1
|
Cassaday HJ, Muir C, Stevenson CW, Bonardi C, Hock R, Waite L. From safety to frustration: The neural substrates of inhibitory learning in aversive and appetitive conditioning procedures. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2023; 202:107757. [PMID: 37044368 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2023.107757] [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: 02/20/2023] [Revised: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/08/2023] [Indexed: 04/14/2023]
Abstract
Inhibitory associative learning counters the effects of excitatory learning, whether appetitively or aversively motivated. Moreover, the affective responses accompanying the inhibitory associations are of opponent valence to the excitatory conditioned responses. Inhibitors for negative aversive outcomes (e.g. shock) signal safety, while inhibitors for appetitive outcomes (e.g. food reward) elicit frustration and/or disappointment. This raises the question as to whether studies using appetitive and aversive conditioning procedures should demonstrate the same neural substrates for inhibitory learning. We review the neural substrates of appetitive and aversive inhibitory learning as measured in different procedural variants and in the context of the underpinning excitatory conditioning on which it depends. The mesocorticolimbic dopamine pathways, retrosplenial cortex and hippocampus are consistently implicated in inhibitory learning. Further neural substrates identified in some procedural variants may be related to the specific motivation of the learning task and modalities of the learning cues. Finally, we consider the translational implications of our understanding of the neural substrates of inhibitory learning, for obesity and addictions as well as for anxiety disorders.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - C Muir
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham; School of Physiology, Pharmacology, and Neuroscience, University of Bristol
| | | | - C Bonardi
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham
| | - R Hock
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham
| | - L Waite
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Laing PAF, Harrison BJ. Safety learning and the Pavlovian conditioned inhibition of fear in humans: Current state and future directions. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 127:659-674. [PMID: 34023357 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.05.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2021] [Revised: 05/07/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Safety learning occurs when an otherwise neutral stimulus comes to signal the absence of threat, allowing organisms to use safety information to inhibit fear and anxiety in nonthreatening environments. Although it continues to emerge as a topic of relevance in biological and clinical psychology, safety learning remains inconsistently defined and under-researched. Here, we analyse the Pavlovian conditioned inhibition paradigm and its application to the study of safety learning in humans. We discuss existing studies; address outstanding theoretical considerations; and identify prospects for its further application. Though Pavlovian conditioned inhibition presents a theoretically sound model of safety learning, it has been investigated infrequently, with decade-long interims between some studies, and notable methodological variability. Consequently, we argue that the full potential of conditioned inhibition as a model for human safety learning remains untapped, and propose that it could be revisited as a framework for addressing timely questions in the behavioural and clinical sciences.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Patrick A F Laing
- Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
| | - Ben J Harrison
- Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Kronenburg A, Spliet WG, Broekman M, Robe P. Locus coeruleus syndrome as a complication of tectal surgery. BMJ Case Rep 2015; 2015:bcr-2014-207018. [PMID: 25903199 DOI: 10.1136/bcr-2014-207018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
We describe a case of a 48-year-old woman who underwent a resection of a tectal pilocytic astrocytoma complicated by a sequence of fluctuating consciousness, psychosis with complex hallucinations and lasting sleeping disturbances in which she vividly acts out her dreams. Based on the clinical and anatomical evidence of this case, we propose the term locus coeruleus syndrome to describe this association of iatrogenic symptoms. Along with those of the locus coeruleus, lesions of the dorsal raphe nucleus, ventral tegmentum, substantia nigra pars compacta, the superior colliculus and other peduncular lesions (such as peduncular hallucinosis) are involved in the regulation of sleep-wake/arousal, behaviour, sleeping disorders and rapid eye movement atonia. However, iatrogenic lesion of the locus coeruleus could explain the complications on all levels in our patient.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Annick Kronenburg
- Department of Neurosurgery, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Wim G Spliet
- Department of Pathology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Marike Broekman
- Department of Neurosurgery, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Pierre Robe
- Department of Neurosurgery, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Kong E, Monje FJ, Hirsch J, Pollak DD. Learning not to fear: neural correlates of learned safety. Neuropsychopharmacology 2014; 39:515-27. [PMID: 23963118 PMCID: PMC3895233 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2013.191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2013] [Revised: 07/05/2013] [Accepted: 07/13/2013] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
The ability to recognize and properly respond to instances of protection from impending danger is critical for preventing chronic stress and anxiety-central symptoms of anxiety and affective disorders afflicting large populations of people. Learned safety encompasses learning processes, which lead to the identification of episodes of security and regulation of fear responses. On the basis of insights into the neural circuitry and molecular mechanisms involved in learned safety in mice and humans, we describe learned safety as a tool for understanding neural mechanisms involved in the pathomechanisms of specific affective disorders. This review summarizes our current knowledge on the neurobiological underpinnings of learned safety and discusses potential applications in basic and translational neurosciences.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eryan Kong
- Department of Neurophysiology and Neuropharmacology, Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Francisco J Monje
- Department of Neurophysiology and Neuropharmacology, Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Joy Hirsch
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- fMRI Research Center, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Radiology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Daniela D Pollak
- Department of Neurophysiology and Neuropharmacology, Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Abstract
Safety signals are learned cues that predict the nonoccurrence of an aversive event. As such, safety signals are potent inhibitors of fear and stress responses. Investigations of safety signal learning have increased over the last few years due in part to the finding that traumatized persons are unable to use safety cues to inhibit fear, making it a clinically relevant phenotype. The goal of this review is to present recent advances relating to the neural and behavioral mechanisms of safety learning, and expression in rodents, nonhuman primates, and humans.
