Context Effects in De Novo Fear Conditioning in Humans

描述(申请人提供)：作为对RFA MH-04-005的回应，我们提出了一项为期3年的研究，旨在通过检查人类从头开始的恐惧条件反射范式中的恐惧获得、消退和背景效应，将动物学习和临床研究联系起来。这个项目代表了专门从事心理生理学和动物学习的基础科学家(Scott Orr博士和Mark Bouton博士)之间的合作。以及专门从事焦虑症暴露疗法的临床心理学家(迈克尔·奥托博士)。其目标是将动物学习的进展扩展到理解患有情感障碍的人类获得和失去从头开始的恐惧。特别令人感兴趣的是背景效应的个体差异，这可能是灭绝后对恐惧的不同表达的基础。除了测试焦虑症中是否存在语境效应外，我们建议的研究还将重点放在个体条件性差异的决定因素上。这项研究与RFA特别相关的特点包括：(1)基础和临床研究人员之间的合作，(2)将动物学习的进展应用于理解人类的恐惧学习和灭绝，(3)检查背景因素对灭绝的影响，(4)检查与灭绝和背景效应有关的状态和特征因素(抵抗灭绝的风险因素)，以及(5)建立从头开始的条件作用范式，在未来的应用中，将有助于检验实验室条件调节与基于暴露的焦虑症治疗的结果和持久性之间的联系。 条件性将以与Orr等人使用的程序类似的方式进行评估。(2000)，但将包括对“更新”效果的评估，以应对环境的变化。这一创新对于理解焦虑症患者对暴露治疗的不同反应率背后的机制具有重要意义。该应用程序假设，患有焦虑或情绪障碍的患者将表现出：(1)获得过程中更强的条件反射，(2)消亡过程中较慢的损失，以及(3)比健康对照组更强的更新效果。该应用程序还将检查这些影响的相关性；具体地说，获得的影响的大小是否与焦虑的严重程度和相关特征有关，以及这些影响是否在已从焦虑症中恢复的患者中持续存在。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In response to RFA MH-04-005 we are proposing a 3-year study designed to link animal-learning and clinical investigations by examining fear acquisition, extinction, and context effects in a de novo fear conditioning paradigm in humans. This project represents the collaboration between basic scientists specializing in psychophysiology and animal learning (Scott Orr, Ph.D. and Mark Bouton, Ph.D.) and a clinical psychologist specializing in the exposure-based treatments for anxiety disorders (Michael Otto, Ph.D.). The goal is to extend advances in animal learning to the understanding of the acquisition and loss of de novo fears in humans with affective disorders. Of particular interest are individual differences in context effects, which may underlie the differential expression of fears after extinction. In addition to testing for the presence of context effects in anxiety disorders, our proposed research focuses attention on determinants of individual differences in conditionability. Features of this study of particular relevance to the RFA include: (1) collaboration between basic and clinical researchers, (2) application of advances in animal learning to the understanding of fear learning and extinction in humans, (3) examination of the influence of contextual factors on extinction, (4) examination of state and trait factors linked to extinction and context effects (risk factors for resistance to extinction), and (5) establishment of a de novo conditioning paradigm that, in future applications, will be useful for examining the linkage between laboratory conditioning and the outcome and durability of exposure-based treatments for the anxiety disorders. Conditionability will be assessed in a manner similar to the procedures used by Orr et al. (2000), but will include assessment of "renewal" effects in response to shifts in contexts. This innovation has important implications for understanding the mechanism behind differential response rates to exposure-based treatment in the anxiety disorders. The application hypothesizes that patients with an anxiety or mood disorder will demonstrate: (1) greater conditioning during acquisition, (2) slower loss during extinction, and (3) stronger renewal effects than the healthy control group. The application will also examine the correlates of these effects; specifically, whether the magnitudes of effects obtained are linked to the severity of anxiety and related traits, and whether these effects persist in patients who have recovered from their anxiety disorder.