The effects of changing contexts on return of fear following exposure therapy for spider fear.

Treatment of specific fears and phobias is sometimes followed by a return of fear. Work with rats has provided evidence that a greater return of fear occurs when a conditioned stimulus extinguished in 1 context is later presented in a different context than if presented in the same context in which it was originally extinguished. In the present study. 36 human participants who were highly afraid of spiders received 1 session of exposure therapy (with participant modeling) and were then tested for return of fear 1 week later in either the same or a different context. It was hypothesized that there would be a greater return of fear in those participants treated and followed up in different contexts than in those treated and followed up in the same context. Participants tested in a novel context at follow-up showed a greater return of fear than participants tested in the same context. Limitations and areas for future study are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Inhibition of return to social signals of fear.

The present study examined whether inhibition of return (IOR) is modulated by the fear relevance of the cue. Experiment 1 found similar magnitude of IOR was produced by neutral and fear faces and luminance matched cues. To allow a more sensitive measure of endogenously directed attention, Experiment 2 removed a central reorienting cue and more precisely measured the time course of IOR. At stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs) of 500, 1,000 and 1,500 ms, fear face and luminance matched cues resulted in similar IOR. These findings suggest that IOR is triggered by event onsets and disregards event value. Views of IOR as an adaptive "foraging facilitator," whereby attention is guided to promote optimal sampling of important environmental events, are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of attributional processes concerning medication taking on return of fear.

In this investigation, the authors examined the effect of attributional processes concerning medication taking on return of fear following exposure-based treatment. Participants (87% undergraduate students and 13% community volunteers) displaying marked claustrophobic fear (N = 95) were randomly allocated to a waitlist condition, a psychological placebo condition, a 1-session exposure-based treatment, or the same exposure treatment given in conjunction with an inactive pill. Attributions concerning medication taking were manipulated by further randomly assigning participants in the exposure-based treatment plus pill condition to 1 of 3 instructional sets immediately following treatment completion and posttreatment assessment: (1) The pill was described as a sedating herb that likely made exposure treatment easier; (2) the pill was described as a stimulating herb that likely made exposure treatment more difficult; or (3) the pill was described as a placebo that had no effect on exposure treatment. Return of fear rates for the 3 conditions were 39%, 0%, and 0%, respectively. Moreover, the deleterious effects of the sedation instructions were mediated by reduced self-efficacy. These findings highlight the importance of assessing patient attributions regarding the improvements achieved with combined exposure-based and pharmacological treatments for anxiety disorders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in caffeine states enhance return of fear in spider phobia.

Treatment of phobias is sometimes followed by a return of fear. Animal and human research has shown that changes in external and internal contexts between the time of treatment and follow-up tests often enhance return of fear. The present study examined whether shifts in caffeine (C) state would enhance return of fear. Participants who were highly afraid of spiders (n=43) were treated in 1-session exposure-based therapy and tested for follow-up 1 week later. Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 groups and received either placebo (P) or C at treatment and follow-up sessions: CC, PP, CP, and PC. Results demonstrated state-dependent learning. Participants experiencing incongruent drug states during treatment and follow-up (CP and PC) exhibited greater return of fear than those experiencing congruent drug states (CC and PP). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of meprobamate on fear and palmar sweating.

With a ride on a ferris wheel as an anxiety-provoking situation, Ss were given meprobamate (1600 mg.) and placebo in an a-b, b-a administration. Measures of anxiety were obtained, viz., a direct measure of automatic activity (palmar sweat), an indirect measure of autonomic N.S. activity (reports re: upset stomach, increased heart rate, nervousness, hand tremulation, dizziness, cold sweat), and reports of degree of fear experienced. Meprobamate apparently did not lead to a significant reduction in the symptoms of anxiety. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The process of fear reduction through systematic desensitization.

Investigated the process of fear change during a course of systematic desensitization therapy with 15 female snake-phobic undergraduates. Behavioral, subjective (e.g., Subjective Anxiety Scale and the S-R Inventory of Anxiousness), and physiological measures of fear were taken following each of 8 therapy sessions. Generally, linear reductions were found on behavior and subjective measures, whereas a cubic trend was detected for baseline heart rate. Changes in 1 fear system did not appear to be primary in initiating changes in the other systems. Real-life nonavoidance exposure to the feared stimulus appears to provide an important steering function during the fear change process. High baseline heart rate was a good predictor of behavioral change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of contingency violations on the extinction of a conditioned fear inhibitor and a conditioned fear excitor.

