title: Compound stimulus extinction reduces spontaneous recovery in humans.
abstract: Fear-related behaviors are prone to relapse following extinction. We tested in humans a compound extinction design ("deepened extinction") shown in animal studies to reduce post-extinction fear recovery. Adult subjects underwent fear conditioning to a visual and an auditory conditioned stimulus (CSA and CSB, respectively) separately paired with an electric shock. The target CS (CSA) was extinguished alone followed by compound presentations of the extinguished CSA and nonextinguished CSB. Recovery of conditioned skin conductance responses to CSA was reduced 24 h after compound extinction, as compared with a group who received an equal number of extinction trials to the CSA alone.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, São Paulo 04023062, Brazil.
authors.forename: Cesar A O
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Coelho
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Dunsmoor
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York 10003, USA Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, New York 10962, USA liz.phelps@nyu.edu.
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Phelps
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D004597:Electroshock; D005108:Extinction, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D005239:Fear / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011897:Random Allocation; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult