawareness of a change in reinforcement during fear extinction) and symptoms of anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as startle potentiation to threat and safety cues. Results showed that unaware children had strong positive associations between trauma exposure and PTSD symptoms, whereas aware children did not. Uncertainty interacted with anxiety in that children who were both unaware and had higher anxiety displayed higher fear-potentiated startle to safety cues and did not show discrimination between threat and safety during fear conditioning. These results suggest that anxious children who persist in associating a threat cue with an aversive event during extinction, after repeated presentations of the no longer reinforced conditioned stimulus, may express psychophysiological phenotypes related to PTSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Jovanovic
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States.
| | - C N Wiltshire
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States
| | - M H Reda
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States
| | - J France
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States
| | - C P Wanna
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States
| | - S T Minton
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - W Davie
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States
| | - L R Grasser
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States
| | - S Winters
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States
| | - H Schacter
- Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States
| | - H A Marusak
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States
| | - A F Stenson
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States
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33
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Del Popolo Cristaldi F, Buodo G, Duma GM, Sarlo M, Mento G. Unbalanced functional connectivity at rest affects the ERP correlates of affective prediction in high intolerance of uncertainty individuals: A high density EEG investigation. Int J Psychophysiol 2022; 178:22-33. [PMID: 35709946 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.06.006] [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: 01/11/2022] [Revised: 05/28/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
In a recent study we outlined the link between Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) and the neural correlates of affective predictions, as constructed by the brain (generation stage) to prepare to relevant stimuli (implementation stage), and update predictive models according to incoming stimuli (updating stage). In this study we further explored whether the brain's functional organization at rest can modulate neural activity elicited within an emotional S1-S2 paradigm as a function of IU and uncertainty of S1-S2 contingencies. We computed resting state functional connectivity (RS-FC) from a 3-min resting period recorded with high density EEG, and we tested whether RS graph theory nodal measures (i.e., strength, clustering coefficient, betweenness centrality) predicted in-task ERP modulation as a function of IU. We found that RS-FC differently predicted in-task ERPs within the generation and updating stages. Higher IU levels were associated to altered RS-FC patterns within both domain-specific (i.e., right superior temporal sulcus) and domain-general regions (i.e., right orbitofrontal cortex), predictive of a reduced modulation of in-task ERPs in the generation and updating stages. This is presumably ascribable to an unbalancing between synchronization and integration within these regions, which may disrupt the exchange of information between top-down and bottom-up pathways. This altered RS-FC pattern may in turn result in the construction of less efficient affective predictions and a reduced ability to deal with contextual uncertainty in individuals high in IU.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Giulia Buodo
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Via Venezia 8, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Gian Marco Duma
- Institut de Neurosciences des Systèmes, Aix-Marseille Université, 27 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005 Marseille, France
| | - Michela Sarlo
- Department of Communication Sciences, Humanities and International Studies, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Via Saffi 15, 61029 Urbino, Italy
| | - Giovanni Mento
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Via Venezia 8, 35131 Padova, Italy; Padua Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padua, Via Giuseppe Orus 2, 35131 Padova, Italy
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34
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Funkhouser CJ, Klemballa DM, Shankman SA. Using what we know about threat reactivity models to understand mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Behav Res Ther 2022; 153:104082. [PMID: 35378405 PMCID: PMC8949844 DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2022.104082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2021] [Revised: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by unprecedented levels of stress and threats in a variety of domains (e.g., health, livelihood). Individual differences in threat reactivity may explain why some individuals are at elevated risk for the development or maintenance of psychopathology during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article describes several prominent models, mechanisms, and components of threat reactivity (e.g., appraisals, intolerance of uncertainty, avoidance) and discusses how they might help improve understanding of changes in psychopathology during and following the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carter J. Funkhouser
- Northwestern University, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 680 N. Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, IL, 60611, USA,University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Psychology, 1007 W. Harrison St., Chicago, IL, 60607, USA,Corresponding author. University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Psychology, 1007 W. Harrison St., Chicago, IL, 60607, USA
| | - David M. Klemballa
- Northwestern University, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 680 N. Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
| | - Stewart A. Shankman
- Northwestern University, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 680 N. Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
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35
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Wendt J, Morriss J. An examination of Intolerance of Uncertainty and contingency instruction on multiple indices during threat acquisition and extinction training. Int J Psychophysiol 2022; 177:171-178. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Revised: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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36
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Effects of intolerance of uncertainty on subjective and psychophysiological measures during fear acquisition and delayed extinction. Int J Psychophysiol 2022; 177:249-259. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2021] [Revised: 04/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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37
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Mertens G, De Wolf N, Bouwman V, Engelhard IM. The relationship between Intolerance of Uncertainty and conditioned fear acquisition: Evidence from a large sample. Int J Psychophysiol 2022; 177:67-75. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2021] [Revised: 03/23/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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38
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Baerg L, Bruchmann K. COVID-19 information overload: Intolerance of uncertainty moderates the relationship between frequency of internet searching and fear of COVID-19. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2022; 224:103534. [PMID: 35189539 PMCID: PMC8843333 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2021] [Revised: 02/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented levels of uncertainty for people around the world. Research suggests that internet searching resulting in contradictory information can lead to increased levels of distress, particularly for people who have a high intolerance of uncertainty (IU). In the present correlational study, U.S. undergraduate students (N = 317) indicated their IU, the frequency with which they search for COVID-19 related information online, their overall health anxiety, their fear of COVID-19 (FCV-19), and engagement in prevention behaviors. Consistent with previous research, individual differences in IU moderated the relationship between internet searches and FCV-19 such that for people high in IU, more internet searching was associated with greater fear. In turn, we also found that greater FCV-19 predicted more social-distancing behaviors. These findings are important in both future mental health and public health initiatives.
