Cognitive bias during associative threat and safety learning: Neurophysiological markers and possible interventions

• Applicant: Dr. Julian Wiemer
• Subject Area: Personality Psychology, Clinical and Medical Psychology, Methodology ; General, Cognitive and Mathematical Psychology
• Term: from 2018 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 378414384

• Final Report Year: 2024

Final Report Abstract

In this project we sought to deepen our understanding of the neurocognitive processes underlying explicit threat and safety memory with the help of electrophysiological event-related potentials (ERPs) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We were especially interested in the processing of safety outcomes, because this seemed to be understudied so far, yet theoretically important for safety learning. In all experiments, neutral human faces were used as conditioned stimuli, half of which (CS+) were associated with threat (an aversive electrical unconditioned stimulus, US) and half of which (CS-) were associated with safety (omission of the US, OM). In experiment 1, an incidental learning paradigm, we found that the P300 (200-400 ms)to the OM was enhanced if the association between CS- and safety was later remembered vs. forgotten. Further subsequent memory effects (SMEs) were found for the P300 in response to the US and a late positive potential (LPP, 400-1000 ms) in response to CS+ and CS-. In a reexposure phase, participants were exposed again to the CS+ and CS- and showed enhanced fear to remembered CS+ and forgotten CS-. In experiment 2, we tested the effects of selective attention to the US or the OM on these ERPs. One group of participants counted the number of US, while another group of participants counted the number of OM. There were no significant group differences in the P300 to the US or OM, but OM counters showed elevated LPPs in response to CS+ and CS-. In experiment 3, participants intentionally learned about the associations and the results of experiment 1 were largely replicated. We found SMEs in the P300 to US and OM and in the LPP to CS+/CS-. In addition, alpha power was significantly reduced over occipital electrodes for remembered vs. forgotten CS+ and CS-. In experiment 4, an intentional learning paradigm was conducted in an fMRI scanner to locate SMEs in the brain. We found SMEs in the hippocampus for both CS and outcome responses and in in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) for the US and the OM. Importantly, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) was specifically enhanced for later remembered safety associations (CS- and OM). The OM was particularly characterized by SMEs in the vmPFC and other medial prefrontal areas, as well as visual and somatosensory areas. Finally, in experiment 5, we examined ERPs in high and low fearful individuals. High fearful individuals were selected based on self-reported anxiety sensitivity and symptoms of anxiety disorders. We found that the P300 in response to the OM was not significantly reduced per se in high fearful individuals, but the SME was distributed more towards frontal electrode sites. Despite comparable memory performance, in the re-exposure phase, high fearful individuals reported more fear of CS+ and CS-. Taken together, we identified neurophysiological markers of successful explicit threat and safety memory which might be altered in individuals suffering from anxiety disorders. In the future, these results may be helpful to track relevant cognitive processes during the unlearning of fear and to gain further insight in the development of anxiety disorders.

Publications

• Subsequent memory effects in threat and safety learning. Poster presentation at the Congress of the World Association for stress related and anxiety disorders (WASAD), Würzburg.
  Leimeister, F.; Wiemer, J. & Pauli, P.
  
• Neural oscillations in subsequent memory of associative fear learning. Poster presentation at the Congress of the World Association for stress related and
  Leimeister, F.; Pesquita, A.; Jensen, O.; Pauli, P. & Wiemer, J.
  
• Reappraising fear: is up-regulation more efficient than down-regulation?. Motivation and Emotion, 45(2), 221-234.
  Wiemer, Julian; Rauner, Milena M.; Stegmann, Yannik & Pauli, Paul
  
• Subsequent memory effects on event-related potentials in associative fear learning. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 16(5), 525-536.
  Wiemer, Julian; Leimeister, Franziska & Pauli, Paul
  
• Subsequent memory effects in fear learning and how they could be modulated. Talk at the 64th Conference of experimental psychologists (TeaP), Cologne / online.
  Wiemer, J., Leimeister, F. & Pauli, P.
  
• Sexual Stimuli Cause Behavioral Disinhibition in Both Men and Women, but Even More So in Men. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 52(4), 1445-1460.
  Wiemer, Julian; Kurstak, Steffen; Sellmann, Florian & Lindner, Kerstin
  
• To remember or not to remember: Neural oscillations and ERPs as predictors of intentional associative fear learning. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 193, 112235.
  Leimeister, Franziska; Pesquita, Ana; Jensen, Ole; Pauli, Paul & Wiemer, Julian