Visuocortical changes during a freezing-like state in humans

Lojowska, Maria; Ling, Sam; Roelofs, Karin; Hermans, Erno J.

doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.06.013

Cited by 25 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 83 publications

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“…We observed highest skin conductance levels in trials in which the electric shock could be avoided. This observation is in line with previous studies reporting higher electrodermal activity during threat anticipation 21,29,49 . Elevated skin conductance is a marker of sympathetic arousal and the observed increase can therefore likely be understood as increased arousal induced by the anticipation of threat.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Freezing of gaze during action preparation under threat imminence

Rösler

Gamer

2019

Sci Rep

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When confronted with threatening stimuli, animals typically respond with freezing behavior characterized by reduced movement and heart rate deceleration. Freezing-like responses during threat anticipation have also been observed in humans and are associated with anxiety. Recent evidence yet suggests that freezing does not necessarily reflect helpless immobility but can also aid the preparation of a threat escape. To investigate which further behavioral responses human freezing encompasses, we presented 50 young adults (10 male) with aversive stimuli that could sometimes be avoided while measuring gaze, cardiovascular and electrodermal activity. In trials in which the threat could be escaped, participants displayed reduced heart rate, increased electrodermal activity and reduced visual exploration. Furthermore, heart rate deceleration and restricted visual exploration predicted the speed of flight responses. These results provide evidence for freezing behavior in measures of visual exploration and suggest that such responding is adaptive in preparing the subsequent escape of approaching threats.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Freezing of gaze during action preparation under threat imminence

Rösler

Gamer

2019

Sci Rep

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“…Evidence for the involvement of freezing in information gathering comes from studies in humans showing that the magnitude of the freezing-related bradycardia is associated with changes in perception. For example, stronger freezing responses have been associated with preferential processing of low over high spatial frequency features of a visual stimulus ( Lojowska et al, 2015 , 2018 ) and reduced visual exploration of non-threat-relevant stimulus features ( Rösler and Gamer, 2019 ).…”

Section: Threat-anticipatory Freezing Is Associated With Information mentioning

confidence: 99%

Approach-Avoidance Decisions Under Threat: The Role of Autonomic Psychophysiological States

et al. 2021

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Acutely challenging or threatening situations frequently require approach-avoidance decisions. Acute threat triggers fast autonomic changes that prepare the body to freeze, fight or flee. However, such autonomic changes may also influence subsequent instrumental approach-avoidance decisions. Since defensive bodily states are often not considered in value-based decision-making models, it remains unclear how they influence the decision-making process. Here, we aim to bridge this gap by discussing the existing literature on the potential role of threat-induced bodily states on decision making and provide a new neurocomputational framework explaining how these effects can facilitate or bias approach-avoid decisions under threat. Theoretical accounts have stated that threat-induced parasympathetic activity is involved in information gathering and decision making. Parasympathetic dominance over sympathetic activity is particularly seen during threat-anticipatory freezing, an evolutionarily conserved response to threat demonstrated across species and characterized by immobility and bradycardia. Although this state of freezing has been linked to altered information processing and action preparation, a full theoretical treatment of the interactions with value-based decision making has not yet been achieved. Our neural framework, which we term the Threat State/Value Integration (TSI) Model, will illustrate how threat-induced bodily states may impact valuation of competing incentives at three stages of the decision-making process, namely at threat evaluation, integration of rewards and threats, and action initiation. Additionally, because altered parasympathetic activity and decision biases have been shown in anxious populations, we will end with discussing how biases in this system can lead to characteristic patterns of avoidance seen in anxiety-related disorders, motivating future pre-clinical and clinical research.

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“…Recent work in humans confirmed similar neural mechanisms underlying the human freezing response (Hashemi, Gladwin, et al, 2019; Schipper et al, 2019). Importantly, in humans, this state of immobility and bradycardia has been associated with preferred visual perception of low spatial frequency features (Lojowska, Gladwin, Hermans, & Roelofs, 2015), important for fast threat detection and facilitated by direct amygdala-visual cortex projections during freezing (Lojowska, Ling, Roelofs, & Hermans, 2018). Together with the fact that freezing is stronger when active responding is possible (Gladwin, Hashemi, van Ast, & Roelofs, 2016), and that stronger freezing is associated with faster subsequent responding (Hashemi, Gladwin, et al, 2019), this shows that freezing may play an important role in decision-making under threat.…”

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confidence: 99%

Defensive freezing and its relation to approach-avoidance decision-making under threat

Klaassen

Held

Figner

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Successful responding to acutely threatening situations requires adequate approach-avoidance decisions. However, it is unclear how threat-induced states-like freezing-related bradycardia-impact the weighing of the potential outcomes of such value-based decisions. Insight into the underlying computations is essential, not only to improve our models of decision-making but also to improve interventions for maladaptive decisions, for instance in anxiety patients and first-responders who frequently have to make decisions under acute threat. Forty-two participants made passive and active approach-avoidance decisions under threat-of-shock when confronted with mixed outcome-prospects (i.e., varying money and shock amounts). Choice behavior was best predicted by a model including individual action-tendencies and bradycardia, beyond the subjective value of the outcome. Moreover, threat-related bradycardia interacted with subjective value, depending on the action-context (i.e., passive vs. active). Specifically, in action-contexts incongruent with participants’ intrinsic action-tendencies, strong freezers showed diminished effects of subjective value on choice. These findings illustrate the relevance of testing approach-avoidance decisions in relatively ecologically valid conditions of acute and primarily reinforced threat. These mechanistic insights into approach-avoidance conflict-resolution may inspire biofeedback-related techniques to optimize decision-making under threat. Critically, the findings demonstrate the relevance of incorporating internal psychophysiological states and external action-contexts into models of approach-avoidance decision-making.

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Visuocortical changes during a freezing-like state in humans

Cited by 25 publications

References 83 publications

Freezing of gaze during action preparation under threat imminence

Freezing of gaze during action preparation under threat imminence

Approach-Avoidance Decisions Under Threat: The Role of Autonomic Psychophysiological States

Defensive freezing and its relation to approach-avoidance decision-making under threat

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