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Characterization of a psychophysiological model of classical fear conditioning in healthy volunteers: influence of gender, instruction, personality and placebo

Characterization of a psychophysiological model of classical fear conditioning in healthy... 213 104 104 2 2 F. S. Guimarães J. Hellewell R. Hensman M. Wang J. F. W. Deakin University Department of Psychiatry Withington Hospital M20 8RL Manchester UK Department of Pharmacology Faculty of Medicine, USP Ribeirao Preto, SP Brazil Department of Psychology University of Hull HU6 7RX UK Abstract Two experiments are described which evaluate the role of associative mechanisms and placebo effects on aversively conditioned skin conductance responses in groups of healthy volunteers. In both experiments, skin conductance level (SCL), variability (spontaneous fluctuations, SF) and amplitude (SCR) were recorded during a sequence of tone stimuli (80 dB, 1 s, 360 Hz). All the variables habituated during the first ten presentations of the tones. Tone 11 was immediately followed by a loud (100 dB) aversive brief (1 s) white noise UCS. The conditioning trial significantly enhanced SCRs to a further ten presentations of the tones and increased SCL and variability (SF). No enhancement of SCRs occurred when tone 11 was omitted and the UCS occurred in temporal isolation (experiment 1). Thus enhanced SCRs to tones following paired tone-noise presentation involves an associative mechanism. Increased “spontaneous” variability was shown to involve both conditioning and sensitization following the UCS. In both experiments females showed greater conditioned SCRs than males. In experiment 2 no effect of “anxiolytic” placebo could be discerned and there were no general relationships between questionnaires scores of extraversion or neuroticism with skin conductance measures in a group of 40 volunteers. The results question the role of conditionability and autonomic lability as major determinants of extraversion and neuroticism. These studies validate the use of the psychophysiological model of aversive conditioning in pharmacological studies of the mechanisms of habituation, conditioning and sensitization. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Psychopharmacology Springer Journals

Characterization of a psychophysiological model of classical fear conditioning in healthy volunteers: influence of gender, instruction, personality and placebo

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References (18)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 1991 by Springer-Verlag
Subject
Biomedicine; Pharmacology/Toxicology; Psychiatry
ISSN
0033-3158
eISSN
1432-2072
DOI
10.1007/BF02244184
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

213 104 104 2 2 F. S. Guimarães J. Hellewell R. Hensman M. Wang J. F. W. Deakin University Department of Psychiatry Withington Hospital M20 8RL Manchester UK Department of Pharmacology Faculty of Medicine, USP Ribeirao Preto, SP Brazil Department of Psychology University of Hull HU6 7RX UK Abstract Two experiments are described which evaluate the role of associative mechanisms and placebo effects on aversively conditioned skin conductance responses in groups of healthy volunteers. In both experiments, skin conductance level (SCL), variability (spontaneous fluctuations, SF) and amplitude (SCR) were recorded during a sequence of tone stimuli (80 dB, 1 s, 360 Hz). All the variables habituated during the first ten presentations of the tones. Tone 11 was immediately followed by a loud (100 dB) aversive brief (1 s) white noise UCS. The conditioning trial significantly enhanced SCRs to a further ten presentations of the tones and increased SCL and variability (SF). No enhancement of SCRs occurred when tone 11 was omitted and the UCS occurred in temporal isolation (experiment 1). Thus enhanced SCRs to tones following paired tone-noise presentation involves an associative mechanism. Increased “spontaneous” variability was shown to involve both conditioning and sensitization following the UCS. In both experiments females showed greater conditioned SCRs than males. In experiment 2 no effect of “anxiolytic” placebo could be discerned and there were no general relationships between questionnaires scores of extraversion or neuroticism with skin conductance measures in a group of 40 volunteers. The results question the role of conditionability and autonomic lability as major determinants of extraversion and neuroticism. These studies validate the use of the psychophysiological model of aversive conditioning in pharmacological studies of the mechanisms of habituation, conditioning and sensitization.

Journal

Psychopharmacology – Springer Journals

Published: Jun 1, 1991

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