Affective startle modulation and psychopathology: Implications for appetitive and defensive brain systems

Boecker, Lea; Pauli, Paul

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.05.019

Cited by 23 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 268 publications

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“…Significantly, open arm avoidance was positively associated with acrophobic fear but not with anxious temperament (STAI) or social anxiety and negatively associated with sensation seeking. These opposing associations of acrophobia and sensation seeking with open arm avoidance behavior correspond with assumptions that both constructs are related to opposing motivational systems (Boecker and Pauli, 2019). Finally, anxioselective drugs were found to decrease and increase open arm avoidance as expected.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Effects of Acrophobic Fear and Trait Anxiety on Human Behavior in a Virtual Elevated Plus-Maze

Madeira

Gromer

Latoschik

et al. 2021

Front. Virtual Real.

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The Elevated Plus-Maze (EPM) is a well-established apparatus to measure anxiety in rodents, i.e., animals exhibiting an increased relative time spent in the closed vs. the open arms are considered anxious. To examine whether such anxiety-modulated behaviors are conserved in humans, we re-translated this paradigm to a human setting using virtual reality in a Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE) system. In two studies, we examined whether the EPM exploration behavior of humans is modulated by their trait anxiety and also assessed the individuals’ levels of acrophobia (fear of height), claustrophobia (fear of confined spaces), sensation seeking, and the reported anxiety when on the maze. First, we constructed an exact virtual copy of the animal EPM adjusted to human proportions. In analogy to animal EPM studies, participants (N = 30) freely explored the EPM for 5 min. In the second study (N = 61), we redesigned the EPM to make it more human-adapted and to differentiate influences of trait anxiety and acrophobia by introducing various floor textures and lower walls of closed arms to the height of standard handrails. In the first experiment, hierarchical regression analyses of exploration behavior revealed the expected association between open arm avoidance and Trait Anxiety, an even stronger association with acrophobic fear. In the second study, results revealed that acrophobia was associated with avoidance of open arms with mesh-floor texture, whereas for trait anxiety, claustrophobia, and sensation seeking, no effect was detected. Also, subjects’ fear rating was moderated by all psychometrics but trait anxiety. In sum, both studies consistently indicate that humans show no general open arm avoidance analogous to rodents and that human EPM behavior is modulated strongest by acrophobic fear, whereas trait anxiety plays a subordinate role. Thus, we conclude that the criteria for cross-species validity are met insufficiently in this case. Despite the exploratory nature, our studies provide in-depth insights into human exploration behavior on the virtual EPM.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Effects of Acrophobic Fear and Trait Anxiety on Human Behavior in a Virtual Elevated Plus-Maze

Madeira

Gromer

Latoschik

et al. 2021

Front. Virtual Real.

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“…When individuals are in a state of fear, defensive mechanisms are activated with the goal of engaging in adaptive action, for example in fighting or escaping the threat. This defensive engagement is indexed by somato-visceral measures, such as fear-potentiated startle, skin conductance, and cardiovascular responses (Boecker and Pauli, 2019;Bradley and Lang, 2000). These measures have been considered in previous fear generalization experiments (Ahrens et al, 2016;Lissek et al, 2010;Torrents-Rodas et al, 2013), with mixed results regarding the nature and variability of fear generalization across a range of cues varying in similarity with a threat cue (Ahrens et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social aversive generalization learning sharpens the tuning of visuocortical neurons to facial identity cues

Stegmann¹,

Keil²,

Wieser³

2019

Preprint

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Defensive system activation promotes heightened perception of threat signals, and excessive attention to threat signals has been discussed as a contributory factor in the etiology of anxiety disorders. However, a mechanistic account of attentional modulation during fear-relevant processes, especially during fear generalization remains elusive. To test the hypothesis that social fear generalization prompts sharpened tuning in the visuocortical representation of social threat cues, 67 healthy participants underwent differential fear conditioning, followed by a generalization test in which participants viewed faces varying in similarity with the threat-associated face. We found that generalization of social threat sharpens visuocortical tuning of social threat cues, whereas ratings of fearfulness showed generalization, linearly decreasing with decreasing similarity to the threat-associated face. Moreover, individuals who reported greater anxiety in social situations also showed heightened sharpened tuning of visuocortical neurons to facial identity cues, suggesting that anxiety may improve the visual system’s discrimination of threatening social stimuli.

