Extensive extinction in multiple contexts eliminates the renewal of conditioned fear in rats

Extinction in multiple contexts: Effects on the rate of extinction and the strength of response recovery

“…Our findings regarding the extinction rate are consistent with previous studies (e.g., Bouton et al, 2006a, b;Glautier et al, Thomas et al, 2009). The present experiments extend these studies by demonstrating that extinction proceeds slower in multiple contexts, even if there is no basis for contextual inhibition.…”

“…Some factors might explain these differences. For example, Thomas et al (2009) reported that massive extinction in multiple contexts attenuated ABA renewal, but moderate extinction in multiple contexts was not effective. Furthermore, Bandarian Balooch and Neumann (2011) reported the prevention of ABA renewal due to extinction in multiple contexts only when the extinction contexts were perceptually similar to the acquisition context.…”

“…The effectiveness of conducting extinction in multiple contexts has been examined in a variety of preparations and species. It has been shown to attenuate renewal in rats using fear conditioning (Gunther, Denniston, & Miller, 1998;Thomas, Vurbic, & Novak, 2009; and conditioned taste aversion (Chelonis, Calton, Hart, & Schachtman, 1999). With human subjects, it has been examined in predictive learning (Neumann, 2006;Glautier, Elgueta, & Nelson, 2013), fear of spiders (Vansteenwegen et al, 2007), and fear conditioning (Bandarian Balooch & Neumann, 2011).…”

“…When extinction is conducted in multiple contexts, each of the contexts acquires less inhibitory strength than the contextual inhibition that develops during extinction in a single context, which leads to a greater loss of excitatory strength of the CS. A related prediction of this explanation is that responding to a CS should decrease more slowly when extinction is conducted in multiple contexts rather than a single one (for empirical support in rats, see, e.g., Thomas et al, 2009). …”

Fear reactivation prior to exposure therapy: Does it facilitate the effects of VR exposure in a randomized clinical sample?

“…Several strategies aiming to prevent, or at least, diminish the return of fear have been explored so far. These include exposure in multiple contexts (Shiban, Pauli, & Mühlberger, 2013;Thomas, Vurbic, & Novak, 2009), exposure with a reminder cue of the extinction context (Brooks & Bouton, 1993) or pharmacological interventions, e.g., the administration of Propranolol, a beta-blocker, prior to or directly after fear reactivation in order to disrupt memory reconsolidation (Kindt, Soeter, & Vervliet, 2009). …”