Is aversive learning a marker of risk for anxiety disorders in children?
Aversive conditioning and extinction were evaluated in children with anxiety disorders (n=23), at-risk for anxiety disorders (n=15), and controls (n=11). Participants underwent 16 trials of discriminative conditioning of two geometric figures, with (CS+) or without (CS-) an aversive tone (US), followed by 8 extinction trials (4 CS+, 4 CS-), and 8 extinction re-test trials averaging 2 weeks later. Skin conductance responses and verbal ratings of valence and arousal to the CS+/CS- stimuli were measured. Anxiety disordered children showed larger anticipatory and unconditional skin conductance responses across conditioning, and larger orienting and anticipatory skin conductance responses across extinction and extinction re-test, all to the CS+ and CS-, relative to controls. At-risk children showed larger unconditional responses during conditioning, larger orienting responses during the first block of extinction, and larger anticipatory responses during extinction re-test, all to the CS+ and CS-, relative to controls. Also, anxiety disordered children rated the CS+ as more unpleasant than the other groups. Elevated skin conductance responses to signals of threat (CS+) and signals of safety (CS-; CS+ during extinction) are discussed as features of manifestation of and risk for anxiety in children, compared to the specificity of valence judgments to the manifestation of anxiety.
Craske
Michelle G
MG
UCLA Department of Psychology, Franz Hall, University of California, 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563, USA. craske@psych.ucla.edu
Waters
Allison M
AM
Lindsey Bergman
R
R
Naliboff
Bruce
B
Lipp
Ottmar V
OV
Negoro
Hideki
H
Ornitz
Edward M
EM
D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D001362:Avoidance Learning; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D003463:Cues; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological; D005108:Extinction, Psychological; D005260:Female; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors