Extinction learning alters the neural representation of conditioned fear
- PDF / 1,926,652 Bytes
- 15 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 75 Downloads / 201 Views
Extinction learning alters the neural representation of conditioned fear John L. Graner 1 & Daniel Stjepanović 1,2 & Kevin S. LaBar 1
# The Psychonomic Society, Inc. 2020
Abstract Extinction learning is a primary means by which conditioned associations to threats are controlled and is a model system for emotion dysregulation in anxiety disorders. Recent work has called for new approaches to track extinction-related changes in conditioned stimulus (CS) representations. We applied a multivariate analysis to previously -collected functional magnetic resonance imaging data on extinction learning, in which healthy young adult participants (N = 43; 21 males, 22 females) encountered dynamic snake and spider CSs while passively navigating 3D virtual environments. We used representational similarity analysis to compare voxel-wise activation t-statistic maps for the shock-reinforced CS (CS+) from the late phase of fear acquisition to the early and late phases of extinction learning within subjects. These patterns became more dissimilar from early to late extinction in a priori regions of interest: subgenual and dorsal anterior cingulate gyrus, amygdala and hippocampus. A whole-brain searchlight analysis revealed similar findings in the insula, mid-cingulate cortex, ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, somatosensory cortex, cerebellum, and visual cortex. High state anxiety attenuated extinction-related changes to the CS+ patterning in the amygdala, which suggests an enduring threat representation. None of these effects generalized to an unreinforced control cue, nor were they evident in traditional univariate analyses. Our approach extends previous neuroimaging work by emphasizing how evoked neural patterns change from late acquisition through phases of extinction learning, including those in brain regions not traditionally implicated in animal models. Finally, the findings provide additional support for a role of the amygdala in anxiety-related persistence of conditioned fears. Keywords Extinction learning . Representational similarity analysis . Functional MRI . Fear conditioning
The ability to suppress fear responses when they are no longer appropriate is a hallmark of healthy emotion regulation. Extinction learning provides a powerful means to override acquired fears by repeatedly exposing individuals to threat encounters in a safe context without aversive consequences.
This work was supported by NSF grant BCS 1460909 to K.S.L. We thank Fredrik Åhs for his contributions to experimental design, data collection, and analysis of the univariate results that provided the foundation of the present manuscript. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-020-00814-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Kevin S. LaBar [email protected] 1
Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Box 90999, Durham, NC 27708-0999, USA
2
Present address: Centre for Youth Substance Abuse Research, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia
Ex
Data Loading...
