Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Excessive avoidance towards non-dangerous cues is a key diagnostic criterion across anxiety-related disorders. Despite current therapies being successful in reducing such avoidance, relapse rates remain high. Based on recent findings, according to which learned fear responses were reduced after the presentation of the fear stimulus with a novel-neutral event (novel-based extinction), we tested whether novel-based extinction could diminish conditioned avoidance.
METHODS
Forty-six participants completed a Pavlovian acquisition procedure during which two pictures of a spider were presented, one of which (CS+) was always followed by a shock (US), while the other (CS-) was never followed by a US. Next, participants learned that they could avoid the shock by pressing a computer button. An extinction and response procedure followed. During this phase, the control group was presented with both CSs that were not followed by the US. The experimental group encountered both CSs, but the CS+ was followed by a neutral event (i.e., presentation of a tone). Return of avoidance (i.e., button presses) and fear (i.e., US-expectancies and fear-ratings) towards both CSs was tested after three unexpected presentations of the US.
RESULTS
Similar levels of return of avoidance and explicit fear were found for both groups.
LIMITATIONS
We collected no physiological measures of fear and we assessed only the short-term effects of our manipulation.
CONCLUSIONS
Our results do not support the hypothesis that novelty-based extinction reduces avoidance responses. This study can serve as a first exploration of novelty-based extinction for reducing avoidance and explicit measures of fear.
TY - JOUR
T1 - Testing a novelty-based extinction procedure for the reduction of conditioned avoidance.
AU - Krypotos,Angelos-Miltiadis,
AU - Engelhard,Iris M,
Y1 - 2018/02/19/
PY - 2017/08/19/received
PY - 2018/01/27/revised
PY - 2018/02/13/accepted
PY - 2018/2/28/pubmed
PY - 2019/7/30/medline
PY - 2018/2/28/entrez
KW - Anxiety
KW - Fear
KW - Phobias
KW - Therapy
SP - 22
EP - 28
JF - Journal of behavior therapy and experimental psychiatry
JO - J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry
VL - 60
N2 - BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Excessive avoidance towards non-dangerous cues is a key diagnostic criterion across anxiety-related disorders. Despite current therapies being successful in reducing such avoidance, relapse rates remain high. Based on recent findings, according to which learned fear responses were reduced after the presentation of the fear stimulus with a novel-neutral event (novel-based extinction), we tested whether novel-based extinction could diminish conditioned avoidance. METHODS: Forty-six participants completed a Pavlovian acquisition procedure during which two pictures of a spider were presented, one of which (CS+) was always followed by a shock (US), while the other (CS-) was never followed by a US. Next, participants learned that they could avoid the shock by pressing a computer button. An extinction and response procedure followed. During this phase, the control group was presented with both CSs that were not followed by the US. The experimental group encountered both CSs, but the CS+ was followed by a neutral event (i.e., presentation of a tone). Return of avoidance (i.e., button presses) and fear (i.e., US-expectancies and fear-ratings) towards both CSs was tested after three unexpected presentations of the US. RESULTS: Similar levels of return of avoidance and explicit fear were found for both groups. LIMITATIONS: We collected no physiological measures of fear and we assessed only the short-term effects of our manipulation. CONCLUSIONS: Our results do not support the hypothesis that novelty-based extinction reduces avoidance responses. This study can serve as a first exploration of novelty-based extinction for reducing avoidance and explicit measures of fear.
SN - 1873-7943
UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/29486371/Testing_a_novelty_based_extinction_procedure_for_the_reduction_of_conditioned_avoidance_
L2 - https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0005-7916(17)30193-3
DB - PRIME
DP - Unbound Medicine
ER -
