title: Young and old Pavlovian fear memories can be modified with extinction training during reconsolidation in humans.
abstract: Extinction training during reconsolidation has been shown to persistently diminish conditioned fear responses across species. We investigated in humans if older fear memories can benefit similarly. Using a Pavlovian fear conditioning paradigm we compared standard extinction and extinction after memory reactivation 1 d or 7 d following acquisition. Participants who underwent extinction during reconsolidation showed no evidence of fear recovery, whereas fear responses returned in participants who underwent standard extinction. We observed this effect in young and old fear memories. Extending the beneficial use of reconsolidation to older fear memories in humans is promising for therapeutic applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald 17487, Germany.
authors.forename: Elisa C K
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Steinfurth
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA.
authors.forename: Jonathan W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Kanen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA.
authors.forename: Candace M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Raio
authors.affiliation: Departments of Neuroscience and Psychiatry, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, New York, New York 10029, USA.
authors.forename: Roger L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Clem
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
authors.forename: Richard L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Huganir
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, New York 10962, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Phelps
mesh_terms: D001245:Association Learning / Q000502:physiology; D001348:Aversive Therapy / Q000379:methods; D001521:Behavior Therapy; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000502:physiology*; D003463:Cues; D005108:Extinction, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D005239:Fear / Q000502:physiology*; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D013997:Time Factors