Improving stress hormone effects on extinction learning and retrieval (A09)

• Subject Area: Biological Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience
• Term: since 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 316803389

Within the SFB we found that stress timing-dependently modulates strength and context-dependency of extinction (cf. Stress Timing affects Relapse model). We now focus on beneficial stress effects. Two studies test if stress promotes extinction of fear vs. anxiety alike. A third study compares effects of different exercise intensities on extinction retrieval. A fourth study investigates the influence of a reappraisal intervention on stress responding and extinction retrieval. These studies will provide insights into how stress can be used to enhance extinction learning and how its detrimental effects on extinction retrieval might be reduced.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1280: Extinction Learning
• Applicant Institution: Ruhr-Universität Bochum
• Project Heads: Dr. Valerie Lena Jentsch, since 7/2021; Professor Dr. Christian Josef Merz; Professor Dr. Oliver Tobias Wolf