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39
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Correa KA, Li LY, Nelson BD, Shankman SA. Event-related potentials to acoustic startle probes during unpredictable threat are associated with individual differences in intolerance of uncertainty. Int J Psychophysiol 2022; 174:66-75. [PMID: 35143906 PMCID: PMC8923991 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.01.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2021] [Revised: 01/26/2022] [Accepted: 01/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Individual differences in sensitivity to unpredictable threat may be a critical mechanism for internalizing psychopathology phenotypes. The present study examined whether the startle probe-elicited N100 and P300 during unpredictable threat - two event-related potentials indexing early and elaborative attentional processing of unpredictable threat - may be endophenotypes for internalizing psychopathology, including fear and distress/misery disorders and intolerance of uncertainty (IU), a clinical trait that is transdiagnostically associated with internalizing disorders. A large sample of adult siblings (N = 375) completed the no, predictable, and unpredictable threat task, during which the N100 and P300 were recorded. Relative to the no threat condition, N100 was more strongly enhanced in anticipation of unpredictable than predictable threat while P300 was suppressed to both predictable and unpredictable threat. While neither N100 enhancement nor P300 suppression to unpredictable threat was associated with fear or distress/misery disorders, they were negatively linked to inhibitory IU (a facet of IU). Thus, individuals high in inhibitory IU showed reduced attentional engagement with the threatening context when it was unpredictable. Further, N100 enhancement and, to a lesser degree, P300 suppression to unpredictable threat showed familial aggregation - a key criterion for determining whether a biomarker is an endophenotype. In sum, N100 enhancement and P300 suppression to unpredictable threat may be endophenotypes for dimensional measures of internalizing psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly A Correa
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Lilian Y Li
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Brady D Nelson
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Stewart A Shankman
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
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40
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Morriss J, Bradford DE, Wake S, Biagi N, Tanovic E, Kaye JT, Joormann J. Intolerance of uncertainty and physiological responses during instructed uncertain threat: A multi-lab investigation. Biol Psychol 2021; 167:108223. [PMID: 34785278 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Revised: 11/03/2021] [Accepted: 11/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Individuals with high self-reported Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) tend to interpret uncertainty negatively. Recent research has been inconclusive on evidence of an association between IU and physiological responses during instructed uncertain threat. To address this gap, we conducted secondary analyses of IU and physiology data recorded during instructed uncertain threat tasks from two lab sites (Wisconsin-Madison; n = 128; Yale, n = 95). No IU-related effects were observed for orbicularis oculi activity (auditory startle-reflex). Higher IU was associated with: (1) greater corrugator supercilii activity to predictable and unpredictable threat of shock, compared to the safety from shock, and (2) poorer discriminatory skin conductance response between the unpredictable threat of shock, relative to the safety from shock. These findings suggest that IU-related biases may be captured differently depending on the physiological measure during instructed uncertain threat. Implications of these findings for neurobiological models of uncertainty and anticipation in anxiety are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jayne Morriss
- Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK.
| | - Daniel E Bradford
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
| | - Shannon Wake
- Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK
| | - Nicolo Biagi
- Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK
| | - Ema Tanovic
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Jesse T Kaye
- Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention, University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA; William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Jutta Joormann
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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41
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Mertens G, Bouwman V, Engelhard IM. Conceptual fear generalization gradients and their relationship with anxious traits: Results from a Registered Report. Int J Psychophysiol 2021; 170:43-50. [PMID: 34606931 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2021.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2021] [Revised: 09/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
A hallmark symptom of fear and anxiety disorder is generalization of fear to essentially innocuous stimuli and situations. Such generalization can occur through both perceptual and conceptually similarities. Recent studies indicate that perceptual generalization is inflated in anxiety patients and individuals prone to develop anxiety disorders, suggesting that perceptual generalization may be involved in the etiology of anxiety disorders. In the current Registered Report, we wanted to address whether conceptual generalization is potentially implicated in the development of anxiety disorders as well. Therefore, we used a novel paradigm in which the Dutch word mini [tiny] or enorm [enormous] was paired with an electric shock and assessed fear to the conceptually related words klein [small], medium [medium], and groot [large]. The sample (N = 120) consisted of healthy university students. As hypothesized, we observed clear conceptual fear generalization gradients using both self-report and psychophysiological measures. However, in contrast to our expectations, these conceptual generalization gradients were not correlated with different anxious traits (i.e., trait anxiety, intolerance of uncertainty, and behavioral inhibition). These results show that fear can generalize conceptually along a gradient, without requiring perceptual errors as postulated by traditional models of fear generalization. Instead, our results correspond well with inferential reasoning theories of fear generalization. Additionally, we discuss potential reasons for the absence of the expected correlations between conceptual fear generalization and anxious traits, such as restricted variability in both the generalization task and the sample. We conclude that the paradigm has promise for further research on conceptual fear generalization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaëtan Mertens
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, the Netherlands.
| | - Vera Bouwman
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Iris M Engelhard
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
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