Fear relapse: neural substrates underlying its inhibition and prevention

暴露疗法对创伤后应激等焦虑症是有效的，但仍然存在两个挑战：1)已经学会抑制恐惧的患者可能会复发，需要进一步治疗；2)许多人退出了治疗，因为它令人厌恶和焦虑。我们使用动物模型：1)识别恐惧抑制的神经基质；2)确定防止复发和鼓励参与治疗的条件。

Exposure-based therapies are effective for anxiety disorders such as post traumatic stress, but two challenges remain: 1) patients that have learned to inhibit their fear are likely to relapse, requiring further therapy; 2) many drop out of therapy since it is aversive and anxiety provoking. We use an animal model to: 1) identify the neural substrates underlying fear inhibition; and 2) determine the conditions that prevent relapse and encourage participation in treatment.