title: Extinction retention and fear renewal in a lifetime obsessive-compulsive disorder sample.
abstract: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), like other illnesses with prominent anxiety, may involve abnormal fear regulation and consolidation of safety memories. Impaired fear extinction memory (extinction recall, ER) has been shown in individuals with current symptoms of OCD [1]. However, contrary to expectations, the only previous study investigating this phenomenon showed a positive correlation between extinction recall abilities and OCD symptomology (i.e., as OCD symptoms worsened, extinction memory improved). The purpose of the current study was to determine if patients with a lifetime diagnosis of OCD (not necessarily currently symptomatic) also demonstrate impairments in extinction memory, and the relationship between OCD symptomology and extinction memory in this type of sample. In addition, we also examined fear renewal, which has never been investigated in an OCD sample. We enrolled 37 patients with OCD, the majority of whom were on serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and 18 healthy control participants in a 2-day paradigm assessing fear conditioning and extinction (Day 1) and extinction retention and renewal (Day 2). Skin conductance responses (SCRs) were the dependent measure. Results, as in the prior study, indicated that the only between-group difference was impaired ER in OCD patients relative to controls. Contrary to our prediction, OCD symptom severity was not correlated with the magnitude of extinction recall. There were no differences in fear renewal between OCD patients and controls.
authors.affiliation: Butler Hospital, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, United States.
authors.forename: N C R
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: McLaughlin
authors.affiliation: University of California, San Diego, CA, United States.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Strong
authors.affiliation: Butler Hospital, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, United States.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abrantes
authors.affiliation: Butler Hospital, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, United States.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Garnaat
authors.affiliation: Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cerny
authors.affiliation: Stanford University Medical School, Stanford, CA, United States.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: O'Connell
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fadok
authors.affiliation: Providence Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Providence, RI, United States.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Spofford
authors.affiliation: Butler Hospital, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, United States.
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Rasmussen
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Milad
authors.affiliation: Butler Hospital, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, United States.
authors.forename: B D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Greenberg
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological; D004597:Electroshock; D005108:Extinction, Psychological; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response; D006225:Hand; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008875:Middle Aged; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011601:Psychophysics; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors
keywords: Anxiety/anxiety disorders; Biological markers; CBT/cognitive behavior therapy; Cognition; OCD/obsessive–compulsive disorder