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“…26 The findings further solidify the tendency of increased novelty-seeking/ behavioral activation (fun-seeking) exhibited by bipolar subjects even during euthymia. 6,13 Here, the scores for SR were significantly different for each group in a pattern of BG > FDR > HC, which points towards a potential area for seeking measurable endophenotypes.…”

Section: Drop Line Plots Of Rt Between Groups For Four Different Animmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…Despite studies indicating a possibility of exploring endophenotypes using these domains, no studies have explored the reaction to looming cues in FDRs of patients with bipolar disorder. 13 We hypothesize that remitted bipolar subjects may show differential RTs to appetitive/aversive looming (AVL) cues as compared to nonlooming cues, and the pattern of responses may differ from that of their FDRs and healthy controls (HC). We also hypothesized that the composite measures of RT to looming affective cues, behavioral measures of behavioral inhibition/activation, and sensitivity to reward/punishment taken together may accurately classify bipolar group (BG), FDRs, and HC with a good sensitivity/specificity, and provide insights to explore potential endophenotypic markers of bipolarity.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One study has evaluated affective startle modulation using appetitive pictures in remitted bipolar subjects and their first-degree relatives (FDRs), which found comparable startle responses, suggesting that reward hypersensitivity may be a potential trait marker of bipolarity. 13 No study has so far evaluated the reaction to looming cues in remitted bipolar subjects. Despite studies indicating a possibility of exploring endophenotypes using these domains, no studies have explored the reaction to looming cues in FDRs of patients with bipolar disorder.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Response Processes to Looming Appetitive and Aversive Cues in Euthymic Bipolar Patients and Their First-Degree Relatives: An Exploratory Study

Venkatesan

Khess

Umesh

et al. 2020

Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine

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Background: Patients with bipolar disorder demonstrate increased sensitivity to appetitive/rewarding stimuli even during euthymia. On presentation of arousing pictures, they show a peculiar response, suggesting heightened vigilance. While responding to looming arousing cues, studies show subjects with anxiety spectrum disorders exhibit increased reaction time (RT), explained by the “looming-vulnerability model.” This study aimed to investigate the responses to looming arousing cues in euthymic bipolar patients and their first-degree relatives, as compared to healthy controls. Method: A looming appetitive and aversive cue paradigm was designed for assessing the RT of patients to process appetitive and aversive cues. The behavioral inhibition/activation and sensitivity to reward/punishment amongst the groups were also assessed. Results: The bipolar group showed significantly longer RT to process appetitive cues irrespective of the looming condition. Aversive cues elicited significantly longer RT in both the bipolar group and in first-degree relatives, but only when presented with the looming condition. Significant looming bias was elicited in the bipolar group which suggested a particular cognitive style to looming cues. A composite measure of RT along with sensitivity to reward/punishment distinguishes the bipolar group and their first-degree relatives from the healthy controls. Conclusion: The looming vulnerability model may provide important insights for future exploration of cognitive endophenotypes in bipolar disorder.

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Affective startle modulation and psychopathology: Implications for appetitive and defensive brain systems

Cited by 23 publications

References 268 publications

Effects of Acrophobic Fear and Trait Anxiety on Human Behavior in a Virtual Elevated Plus-Maze

Effects of Acrophobic Fear and Trait Anxiety on Human Behavior in a Virtual Elevated Plus-Maze

Social aversive generalization learning sharpens the tuning of visuocortical neurons to facial identity cues

Response Processes to Looming Appetitive and Aversive Cues in Euthymic Bipolar Patients and Their First-Degree Relatives: An Exploratory Study

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