In 4 experiments, 192 male Holtzman and Sprague-Dawley rats were used in a conditioned-suppression paradigm to assess the effects of contingency variations on responding to a conditioned stimulus (CS) inhibitor (CS–) and a conditioned stimulus excitor (CS+). In Exp I, various unconditioned stimulus/stimuli (UCS) frequencies were equated across the presence and absence of a CS– in the context of either background cues (continuous-trial procedure) or an explicit neutral event (discrete-trial procedure). With both procedures, a CS-alone treatment enhanced inhibition, whereas treatments involving 50 or 100% reinforcement for the CS– eliminated inhibition without conditioning excitation to that CS. The latter outcome also occurred in Exp II, with discrete-trial training equating considerably reduced UCS frequencies for the presence and absence of the CS–. In further evidence that inhibition was eliminated without conditioning excitation to the CS–, Exp III showed that a novel CS did not acquire excitation when 25, 50, or 100% reinforcement was equated across the presence and absence of that CS in the context of a discrete-trial event. Using the procedures of Exp I, Exp IV showed that a CS+ was extinguished by a CS-alone treatment but was substantially maintained by treatments involving 50 or 100% uncorrelated reinforcement. These effects for a CS+ and a CS– implicate CS–UCS contiguity, rather than contingency, as the factor determining the extinction of a CS. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of sigma receptor ligands on conditioned fear stress

BACKGROUND: Low-dose clarithromycin (250 mg b.d.) in combination with omeprazole and metronidazole has been recommended for the eradication of Helicobacter pylori. Whether the substitution of omeprazole by pantoprazole requires adjustment of the clarithromycin dose is not known. AIM: To directly compare the efficacy and tolerability of two different dosages of clarithromycin in combination with pantoprazole and metronidazole. METHODS: One hundred and sixty-three patients with endoscopically confirmed gastritis, gastric or duodenal ulcers and positive H. pylori findings in the rapid urease test were randomized and treated for 7 days with pantoprazole (40 mg b.d.). metronidazole (500 mg b.d.) and clarithromycin using either a regimen of 500 mg b.d. (group PMC 500) or 250 mg b.d. (group PMC 250). Eradication success was determined no less than 4 weeks after concluding therapy using the 13C-urea breath test. RESULTS: One-hundred and thirty-nine patients completed the study. Based on a per protocol analysis. successful eradication was documented in 63/70 patients (90.0%) in group PMC 500 and in 62/69 patients (89.9%) in group PMC 250. Based on the intention-to-treat analysis, eradication rates were 78.8% (group PMC 500) and 75.6% (group PMC 250). The incidence of adverse effects was significantly higher in patients receiving PMC 500 (50.0%) than in those receiving PMC 250 (25.4%). CONCLUSIONS: Triple therapy with pantoprazole, metronidazole and clarithromycin provides an efficient eradication regimen for H. pylori infection. A low dose of clarithromycin is equal to a higher dose in therapeutic efficacy and it offers the advantage of improved tolerance and lower cost.     

Self-hypnosis training in anxiety reduction

Twenty three adult patients with problems of anxiety in a suburban general practice were invited to participate in a study to determine the effectiveness of self-hypnosis training in reducing anxiety levels. In an initial interview (T1), Experimenter 1 gave subjects two C-60 cassette tapes for home use. These contained the voice of Experimenter 2 who was unknown to the subjects, instructing them in self-hypnosis. After six weeks (T2), measures by Experimenter 1 of both psychological anxiety and blood pressure showed significant reduction (with the exception of systolic blood pressure), and in some cases subjects reduced their anxiolytic medication. A follow-up nine months later of as many subjects as were available (12) showed that these desirable effects were still detectable to a significant degree. It is suggested that audiotaped training in self-hypnosis represent a valid non-pharmacological method for anxiety reduction.     

Fears as attitudes: Experimental reduction of fear through reinforcement.

