title: Teens that fear screams: A comparison of fear conditioning, extinction, and reinstatement in adolescents and adults.
abstract: This study investigated differences between adolescents and adults on fear conditioning, extinction, and reinstatement (i.e., the recovery of conditioned fear following re-exposure to the unconditioned stimulus [US] post-extinction). Participants underwent differential conditioning (i.e., the Screaming Lady) where one neutral face (CS+) was followed by the same face expressing fear and a loud scream (US) while another neutral face (CS-) remained neutral. Extinction involved non-reinforced presentations of both CSs, after which participants were reinstated (2xUSs) or not. On two self-report measures, both ages showed conditioning, good extinction learning and retention, and reinstatement-induced relapse. However, only adolescents showed conditioning, extinction, and reinstatement on the eye tracking measure; relapse on this measure could not be assessed in adults given they did not show initial conditioning. Lastly, higher levels of depression predicted stronger conditioning and weaker extinction in adolescents only. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for adolescent anxiety disorders.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: Miriam Liora
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Den
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: Bronwyn M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Graham
authors.affiliation: Institute of Early Childhood, Macquarie University, Sydney, 2109, Australia.
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Newall
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: Rick
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Richardson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development / Q000502:physiology*; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D003863:Depression / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005108:Extinction, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D053483:Eye Movement Measurements; D005149:Facial Expression; D005239:Fear / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology
keywords: adolescence; conditioning; depression; extinction; fear; reinstatement