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Fear in the mind's eye: the neural correlates of differential fear acquisition to imagined conditioned stimuli.
Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2023 02 06; 18(1)SC

Abstract

Mental imagery is involved in both the expression and treatment of fear-related disorders such as anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. However, the neural correlates associated with the acquisition and generalization of differential fear conditioning to imagined conditioned stimuli are relatively unknown. In this study, healthy human participants (n = 27) acquired differential fear conditioning to imagined conditioned stimuli paired with a physical unconditioned stimulus (i.e. mild shock), as measured via self-reported fear, the skin conductance response and significant right anterior insula (aIn) activation. Multivoxel pattern analysis cross-classification also demonstrated that the pattern of activity in the right aIn during imagery acquisition was quantifiably similar to the pattern produced by standard visual acquisition. Additionally, mental imagery was associated with significant differential fear generalization. Fear conditioning acquired to imagined stimuli generalized to viewing those same stimuli as measured with self-reported fear and right aIn activity, and likewise fear conditioning to visual stimuli was associated with significant generalized differential self-reported fear and right aIn activity when imagining those stimuli. Together, the study provides a novel understanding of the neural mechanisms associated with the acquisition of differential fear conditioning to imagined stimuli and that of the relationship between imagery and emotion more generally.

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Authors+Show Affiliations

Burleigh L
Department of Psychology, Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.
Greening SG
Department of Psychology, Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA. Department of Psychology, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2, Canada.

MeSH

HumansFearEmotionsConditioning, ClassicalAnxietyAnxiety DisordersGalvanic Skin Response

Pub Type(s)

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

Language

eng

PubMed ID

36629508

Citation

Burleigh, Lauryn, and Steven G. Greening. "Fear in the Mind's Eye: the Neural Correlates of Differential Fear Acquisition to Imagined Conditioned Stimuli." Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, vol. 18, no. 1, 2023.
Burleigh L, Greening SG. Fear in the mind's eye: the neural correlates of differential fear acquisition to imagined conditioned stimuli. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2023;18(1).
Burleigh, L., & Greening, S. G. (2023). Fear in the mind's eye: the neural correlates of differential fear acquisition to imagined conditioned stimuli. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsac063
Burleigh L, Greening SG. Fear in the Mind's Eye: the Neural Correlates of Differential Fear Acquisition to Imagined Conditioned Stimuli. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2023 02 6;18(1) PubMed PMID: 36629508.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Fear in the mind's eye: the neural correlates of differential fear acquisition to imagined conditioned stimuli. AU - Burleigh,Lauryn, AU - Greening,Steven G, PY - 2022/02/08/received PY - 2022/11/07/revised PY - 2023/01/10/accepted PY - 2023/1/12/pubmed PY - 2023/2/14/medline PY - 2023/1/11/entrez KW - emotion KW - fear KW - fear conditioning KW - learning KW - mental imagery JF - Social cognitive and affective neuroscience JO - Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci VL - 18 IS - 1 N2 - Mental imagery is involved in both the expression and treatment of fear-related disorders such as anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. However, the neural correlates associated with the acquisition and generalization of differential fear conditioning to imagined conditioned stimuli are relatively unknown. In this study, healthy human participants (n = 27) acquired differential fear conditioning to imagined conditioned stimuli paired with a physical unconditioned stimulus (i.e. mild shock), as measured via self-reported fear, the skin conductance response and significant right anterior insula (aIn) activation. Multivoxel pattern analysis cross-classification also demonstrated that the pattern of activity in the right aIn during imagery acquisition was quantifiably similar to the pattern produced by standard visual acquisition. Additionally, mental imagery was associated with significant differential fear generalization. Fear conditioning acquired to imagined stimuli generalized to viewing those same stimuli as measured with self-reported fear and right aIn activity, and likewise fear conditioning to visual stimuli was associated with significant generalized differential self-reported fear and right aIn activity when imagining those stimuli. Together, the study provides a novel understanding of the neural mechanisms associated with the acquisition of differential fear conditioning to imagined stimuli and that of the relationship between imagery and emotion more generally. SN - 1749-5024 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/36629508/Fear_in_the_mind's_eye:_the_neural_correlates_of_differential_fear_acquisition_to_imagined_conditioned_stimuli_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -