Effects of intolerance of uncertainty on subjective and psychophysiological measures during fear acquisition and delayed extinction

Individuals who score high in self-reported Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) tend to find uncertainty unacceptable and aversive. In recent years, research has shed light on the role of IU in modulating subjective (i.e. expectancy ratings) and psychophysiological responses (i.e. skin conductance) across different classical fear conditioning procedures, particularly that of immediate extinction. However, there remain gaps in understanding how IU, in comparison to other negative emotionality traits (STAI-T), impact different types of subjective and psychophysiological measures during different classical fear conditioning procedures. Here, we analyzed IU, STAI-T, subjective (i.e. fear ratings) and psychophysiological (i.e. skin conductance, auditory startle blink) data recorded during fear acquisition training and 24h-delayed extinction training (n = 66). Higher IU, over STAI-T, was: (1) significantly associated with greater fear ratings to the learned fear cue during fear acquisition training, and (2) at trend associated with greater fear ratings to the learned fear versus safe cue during delayed extinction training. Both IU and STAI-T were not related to skin conductance or auditory startle blink during fear acquisition training and delayed extinction training. These results add to and extend our current understanding of the role of IU on subjective and physiological measures during different fear conditioning procedures, particularly that of delayed extinction training. Implications of these findings and future directions are discussed.

Systematically investigating the role of context on effect replicability in reinstatement of fear in humans

Context is crucial in guiding behavior in an ever changing world and contextual information plays a crucial role in associative learning processes. For instance, the return of fear (RoF) after reinstatement (i.e, re-exposure the unconditioned stimulus (US) after successful fear extinction) is context dependent and is suggested to occur only when either extinction and test, or extinction and reinstatement context are identical, not when US re-exposure (i.e., reinstatement) occurs in a context different from extinction and test. Human adaptions of reinstatement paradigms have resulted in mixed findings: CS specific as well as unspecific RoF or unexpected “reinstated” conditioned responding in no reinstatement US control groups. Here, we systematically investigate the role of context on reinstatement-induced RoF in a human differential fear conditioning paradigm using subjective and psychophysiological measures in a large sample (N=212) including reinstatement and control groups. Overall, response patterns in reinstatement-groups mirrored results from single-cue rodent work. Yet, only generalized, not differential RoF was observed. Remarkably, depending on outcome measure RoF was also observed under identical experimental context conditions without US-re-exposure, underlining effects of contextual change beyond the reinstatement-US and challenging reinstatement research in human subjects and what we think we know about the mechanisms behind the reinstatement-phenomenon.

Integrating Self-Report and Psychophysiological Measures in Waterpipe Tobacco Message Testing: A Novel Application of Multi-Attribute Decision Modeling

Background: Waterpipe (i.e., hookah) tobacco smoking (WTS) is one of the most prevalent types of smoking among young people, yet there is little public education communicating the risks of WTS to the population. Using self-report and psychophysiological measures, this study proposes an innovative message testing and data integration approach to choose optimal content for health communication messaging focusing on WTS. Methods: In a two-part study, we tested 12 WTS risk messages. Using crowdsourcing, participants (N = 713) rated WTS messages based on self-reported receptivity, engagement, attitudes, and negative emotions. In an in-lab study, participants (N = 120) viewed the 12 WTS risk messages while being monitored for heart rate and eye-tracking, and then completed a recognition task. Using a multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) model, we integrated data from these two methods with scenarios assigning different weights to the self-report and laboratory data to identify optimal messages. Results: We identified different optimal messages when differently weighting the importance of specific attributes or data collection method (self-report, laboratory). Across all scenarios, five messages consistently ranked in the top half: four addressed harms content, both alone and with themes regarding social use and flavors and one addiction alone message. Discussion: Results showed that the self-report and psychophysiological data did not always have the same ranking and differed based on weighting of the two methods. These findings highlight the need to formatively test messages using multiple methods and use an integrated approach when selecting content.

