title: Enhanced discrimination between threatening and safe contexts in high-anxious individuals.
abstract: Trait anxiety, a stable personality trait associated with increased fear responses to threat, is regarded as a risk factor for the development and maintenance of anxiety disorders. Although the effect of trait anxiety has been examined with regard to explicit threat cues, little is known about the effect of trait anxiety on contextual threat learning. To assess this issue, extreme groups of low and high trait anxiety underwent a contextual fear conditioning protocol using virtual reality. Two virtual office rooms served as the conditioned contexts. One virtual office room (CXT+) was paired with unpredictable electrical stimuli. In the other virtual office room, no electrical stimuli were delivered (CXT-). High-anxious participants tended to show faster acquisition of startle potentiation in the CXT+ versus the CXT- than low-anxious participants. This enhanced contextual fear learning might function as a risk factor for anxiety disorders that are characterized by sustained anxiety.
authors: Department of Psychology, Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg, Marcusstr. 9-11, D-97070 Würzburg, Germany.
authors: Evelyn
authors: E
authors: Glotzbach-Schoon
authors: Regina
authors: R
authors: Tadda
authors: Marta
authors: M
authors: Andreatta
authors: Christian
authors: C
authors: Tröger
authors: Heike
authors: H
authors: Ewald
authors: Christian
authors: C
authors: Grillon
authors: Paul
authors: P
authors: Pauli
authors: Andreas
authors: A
authors: Mühlberger
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000502:physiology; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological; D005239:Fear / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010551:Personality; D013216:Reflex, Startle / Q000502:physiology; D014584:User-Computer Interface
references: Cogn Emot. 2012;26(7):1256-72
references: 22551520
references: Cogn Emot. 2011 Aug;25(5):805-17
references: 21824022
references: J Pers Soc Psychol. 1988 Jun;54(6):1063-70
references: 3397865
references: Am J Psychiatry. 2008 Jul;165(7):898-904
references: 18347001
references: J Affect Disord. 2000 Dec;61(3):137-59
references: 11163418
references: Behav Brain Res. 2011 Sep 23;222(2):357-62
references: 21497171
references: Behav Res Ther. 2009 Oct;47(10):830-9
references: 19604499
references: Behav Neurosci. 2004 Oct;118(5):916-24
references: 15506874
references: J Anxiety Disord. 2004;18(5):587-607
references: 15275941
references: Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2008 Aug;199(3):421-37
references: 18058089
references: Am J Psychiatry. 2007 Nov;164(11):1684-92
references: 17974933
references: J Neurosci. 2009 Aug 19;29(33):10357-61
references: 19692610
references: Annu Rev Neurosci. 2000;23:155-84
references: 10845062
references: Psychiatry Res. 2008 Jan 15;162(1):51-7
references: 18068954
references: Biol Psychiatry. 2002 Nov 15;52(10):927-37
references: 12437934
references: Eur J Neurosci. 2009 Feb;29(4):823-32
references: 19200075
references: Acta Psychol (Amst). 2008 Mar;127(3):567-80
references: 18226795
references: Neuroimage. 2005 Jul 15;26(4):1193-200
references: 15961053
references: Biol Psychol. 2013 Jan;92(1):17-25
references: 22342768
references: Biol Psychiatry. 2004 Jun 1;55(11):1056-60
references: 15158423
references: Acta Psychol (Amst). 2008 Mar;127(3):581-92
references: 18048004
references: Neurobiol Learn Mem. 2011 Feb;95(2):199-205
references: 21073972
references: Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2002 Nov;164(2):236-8
references: 12481758
references: Proc Biol Sci. 2010 Aug 7;277(1692):2411-6
references: 20356893
references: Neuron. 2011 Feb 10;69(3):563-71
references: 21315265
references: Behav Res Ther. 2005 Nov;43(11):1391-424
references: 15885654
references: Biol Psychol. 2010 Dec;85(3):361-9
references: 20800643
references: Neuron. 2004 Dec 16;44(6):1043-55
references: 15603746
references: Annu Rev Psychol. 2006;57:27-53
references: 16318588
references: Biol Psychiatry. 2002 Jun 1;51(11):851-8
references: 12022957
references: Biol Psychiatry. 2006 Oct 1;60(7):752-9
references: 16950216
references: Neuropsychopharmacology. 2010 Jan;35(1):105-35
references: 19693004
references: Psychol Med. 2012 Mar;42(3):533-43
references: 21854700
references: J Neural Transm (Vienna). 2012 Jun;119(6):709-19
references: 22227740
references: J Abnorm Psychol. 2000 May;109(2):290-8
references: 10895567
references: Behav Res Ther. 2007 Sep;45(9):2019-33
references: 17442266
references: J Neurosci. 2008 Sep 3;28(36):9030-6
references: 18768697
references: J Neurosci. 2007 Jun 6;27(23):6313-9
references: 17554005
references: Biol Psychol. 2008 Jan;77(1):47-52
references: 17950519
references: J Neurosci. 2008 Jun 11;28(24):6211-9
references: 18550763
references: Biol Psychol. 2008 Jan;77(1):39-46
references: 17936495
references: J Comp Physiol Psychol. 1968 Oct;66(2):402-11
references: 5749134
references: Biol Psychiatry. 2002 Nov 15;52(10):958-75
references: 12437937
references: Neuroimage. 2011 Mar 1;55(1):389-400
references: 21111828
references: Psychol Med. 2011 Apr;41(4):789-98
references: 20550755
references: Depress Anxiety. 2011 Dec 21;28(12):1058-66
references: 21898707
references: Psychol Med. 2009 Feb;39(2):255-65
references: 18466667
references: Behav Res Ther. 2009 Feb;47(2):111-8
references: 19027893
references: Behav Res Ther. 1986;24(1):1-8
references: 3947307