Investigated the hypothesis that fears are attitudes and can be reduced through the use of positive reinforcement. Fear was defined behaviorally as an expression of avoidance responses in the presence of the phobic object (in this study a harmless snake). 76 female undergraduates were selected according to their responses on a fear survey schedule, and randomly assigned to 4 treatment groups 1 experimental and 3 control. All ss were given the bandura snake approach scale and snake behavioral approach scale before and after the experiment, and were seen for 5 treatment sessions at which different parameters were tested for effects in shaping ss' behavior. There was a significant decrease (p     

Effects of inhibition of return on voluntary and visually guided saccades.

Four experiments examined the effects of exogenously and endogenously activated inhibition of return (IOR) on endogenously generated and visually guided saccades. In Exps 1–3, 37 Ss responded to a peripheral target by making either a prosaccade (toward the target) or an antisaccade (toward the field opposite the target). Results of Exps 1 and 3 suggest that when IOR is activated by a peripheral precue, it functions as a location tagging mechanism that inhibits detection of signals at the tagged location; thus, IOR cannot simply be a motor alternation bias. Exp 2 showed that IOR could be generated by the execution of an endogenous saccade. Unlike Exp 1, however, IOR was manifest only in the prosaccade task. Exp 4, in which 24 Ss made endogenous saccades in response to a central arrow target, provided some evidence that IOR can influence the latency of endogenously generated saccades to the precued location. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of suramin on neuroendocrine and behavioural responses to conditioned fear stimuli

Conditioned fear stimuli suppress motor activity. The fear stimuli suppress vasopressin and facilitate oxytocin and prolactin release. These fear responses are impaired by selective destruction of noradrenergic neurones. Adenosine 5'-triphosphate is co-released from noradrenergic nerve terminals with noradrenaline. Thus the possibility arises that the behavioural and neuroendocrine responses may be mediated by purinergic rather than noradrenergic synapses. We examined whether suramin, an inhibitor of P2 and NMDA receptors, blocks conditioned fear responses. Suramin injected i.c.v. 30 min before testing stimuli impaired conditioned fear responses. The role of purinergic P2 receptors in expression of the behavioural and neuroendocrine responses to conditioned fear stimuli is discussed.     

Differential effects of training intertrial interval on acquisition of trace and long-delay fear conditioning in rats.

Many factors govern conditioning effectiveness, including the intertrial interval (ITI) used during training. The present study systematically varied the training ITI during both trace and long-delay fear conditioning. Rats were trained using one of six different ITIs and subsequently tested for conditioning to the white noise conditioned stimulus (CS) and the training context. After trace conditioning, percent freezing to the CS was positively correlated with training ITI, whereas percent freezing to the context was negatively correlated with training ITI. In contrast, when rats were trained using a long-delay paradigm, freezing during the CS test session did not vary as a function of training ITI; rats exhibited robust freezing at all ITIs. The long-delay conditioned rats exhibited relatively low levels of freezing during the context test. Thus, trace is more sensitive than long-delay fear conditioning to variations in the training ITI. These data suggest that training ITI is an important variable to consider when evaluating age or treatment effects, where the optimal ITI may vary with advancing age or pharmacological treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Excitatory strength of expressive faces: Effects of happy and fear expressions and context on the extinction of a conditioned fear response.

The present authors (see record 1985-08584-001) showed that the excitatory properties of fear facial expressions previously described by them (see PA, Vols 65:7371 and 68:2978) did not depend on associative mechanisms. Even in the absence of reinforcement, fear faces intensified the emotional reaction to a previously conditioned stimulus and disrupted extinction of an acquired fear response. In conjunction with the findings on acquisition, the failure to obtain extinction suggests that fear faces have some of the functional properties of "prepared" (fear-relevant) stimuli. The present study, with 60 undergraduates, compared the magnitude of conditioned fear responses to happy and fear faces when a potent danger signal, the shock electrodes, are attached or unattached. If fear faces are functionally analogous to prepared stimuli, then, even in the absence of veridical support for an expectation of shock, they should retain excitatory strength, whereas happy faces should not. Results are consistent with this view of fear expressions. In the absence of reinforcement, and with shock electrodes removed, conditioned fear responses and basal levels of arousal were greater for the fear-face condition than for the happy-face condition. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teaching self-care to caregivers: Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on the mental health of therapists in training.

