Fear-potentiated startle processing in humans: Parallel fMRI and orbicularis EMG assessment during cue conditioning and extinction

Lindner, Katja; Neubert, Jörg; Pfannmöller, Jörg P.; Lotze, Martín; Hamm, Alfons O.; Wendt, Julia

doi:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2015.02.025

Cited by 61 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…However, over time they might have recognized that contingencies changed, and possibly, they started expecting the US somewhere else. In line with this, a slight potentiation of startle responses to CS2 has sometimes be observed (despite not always significant; Lindner et al 2015) or a stronger amygdala activation to CS2 (Phelps et al 2004;Merz et al 2012). Simultaneously, the third office (i.e., G-CTX), being the most ambiguous among the three, might have been the best candidate for expecting an aversive event during the test (for a broader discussion, see Andreatta et al 2015a).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Effects of context preexposure and delay until anxiety retrieval on generalization of contextual anxiety

et al. 2016

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Animal studies suggest that time delay between acquisition and retrieval of contextual anxiety increases generalization. Moreover, such generalization is prevented by preexposure to the context (CTX), presumably due to an improved representation of such context. We investigated whether preexposure and time-passing modulate generalization of contextual anxiety, in humans. On Day 1, 42 participants (preexposure group) explored two virtual offices, while 41 participants (no-preexposure group) explored a virtual stadium. On Day 2 (24 h later), all participants learned to associate one office (CTX+) with unpredictable unconditioned stimuli (USs), and another office (CTX2) with safety. On Day 3, either 24 h (recent test) or 2 wk (remote test) later, participants revisited CTX2 and CTX+ without USs, as well as a generalization context (G-CTX). Results revealed successfully conditioned anxiety and anxiety generalization for ratings (G-CTX was as aversive as CTX+ was), while safety generalization was found for startle responses (G-CTX elicited startle attenuation as CTX2 did). Time between learning and testing enhanced generalization as reflected by comparable startle responses to all three offices in the remote test. Contextual preexposure facilitated extinction of explicit conditioned anxiety assessed with ratings. These results suggest that memory trace of a context degrades with passage of time in humans like in animals and, consequently, anxiety generalization enhances. After context preexposure, high cognitive processes seem to be crucially involved in facilitating extinction (or safety) learning.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Effects of context preexposure and delay until anxiety retrieval on generalization of contextual anxiety

et al. 2016

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“…Blood flow analysis suggests that the inhibitory influence of the cortex over the fight-or-flight mechanisms in the periaqueductal gray is reduced in panic disorder (Del-Ben and Graeff, 2009). Functional MRI has also revealed activation of the human periaqueductal gray in complex emotions such as frustration (Yu et al, 2014), admiration and compassion (Immordino-Yang et al, 2009), in addition to more immediate threat responses (Lindner et al, 2015). …”

Section: Descending Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Brainstem in Emotion: A Review

2017

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Emotions depend upon the integrated activity of neural networks that modulate arousal, autonomic function, motor control, and somatosensation. Brainstem nodes play critical roles in each of these networks, but prior studies of the neuroanatomic basis of emotion, particularly in the human neuropsychological literature, have mostly focused on the contributions of cortical rather than subcortical structures. Given the size and complexity of brainstem circuits, elucidating their structural and functional properties involves technical challenges. However, recent advances in neuroimaging have begun to accelerate research into the brainstem’s role in emotion. In this review, we provide a conceptual framework for neuroscience, psychology and behavioral science researchers to study brainstem involvement in human emotions. The “emotional brainstem” is comprised of three major networks – Ascending, Descending and Modulatory. The Ascending network is composed chiefly of the spinothalamic tracts and their projections to brainstem nuclei, which transmit sensory information from the body to rostral structures. The Descending motor network is subdivided into medial projections from the reticular formation that modulate the gain of inputs impacting emotional salience, and lateral projections from the periaqueductal gray, hypothalamus and amygdala that activate characteristic emotional behaviors. Finally, the brainstem is home to a group of modulatory neurotransmitter pathways, such as those arising from the raphe nuclei (serotonergic), ventral tegmental area (dopaminergic) and locus coeruleus (noradrenergic), which form a Modulatory network that coordinates interactions between the Ascending and Descending networks. Integration of signaling within these three networks occurs at all levels of the brainstem, with progressively more complex forms of integration occurring in the hypothalamus and thalamus. These intermediary structures, in turn, provide input for the most complex integrations, which occur in the frontal, insular, cingulate and other regions of the cerebral cortex. Phylogenetically older brainstem networks inform the functioning of evolutionarily newer rostral regions, which in turn regulate and modulate the older structures. Via these bidirectional interactions, the human brainstem contributes to the evaluation of sensory information and triggers fixed-action pattern responses that together constitute the finely differentiated spectrum of possible emotions.

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“…The amygdala has been shown to quickly habituate during fear conditioning (Büchel, Morris, Dolan, & Friston, 1998;Lindner et al, 2015) and may be primarily involved in early phases of conditioning. Akin to amygdala activity, both SCR and fear potentiated startle also show strong habituation (Bradley, Lang, & Cuthbert, 1993;Pineles et al, 2009).…”

Section: Temporal Dissection Of the Conditioned Responsementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Another commonly applied method is startle electromyography (EMG), during which the startle reflex to sudden loud noises is quantified (for a review of startle responsivity in clinical populations see Vaidyanathan, Patrick, & Cuthbert, 2009). The startle reflex is modulated by emotional valence (Grillon & Baas, 2003) and yields stronger responses to noises applied during CS+ presentations as compared to CS-presentations (Lindner et al, 2015;Lipp, Sheridan, & Siddle, 1994;Van Well, Visser, Scholte, & Kindt, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%