‘Episodic Conditioning’: a novel approach to study the intersection of Pavlovian threat conditioning and episodic memory.

Vries, Olivier de; Duken, Sascha Béla; Dzinalija, Nadza; Kindt, Merel; Ast, Vanessa A. van

doi:10.31234/osf.io/bc8hu

Cited by 2 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 73 publications

(90 reference statements)

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“…Then, after each CS -> US association had been presented in the first learning block, pupil dilation to CS+ was higher than to CS-in block 2 (difference = 0.046 mm, CI95 = [0.011, 0.081], p = 0.011) and block 3 (difference = 0.088 mm, CI95 = [0.053, 0.124], p < 0.001). This observation replicates our earlier work using the episodic conditioning paradigm (de Vries, Duken, et al, 2022;de Vries, Grasman, et al, 2022). Crucially, pupil dilation to CS+ remained higher than to CS-the following day (difference = 0.057 mm, CI95 = [0.030, 0.083], p < 0.001), indicating that direct conditioned responses were retained at the time sensory preconditioning was tested.…”

Section: Conditioned Responses Are Acquired On Day Two and Retained O...supporting

confidence: 89%

“…This lack of concrete evidence may be due to the methodological challenge of sufficiently taxing episodic memory with a conditioning task such that its contributions to sensory preconditioning can actually be assessed. Here, we adapted a paradigm that was developed specifically to overcome this limitation (de Vries, Duken, et al, 2022) and investigated whether and how indirect signals of threat can trigger anticipatory defensive responses through episodic associations.…”

Section: Affective Integrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Participants of which over 50% trials were excluded in either condition were excluded from the analysis altogether (de Vries, Duken, et al, 2022;de Vries, Grasman, et al, 2022).…”

Section: Data Acquisition and Processingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Affective integration: episodic mechanisms underlying preconditioned threat responses

Vries¹,

Kindt²,

Ast³

2023

Preprint

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Whereas many studies have investigated generalization of learned threat across semantic dimensions, little attention has been given to the possibility that Pavlovian threat responses may spread beyond what is directly learned through episodic associations. Here, we increased the demand on episodic memory in a sensory preconditioning task to assess whether and how episodic memory contributes to threat generalization. Participants encoded forty unique episodes, each consisting of two neutral stimuli, after which one of each pair was newly associated with either an aversive or a neutral stimulus on the following day. Another day later, both stimuli of the original memories were found to trigger enhanced pupil dilation if one was indirectly linked with an aversive stimulus. This effect was independent of whether the declarative associations encoded on day one were accurately retained on the day of testing, and confined to trials on which the indirectly associated stimulus was consciously brought to mind, suggesting an important role for relational memory processes. There was no moderating effect of trait-anxiety. The present study demonstrates that the human defensive system is remarkably adept at quickly anticipating threat based on information acquired over separate events, and gives a first glimpse into how this ability is facilitated by episodic memory.

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Section: Conditioned Responses Are Acquired On Day Two and Retained O...supporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Affective Integrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Affective integration: episodic mechanisms underlying preconditioned threat responses

Vries¹,

Kindt²,

Ast³

2023

Preprint

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Context reexposure to bolster contextual dependency of emotional episodic memory

Cox,

Woelk,

de Vries

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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Contextual overgeneralization of emotional memory is a core aspect of anxiety disorders. Identifying methods to enhance contextual dependency of emotional memory is therefore of significant clinical interest. Animal research points to a promising approach: reexposure to the context in which fear is acquired reduces generalization to other contexts. However, the exact conditions for this effect are unknown, complicating translation to effective interventions. Most notably, exposure to a context that resembles—but is not identical to—the learning context may diminish contextual dependency of memory by integration of additional contextual cues. Here, we therefore assessed in a large-scale study (N = 180) whether context reexposure enhances contextual dependency of emotional episodic memory whereas exposure to a similar context impairs it. We also tested whether relatively strong memory retrieval during context (re)exposure amplifies these effects. We replicated prior research showing that correct recognition depends on context and contextual dependency is lower for emotional than neutral memories. However, exposure to the encoding context or a similar context did not affect contextual dependency of memory, and retrieval strength did not interact with such effects. Thorough insight into factors underlying the effects of context (re)exposure on contextual dependency seems key to eventually attain a memory recontextualization intervention.

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‘Episodic Conditioning’: a novel approach to study the intersection of Pavlovian threat conditioning and episodic memory.

Cited by 2 publications

References 73 publications

Affective integration: episodic mechanisms underlying preconditioned threat responses

Affective integration: episodic mechanisms underlying preconditioned threat responses

Context reexposure to bolster contextual dependency of emotional episodic memory

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