Behavioral and psychophysiological markers of extinction learning in virtual reality
Description:
Extinction is a form of inhibitory learning that leads to a reduction in a conditioned response when, for example, threat-associated stimuli no longer predict an aversive event. Extinction learning is generally considered a major mechanism of exposure-based interventions. Previous studies using cue conditioning paradigms indicate deficits in extinction of conditioned fear in anxiety patients. Compared to cue conditioning, context conditioning represents a sound translational model for capturing states of prolonged anxiety. However, little is known to date about abnormalities in context conditioning and extinction in anxiety patients. Virtual reality represents a particularly suitable method by which environmental contexts with high ecological validity can be manipulated in the human domain. Therefore, this project will use virtual reality to examine the effects of exposure treatment on biobehavioral markers of extinction of context-conditioned anxiety. In addition, we will examine the relationship between individual differences in extinction learning, patient characteristics, and treatment outcome. The project is part (P3) of a larger, multicenter randomized clinical trial (Providing Tools for Effective Care and Treatment of Anxiety Disorders: PROTECT-AD) comparing two types of exposure treatments in adults (P1) and children (P2) with anxiety disorders, respectively. The clinical study is linked to several subprojects dealing with the neural correlates (P4) of extinction learning and (epi-) genetic mechanisms (P5).
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