Collapse
|
6
|
Halverson HE, Hubbard EM, Freeman JH. Stimulation of the lateral geniculate, superior colliculus, or visual cortex is sufficient for eyeblink conditioning in rats. Learn Mem 2009; 16:300-7. [PMID: 19395671 PMCID: PMC2683004 DOI: 10.1101/lm.1340909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2009] [Accepted: 03/18/2009] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The role of the cerebellum in eyeblink conditioning is well established. Less work has been done to identify the necessary conditioned stimulus (CS) pathways that project sensory information to the cerebellum. A possible visual CS pathway has been hypothesized that consists of parallel inputs to the pontine nuclei from the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), superior colliculus (SC), pretectal nuclei, and visual cortex (VCTX) as reported by Koutalidis and colleagues in an earlier paper. The following experiments examined whether electrical stimulation of neural structures in the putative visual CS pathway can serve as a sufficient CS for eyeblink conditioning in rats. Unilateral stimulation of the ventral LGN (Experiment 1), SC (Experiment 2), or VCTX (Experiment 3) was used as a CS paired with a periorbital shock unconditioned stimulus. Stimulation was delivered to the hemisphere contralateral to the conditioned eye. Rats in all experiments were given five 100-trial sessions of paired or unpaired eyeblink conditioning with the stimulation CS followed by three paired sessions with a light CS. Stimulation of each visual area when paired with the unconditioned stimulus supported acquisition of eyeblink conditioned responses (CRs) and substantial savings when switched to a light CS. The results provide evidence for a unilateral parallel visual CS pathway for eyeblink conditioning that includes the LGN, SC, and VCTX inputs to the pontine nuclei.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Erin M. Hubbard
- Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, USA
| | - John H. Freeman
- Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, USA
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Heldt SA, Falls WA. Posttraining lesions of the auditory thalamus, but not cortex, disrupt the inhibition of fear conditioned to an auditory stimulus. Eur J Neurosci 2006; 23:765-79. [PMID: 16487157 DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2006.04604.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of lesions within the auditory system in an effort to disrupt the processing of the noise stimulus conditioned to inhibit fear. To accomplish this, three experiments were conducted in which rats were first given feature-negative discrimination training in which a noise was conditioned to inhibit fear to a light that signals danger. Following training, rats were given lesions of the medial geniculate body (MGB), auditory thalamus (ADT), or auditory cortex (CTX). Next, rats were tested for the ability to inhibit fear in the presence of the noise safety signal. The results of these experiments indicated that bilateral lesions of ADT disrupted the ability of the noise inhibitor to inhibit fear. In contrast, lesions largely restricted to the MGB or CTX did not disrupt the inhibition of fear. Along with past studies, these results suggest that an auditory pathway(s), which includes projections from the tectum to the ADT, is used to detect the safety properties previously conditioned to an auditory stimulus.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Scott A Heldt
- Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, USA.
| | | |
Collapse
|
8
|
Rogan MT, Leon KS, Perez DL, Kandel ER. Distinct Neural Signatures for Safety and Danger in the Amygdala and Striatum of the Mouse. Neuron 2005; 46:309-20. [PMID: 15848808 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2005.02.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 154] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2004] [Revised: 12/28/2004] [Accepted: 02/15/2005] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
The ability to identify, develop, and exploit conditions of safety and security is central to survival and mental health, but little is known of the neurobiology of these processes or associated positive modulations of affective state. We studied electrophysiological and affective correlates of learned safety by negatively correlating an auditory conditioned stimulus (CS) with aversive events (US). This CS came to signify a period of protection, reducing fear responses to predictors of the US and increasing adventurous exploration of a novel environment. In nonaversive conditions, mice turn on the CS when given the opportunity. Thus, conditioned safety involves a reduction of learned and instinctive fear, as well as positive affective responses. Concurrent electrophysiological measurements identified a safety learning-induced long-lasting depression of CS-evoked activity in the lateral nucleus of the amygdala, consistent with fear reduction, and an increase of CS-evoked activity in a region of the striatum involved in positive affect, euphoric responses, and reward.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael T Rogan
- Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York 10032, USA.
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
9
|
Nolan BC, Freeman JH. Purkinje cell loss by OX7-saporin impairs excitatory and inhibitory eyeblink conditioning. Behav Neurosci 2005; 119:190-201. [PMID: 15727524 PMCID: PMC1393287 DOI: 10.1037/0735-7044.119.1.190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Cerebellar cortical contributions to eyeblink conditioned excitation have been examined extensively. In contrast, very little evidence exists concerning the role of the cerebellar cortex in eyeblink conditioned inhibition. In the current study, rats were given intraventricular infusions of the immunotoxin OX7-saporin to selectively destroy Purkinje cells throughout the cerebellar cortex following excitatory conditioning. After a 2-week postinfusion period, the rats were given reacquisition training. After reacquiring excitatory conditioning, the rats were trained in a feature-negative discrimination procedure to establish conditioned inhibition. Rats treated with OX7-saporin showed impaired reacquisition of excitatory conditioning and acquisition of conditioned inhibition. The results suggest that Purkinje cells play important, but different, roles in conditioned excitation and inhibition in rats.
Collapse
|