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Ergebnisse 4 Einträge
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Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies consistently demonstrate an enhanced activation of the visual cortex in reaction to emotionally salient visual stimuli. This increase of activation is probably modulated by top-down processes, that are initiated in emotion processing structures, specifically the amygdala and the orbitofrontal cortex. In the present fMRI study, a differential fear conditioning paradigm was applied to investigate this assumed modulation. Hemodynamic responses towards a neutral visual stimulus (CS+) predicting an electrical stimulation (UCS) were compared with responses towards a neutral and unpaired stimulus (CS-). Thereby, particularly the time courses of neural responses were considered. Skin conductance measures were concurrently recorded. Our results show that the differentiation between CS+ and CS- within the amygdala and the extended visual cortex was accomplished during a late acquisition phase. In the orbitofrontal cortex the differentiation occurred at an earlier stage and was then sustained throughout acquisition. It is suggested that these altering activation patterns are reflecting different phases of learning, integrating the analyzed regions to varying degrees. Additionally, the results indicate that statistical analyses comprising a temporal variation of hemodynamic responses are more likely to detect amygdala activation.
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This study investigates the effect of awareness of stimulus contingencies on BOLD responses within the amygdala, the orbitofrontal, and the occipital cortex, and on differential skin conductance responses (SCRs) during fear conditioning. Of two geometric figures, the paired conditioned stimulus (CS+) predicted an electrical stimulus (unconditioned stimulus = UCS), whereas the unpaired conditioned stimulus (CS-) was not followed by the UCS. Awareness of stimulus contingencies was manipulated experimentally, creating an aware and an unaware group: a distracter figure and a working memory task were introduced to conceal the stimulus contingencies of the conditioning paradigm, hence preventing contingency detection in the unaware group. The aware group was informed beforehand about the relation between CS+, CS-, and UCS. Differential SCRs were only obtained in the aware but not in the unaware group. Conversely, we observed enhanced responses of the amygdala, the orbitofrontal, and the occipital cortex to the CS+ in the unaware group only. Thus, we found a dissociation of SCR differentiation and the activation of a neural fear network depending on the presence or absence of awareness. These results support a model of fear conditioning that distinguishes between a more cognitive level of learning, reflected in contingency awareness and differential SCRs, and the awareness independent activation of a fear network.
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In emotional learning tasks, sex differences, stress effects and an interaction of these two moderators have often been observed. The sex hormones estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P4) vary over the menstrual cycle. We tested groups with different sex hormone status: 39 men, 30 women in the luteal phase (LU, high E2+P4) and 29 women taking oral contraceptives (OC, low E2+P4). They received either 30 mg cortisol or placebo prior to instructed differential fear conditioning consisting of neutral conditioned stimuli (CS) and an electrical stimulation (unconditioned stimulus; UCS). One figure (CS+) was paired with the UCS, the other figure (CS-) never. During extinction, no electrical stimulation was administered. Regarding fear acquisition, results showed higher skin conductance and higher brain responses to the CS+ compared to the CS- in several structures that were not modulated by cortisol or sex hormones. However, OC women exhibited higher CS+/CS- differentiations than men and LU women in the amygdala, thalamus, anterior cingulate and ventromedial prefrontal cortex during extinction. The suppression of endogenous sex hormones by OC seems to alter neuronal correlates of extinction. The observation that extinction is influenced by the current sex hormone availability is relevant for future studies and might also be clinically important.
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Previously, we observed cortisol induced enhancement of neural fear acquisition in women. Yet, less is known about cortisol effects on neural fear extinction. Via differential fear conditioning, we explored cortisol effects on acquisition and extinction. Twenty contingency aware women taking monophasic oral contraceptives were included; 10 received placebo, 10 cortisol before conditioning. Group differences emerged in anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), hippocampus, and--as trend--in insula and thalamus during acquisition and in hippocampus, thalamus, and--as trend--in amygdala, insula, and ACC during extinction. During acquisition group differences were due to higher responses to the CS+ than to the CS- in the cortisol group. Notably, during extinction, group differences were due to higher responses to the CS- than to the CS+ in this group. Thus, cortisol induced a fear acquisition and extinction specific enhanced neural differentiation.
Erkunden
Team
- Vaitl (4)
Eintragsart
Sprache
- Englisch (4)
Thema
- Fear/*physiology
- Adolescent (1)
- Adult (4)
- Amygdala/*blood supply/*physiology (1)
- Amygdala/physiology (2)
- Analysis of Variance (1)
- Arousal/physiology (1)
- Association Learning/*physiology (2)
- Awareness/physiology (1)
- Awareness/*physiology (1)
- Brain Mapping (2)
- Brain/*physiology (1)
- Cerebellum/physiology (1)
- Cerebral Cortex/*physiology (1)
- Cerebrovascular Circulation/*physiology (1)
- Conditioning, Classical/*physiology (2)
- Conditioning, Psychological/*physiology (2)
- Contraceptives, Oral (1)
- Dominance, Cerebral/physiology (1)
- Double-Blind Method (1)
- Electric Stimulation (2)
- Extinction, Psychological/*drug effects/physiology (1)
- Extinction, Psychological/*physiology (1)
- Female (4)
- Galvanic Skin Response/physiology (1)
- Galvanic Skin Response/*physiology (1)
- Gonadal Steroid Hormones/*pharmacology (1)
- Hemodynamics/*physiology (1)
- Humans (4)
- Hydrocortisone/analysis/*metabolism (1)
- Hydrocortisone/pharmacology (1)
- Image Processing, Computer-Assisted (2)
- *Image Processing, Computer-Assisted (1)
- *Knowledge of Results, Psychological (1)
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (2)
- *Magnetic Resonance Imaging (1)
- Male (3)
- Pattern Recognition, Visual/*physiology (1)
- Photic Stimulation (2)
- Saliva/chemistry (1)
- Surveys and Questionnaires (1)
- Synaptic Transmission/physiology (1)
- Visual Cortex/*blood supply/*physiology (1)
- Young Adult (1)