Preparation for the role of therapist can occur on both professional and personal levels. Research has found that therapists are at risk for occupationally related psychological problems. It follows that self-care may be a useful complement to the professional training of future therapists. The present study examined the effects of one approach to self-care, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), for therapists in training. Using a prospective, cohort-controlled design, the study found participants in the MBSR program reported significant declines in stress, negative affect, rumination, state and trait anxiety, and significant increases in positive affect and self-compassion. Further, MBSR participation was associated with increases in mindfulness, and this enhancement was related to several of the beneficial effects of MBSR participation. Discussion highlights the potential for future research addressing the mental health needs of therapists and therapist trainees. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of a single session of large-group meditation and progressive muscle relaxation training on stress reduction, reactivity, and recovery.

Three hundred eighty-seven undergraduate students in a large-group setting were exposed to 20 min of either meditation, progressive muscle relaxation (PMR), or a control condition, followed by 1 min of stress induction and another 10 min of each intervention. Participants in the meditation and PMR groups decreased more in cognitive, somatic, and general state anxiety than controls. The PMR group had the greatest decline in somatic anxiety, lending some support to the cognitive/somatic specificity hypothesis. After exposure to a visual stressor, those in the relaxation conditions had higher levels of anxiety and recovered more quickly than controls. Findings demonstrated the effectiveness of brief group training in meditation or PMR in reducing state anxiety after exposure to a transitory stressor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Twelve-month follow-up of virtual reality and standard exposure therapies for the fear of flying.

This study reports the 12-mo follow-up from patients with the fear of flying who were treated in a controlled study and randomly assigned (n=49) to virtual reality exposure (VRE) therapy, standard exposure (SE) therapy, or to a wait-list control (WL). VRE and SE were equally superior to WL. At 12 mo posttreatment, data were gathered on 24 of the 30 (80%) patients who were assigned to VRE or SE. Patients maintained their treatment gains, and 92% of VRE participants and 91% of SE participants had flown on a real airplane since the graduation flight. This is the 1st year-long follow-up of patients having been treated with VRE and indicates that short-term treatment can have lasting effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Counterconditioning versus forced exposure in extinction of avoidance responding and conditioned fear in rats.

Conducted 2 experiments using 64 and 32 male Long-Evans hooded rats, respectively. Exp. I investigated the extinction of the conditioned avoidance response (CAR) by response prevention and counterconditioning methods. Response prevention was most effective in extinguishing both the CAR and associated conditioned fear, although counterconditioning produced greater extinction than the regular extinction procedure. Exp. II equated the counterconditioning and response-prevention conditions for duration of CS exposure and demonstrated the superiority of the latter in extinguishing the CAR; both methods were equally effective in decreasing conditioned fear as compared to the regular extinction procedure. Extinction of the CAR was facilitated to the extent to which different procedures eliminated response-contingent feedback by reducing escape-avoidance responses. Conditioned fear was a function of the amount of nonreinforced exposure to the CS during extinction. (24 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of alternative training methods on self-efficacy and performance in computer software training.

Alternative training methods on self-efficacy and mastery of a computer software program were compared in the context of a field experiment involving 108 university managers. A behavioral modeling approach relative to a tutorial approach yielded higher self-efficacy scores and higher performance on an objective measure of computer software mastery. Participants scoring high in self-efficacy performed significantly better than participants with low computer self-efficacy scores. Participants low in self-efficacy reported greater confidence in their ability to master the software training in the modeling compared with the tutorial conditions. Participants in the modeling training reported more effective cognitive working styles, more ease with the task, more satisfaction with training, and less frustration compared with participants in tutorial training. Implications for training interventions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of experience and training on diagnostic accuracy.

In this reexamination of a previously published report (R. Brammer, 1997), psychologists and psychology students (N = 138) were provided an artificial intelligence program that simulated a clinical interview. The "client" provided paragraph-length answers to the questions participants chose to ask. At the end of their interview, the participants provided a brief diagnosis for the client. A path analysis revealed that clinical experience is a strong predictor of the ability to form an accurate diagnosis and that an individual's level of training, mediated by the number of diagnostic questions asked, also helps to derive accurate diagnoses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)