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A randomized controlled trial of the effect of D-cycloserine on extinction and fear conditioning in humans.
Behav Res Ther. 2007 Apr; 45(4):663-72.BR

Abstract

Previous research has shown that D-cycloserine (DCS) facilitates extinction of Pavlovian fear conditioning in rats and enhances exposure therapy in humans. The aim of this study was to test the effect of DCS on extinction of fear conditioning in humans. In three experiments, 238 participants were given either DCS (50 or 500 mg) or placebo 2-3 h before extinction training following a differential shock conditioning paradigm. Clear extinction and recovery (return of fear) effects were observed on both skin conductance and self-reported shock expectancy measures in three studies. DCS had no influence on these effects. The same pattern was observed when the analysis was restricted to aware participants or to good conditioners, when fear-relevant cues (pictures of snakes) were used as the conditioned stimuli, or when analysis was restricted to heightened snake-fearful participants. These results suggest that DCS may not enhance the extinction, or prevent the recovery, of learned fear in a differential Pavlovian conditioning paradigm in humans. Further experimental research is needed to better understand the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of DCS.

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Authors+Show Affiliations

Guastella AJ
School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia. a.guastella@unsw.edu.au
Lovibond PF
No affiliation info available
Dadds MR
No affiliation info available
Mitchell P
No affiliation info available
Richardson R
No affiliation info available

MeSH

AdultConditioning, ClassicalCycloserineDose-Response Relationship, DrugElectroshockExtinction, PsychologicalFearFemaleGalvanic Skin ResponseHumansMale

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Randomized Controlled Trial
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

16962066

Citation

Guastella, Adam J., et al. "A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effect of D-cycloserine On Extinction and Fear Conditioning in Humans." Behaviour Research and Therapy, vol. 45, no. 4, 2007, pp. 663-72.
Guastella AJ, Lovibond PF, Dadds MR, et al. A randomized controlled trial of the effect of D-cycloserine on extinction and fear conditioning in humans. Behav Res Ther. 2007;45(4):663-72.
Guastella, A. J., Lovibond, P. F., Dadds, M. R., Mitchell, P., & Richardson, R. (2007). A randomized controlled trial of the effect of D-cycloserine on extinction and fear conditioning in humans. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45(4), 663-72.
Guastella AJ, et al. A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effect of D-cycloserine On Extinction and Fear Conditioning in Humans. Behav Res Ther. 2007;45(4):663-72. PubMed PMID: 16962066.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - A randomized controlled trial of the effect of D-cycloserine on extinction and fear conditioning in humans. AU - Guastella,Adam J, AU - Lovibond,Peter F, AU - Dadds,Mark R, AU - Mitchell,Philip, AU - Richardson,Rick, Y1 - 2006/09/07/ PY - 2005/12/30/received PY - 2006/07/06/revised PY - 2006/07/10/accepted PY - 2006/9/12/pubmed PY - 2007/12/20/medline PY - 2006/9/12/entrez SP - 663 EP - 72 JF - Behaviour research and therapy JO - Behav Res Ther VL - 45 IS - 4 N2 - Previous research has shown that D-cycloserine (DCS) facilitates extinction of Pavlovian fear conditioning in rats and enhances exposure therapy in humans. The aim of this study was to test the effect of DCS on extinction of fear conditioning in humans. In three experiments, 238 participants were given either DCS (50 or 500 mg) or placebo 2-3 h before extinction training following a differential shock conditioning paradigm. Clear extinction and recovery (return of fear) effects were observed on both skin conductance and self-reported shock expectancy measures in three studies. DCS had no influence on these effects. The same pattern was observed when the analysis was restricted to aware participants or to good conditioners, when fear-relevant cues (pictures of snakes) were used as the conditioned stimuli, or when analysis was restricted to heightened snake-fearful participants. These results suggest that DCS may not enhance the extinction, or prevent the recovery, of learned fear in a differential Pavlovian conditioning paradigm in humans. Further experimental research is needed to better understand the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of DCS. SN - 0005-7967 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/16962066/A_randomized_controlled_trial_of_the_effect_of_D_cycloserine_on_extinction_and_fear_conditioning_in_humans_ L2 - https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0005-7967(06)00159-8 DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -