Generalization of extinction learning: basic mechanisms, individual differences and clinical implications for the etiology and treatment of anxiety disorders

• Applicant: Professor Jan Richter
• Subject Area: Personality Psychology, Clinical and Medical Psychology, Methodology
• Term: from 2019 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 418593826

According to the inhibitory learning model, extinction learning is considered to be a key mechanism of change during the exposure-based behavioral therapy of anxiety disorders. During extinction learning a so far threatening stimulus is learned to be safe based on corrective information. For that, the affected persons convince themselves that expected aversive consequences do not occur. As an active process of new learning, extinction learning involves general mechanisms of memory formation. In addition to memory acquisition, (re-)consolidation and retention also extinction memory generalization is suggested. During memory generalization a learning experience is translated to a stimulus that is similar to the original learning stimulus but was not present during active learning. However, despite the clear theoretical conception, basic science only started to investigate the specific process of extinction generalization and did not test for possible deficits in patients with anxiety disorders so far. A detailed knowledge would make it possible to derive important recommendations how to optimize still limited exposure therapy.This research program here aims to translate an established research paradigm from studying the generalization of fear learning to the process of extinction generalization. Here, the performance of generalization of the extinction memory from an previously extinguished fear cue to a non-extinguished but visual similar fear cue is studied during a 3-day-extinction paradigm, that was optimized for the investigation of extinction generalization. Taking account a generalization gradient also the generalization to previously not presented generalization cues (varying intensity of similarity on the dimension of similarity between the extinguished and non-extinguished cue) is additionally examined. In a second paradigm, the generalization of extinction learning tested between contexts that vary in similarity to the extinction context. The capacity to generalize extinction learning is assessed multimodally including subjective-verbal (ratings of valence, arousal and expectancy of aversive outcomes) and physiological (fear-potentiated startle, autonomic arousal, heart rate) indicators. The research project tests the hypothesis of differences in the generalization performance depending on the dispositional risk for or the presence of acute anxiety disorders. Therefore, the generalization competence are compared between healthy subjects low, moderate and high (with 25 subjects each) in trait anxiety as a pre-clinical model of anxiety and 25 patients suffering form acute anxiety disorders.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants