Dissociable roles for hippocampal and amygdalar volume in human fear conditioning

Raffaele Cacciaglia; Sebastian T. Pohlack; Herta Flor; Frauke Nees

doi:10.1007/s00429-014-0807-8

Dissociable roles for hippocampal and amygdalar volume in human fear conditioning

Brain Structure and Function ◽

10.1007/s00429-014-0807-8 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 220 (5) ◽

pp. 2575-2586 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Raffaele Cacciaglia ◽

Sebastian T. Pohlack ◽

Herta Flor ◽

Frauke Nees

Keyword(s):

Fear Conditioning ◽

Amygdalar Volume

Download Full-text

Hippocampal but not amygdalar volume affects contextual fear conditioning in humans

Human Brain Mapping ◽

10.1002/hbm.21224 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 33 (2) ◽

pp. 478-488 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

Sebastian T. Pohlack ◽

Frauke Nees ◽

Claudia Liebscher ◽

Raffaele Cacciaglia ◽

Slawomira J. Diener ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fear Conditioning ◽

Contextual Fear Conditioning ◽

Contextual Fear ◽

Amygdalar Volume

Download Full-text

Effects of an Anxiety-Specific Psychometric Factor on Fear Conditioning and Fear Generalization

Zeitschrift für Psychologie ◽

10.1027/2151-2604/a000304 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 225 (3) ◽

pp. 200-213 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Christian Baumann ◽

Miriam A. Schiele ◽

Martin J. Herrmann ◽

Tina B. Lonsdorf ◽

Peter Zwanzger ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factor ◽

Anxiety Disorders ◽

Fear Conditioning ◽

Longitudinal Design ◽

Principal Component ◽

Anxiety And Depression ◽

Specific Factor ◽

High Anxious ◽

Two Factors ◽

Fear Generalization

Abstract. Conditioning and generalization of fear are assumed to play central roles in the pathogenesis of anxiety disorders. Here we investigate the influence of a psychometric anxiety-specific factor on these two processes, thus try to identify a potential risk factor for the development of anxiety disorders. To this end, 126 healthy participants were examined with questionnaires assessing symptoms of anxiety and depression and with a fear conditioning and generalization paradigm. A principal component analysis of the questionnaire data identified two factors representing the constructs anxiety and depression. Variations in fear conditioning and fear generalization were solely associated with the anxiety factor characterized by anxiety sensitivity and agoraphobic cognitions; high-anxious individuals exhibited stronger fear responses (arousal) during conditioning and stronger generalization effects for valence and UCS-expectancy ratings. Thus, the revealed psychometric factor “anxiety” was associated with enhanced fear generalization, an assumed risk factor for anxiety disorders. These results ask for replication with a longitudinal design allowing to examine their predictive validity.

Download Full-text

Challenges of Fear Conditioning Research in the Age of RDoC

Zeitschrift für Psychologie ◽

10.1027/2151-2604/a000303 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 225 (3) ◽

pp. 189-199 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Tina B. Lonsdorf ◽

Jan Richter

Keyword(s):

Fear Conditioning ◽

Clinical Diagnosis ◽

Research Domain Criteria ◽

Major Focus ◽

The Future ◽

Definition Of ◽

Methodological Considerations ◽

Research Domain

Abstract. As the criticism of the definition of the phenotype (i.e., clinical diagnosis) represents the major focus of the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) initiative, it is somewhat surprising that discussions have not yet focused more on specific conceptual and procedural considerations of the suggested RDoC constructs, sub-constructs, and associated paradigms. We argue that we need more precise thinking as well as a conceptual and methodological discussion of RDoC domains and constructs, their interrelationships as well as their experimental operationalization and nomenclature. The present work is intended to start such a debate using fear conditioning as an example. Thereby, we aim to provide thought-provoking impulses on the role of fear conditioning in the age of RDoC as well as conceptual and methodological considerations and suggestions to guide RDoC-based fear conditioning research in the future.

Download Full-text