Open AccessEffects of recent exposure to a conditioned stimulus on extinction of Pavlovian fear conditioning
Author(s) -
Wan Yee Macy Chan,
Hiu Tin Leung,
R. Frederick Westbrook,
Gavan P. McNally
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
learning and memory
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.228
H-Index - 136
eISSN - 1549-5485
pISSN - 1072-0502
DOI - 10.1101/lm.1912510
Subject(s) - extinction (optical mineralogy) , classical conditioning , psychology , conditioning , unconditioned stimulus , fear conditioning , spontaneous recovery , stimulus (psychology) , developmental psychology , generalization , cognitive psychology , neuroscience , audiology , amygdala , biology , medicine , statistics , mathematics , paleontology , mathematical analysis
In six experiments we studied the effects of a single re-exposure to a conditioned stimulus (CS; "retrieval trial") prior to extinction training (extinction-reconsolidation boundary) on the development of and recovery from fear extinction. A single retrieval trial prior to extinction training significantly augmented the renewal and reinstatement of extinguished responding. Augmentation of recovery was not observed if the retrieval and extinction training occurred in different contexts. These results contrast with those reported in earlier papers by Monfils and coworkers in rats and by Schiller and coworkers in humans. We suggest that these contrasting results could depend on the contrasting influences of either: (1) occasion-setting contextual associations vs. direct context-CS associations formed as a consequence of the retrieval trial or (2) discrimination vs. generalization between the circumstances of conditioning and extinction.
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