Relevance of Objective Measures in Psychiatric Disorders—Rest-Activity Rhythm and Psychophysiological Measures

Purpose of Review We present a review of recent methods of objective measurement in psychiatry and psychology with a focus on home monitoring and its utility in guiding treatment. Recent Findings For individualized diagnostics and treatment of insomnia, actigraphy can generate clinically useful graphical presentations of sleep timing and patterns. Psychophysiological measures may complement psychometrics by tracking parallel changes in physiological responses and emotional functioning, especially during therapy for trauma symptoms and emotion regulation. It seems that rather than defining universal cut-offs, an individualised range of variability could characterize treatment response. Summary Wearable actigraphy and psychophysiological sensors are promising devices to provide biofeedback and guide treatment. Use of feasible and reliable technology during experimental and clinical procedures may necessitate defining healthy and abnormal responses in different populations and pathological states. We present a “call for action” towards further collaborative work to enable large scale use of objective measures.

Un enfoque psicofisiológico de los mensajes de miedo. Respuestas autónomas, subjetivas y conductuales a los mensajes de promoción de la salud.

Se diseñó un estudio para analizar los efectos que tienen las apelaciones al miedo sobre las respuestas psicofisiológicas, subjetivas y conductuales en la población diana. Para ello, se presentaron, a 98 mujeres de 49-50 años de edad, tres mensajes sobre el cáncer de mama promoviendo la realización de mamografía regularmente. Los mensajes fueron elaborados de manera similar a los utilizados por los programas de promoción de la salud. Los tres tenían la misma longitud, formato y estructura, pero variaban en determinadas claves que diferenciaban su carácter (Amenaza, Sorpresa y Estándar/control). Durante la exposición a estos mensajes, se registraron, de manera continua, las respuestas psicofisiológicas (frecuencia cardíaca y frecuencia de respuestas electrodérmicas inespecíficas). Después de ver los estímulos, se tomaron medidas de autoinforme y de personalidad (STAI y EPQ-A). Se encontraron respuestas significativas a los mensajes para todas las medidas psicofisiológicas. Independientemente del mensaje presentado, el patrón de respuesta psicofisiológica se relacionó significativamente con la conducta preventiva de detección del cáncer. A study was designed in order to analyze the effects of fear appeals on psychophysiological, subjective and behavioral responses on the target audience. Three messages on breast cancer, promoting regular mammography screening, elaborated in a similar way to those used by health promotion programs, were presented to ninety-eight women aged 49-50. Messages were of equal length, format and structure but varied in specific clues which distinguished their character (Threat, Surprise, and Standard/control). Psychophysiological reactions (heart rate and frequency of non- specific skin conductance responses) were recorded continuously during message exposure. Self-report measures and personality traits (STAI and EPQ-A) were obtained after viewing the stimulus. There were significant responses to the messages for all psychophysiological measures. The pattern of psychophysiological response, independent of the eliciting message, was significantly related to cancer preventive/detection behavior.

Autonomic activity, posttraumatic and nontraumatic nightmares, and PTSD after trauma exposure

Background Nightmares are a hallmark symptom of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This strong association may reflect a shared pathophysiology in the form of altered autonomic activity and increased reactivity. Using an acoustic startle paradigm, we investigated the interrelationships of psychophysiological measures during wakefulness and PTSD diagnosis, posttraumatic nightmares, and nontraumatic nightmares. Methods A community sample of 122 trauma survivors were presented with a series of brief loud tones, while heart rate (HRR), skin conductance (SCR), and orbicularis oculi electromyogram (EMGR) responses were measured. Prior to the tone presentations, resting heart rate variability (HRV) was assessed. Nightmares were measured using nightmare logs. Three dichotomous groupings of participants were compared: (1) current PTSD diagnosis (n = 59), no PTSD diagnosis (n = 63), (2) those with (n = 26) or without (n = 96) frequent posttraumatic nightmares, and (3) those with (n = 22) or without (n = 100) frequent nontraumatic nightmares. Results PTSD diagnosis was associated with posttraumatic but not with nontraumatic nightmares. Both PTSD and posttraumatic nightmares were associated with a larger mean HRR to loud tones, whereas nontraumatic nightmare frequency was associated with a larger SCR. EMGR and resting HRV were not associated with PTSD diagnosis or nightmares. Conclusions Our findings suggest a shared pathophysiology between PTSD and posttraumatic nightmares in the form of increased HR reactivity to startling tones, which might reflect reduced parasympathetic tone. This shared pathophysiology could explain why PTSD is more strongly related to posttraumatic than nontraumatic nightmares, which could have important clinical implications.