title: Stressor controllability modulates fear extinction in humans.
abstract: Traumatic events are proposed to play a role in the development of anxiety disorders, however not all individuals exposed to extreme stress experience a pathological increase in fear. Recent studies in animal models suggest that the degree to which one is able to control an aversive experience is a critical factor determining its behavioral consequences. In this study, we examined whether stressor controllability modulates subsequent conditioned fear expression in humans. Participants were randomly assigned to an escapable stressor condition, a yoked inescapable stressor condition, or a control condition involving no stress exposure. One week later, all participants underwent fear conditioning, fear extinction, and a test of extinction retrieval the following day. Participants exposed to inescapable stress showed impaired fear extinction learning and increased fear expression the following day. In contrast, escapable stress improved fear extinction and prevented the spontaneous recovery of fear. Consistent with the bidirectional controllability effects previously reported in animal models, these results suggest that one's degree of control over aversive experiences may be an important factor influencing the development of psychological resilience or vulnerability in humans.
authors: Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, United States; Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, United States.
authors: Catherine A
authors: CA
authors: Hartley
authors: New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, United States.
authors: Alyson
authors: A
authors: Gorun
authors: Department of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029, United States.
authors: Marianne C
authors: MC
authors: Reddan
authors: Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, United States.
authors: Franchesca
authors: F
authors: Ramirez
authors: Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, United States; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, United States; Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, NY 10962, United States. Electronic address: liz.phelps@nyu.edu.
authors: Elizabeth A
authors: EA
authors: Phelps
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000502:physiology; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000502:physiology*; D005108:Extinction, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D005239:Fear / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011897:Random Allocation; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Controllability; Extinction; Fear conditioning; Resilience