Behavioural therapy based on distraction alleviates impaired fear extinction in male serotonin transporter knockout rats.

Journal of Psychiatry & Neuroscience : JPN
Lourens J P NonkesJ R Homberg

Abstract

The "biological susceptibility" model posits that some individuals, by genetic predisposition, are highly sensitive to environmental stimuli. Exposure to adverse stimuli leads to negative outcomes, and better outcomes follow favourable stimuli. Recent studies indicate that individuals carrying the low-activity (short; s) variant of the serotonin transporter (5-HTT)-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) show an enhanced vulnerability to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Simultaneously, they respond poorly to exposure therapy, the first-line treatment to enhance fear extinction in individuals with PTSD. Given that s-allele carriers also show improved adaptive responding when exposed to positive stimuli, we hypothesized that this trait could be used to offset impaired fear extinction. We explored this hypothesis preclinically using wild-type and 5-HTT knockout (5-HTT-/-) male rats (n = 36) that share behavioural similarities with 5-HTTLPR s-allele carriers. Subsequent to cued fear conditioning, animals were tested for short- (1 and 2 days postconditioning) and long-term (6 days postconditioning) fear extinction in the absence or presence of a secondary "distracting" stimulus predicting the delivery of sucrose pellets. Introduci...Continue Reading

References

Jul 20, 2002·Science·Ahmad R HaririDaniel R Weinberger
Jan 7, 2004·Genomics·Bart M G SmitsEdwin Cuppen
Dec 14, 2004·Nature Neuroscience·Andreas HeinzChristian Büchel
Nov 7, 2006·Current Opinion in Neurobiology·Gregory J Quirk, Jennifer S Beer
Jan 20, 2007·The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience·C L WellmanA Holmes
Apr 4, 2007·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·R J Dolan
Jun 19, 2008·Nature Reviews. Genetics·Margit BurmeisterSebastian Zöllner
Jul 21, 2010·Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry·Rosemary C Bagot, Michael J Meaney
Nov 5, 2010·Biological Psychiatry·Judith R Homberg, Klaus-Peter Lesch
Nov 17, 2010·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·Caroline M CoppensJaap M Koolhaas
Jan 26, 2011·Development and Psychopathology·Bruce J EllisMarinus H van Ijzendoorn
Aug 23, 2011·Biological Psychiatry·James W MurroughAlexander Neumeister

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Oct 7, 2014·The European Journal of Neuroscience·Samantha J LineDavid M Bannerman
Apr 29, 2014·Behavioural Brain Research·Christian P Müller, Judith R Homberg
Jan 1, 2012·Scientifica·Judith R Homberg
Dec 25, 2012·Neurobiology of Learning and Memory·Lourens J P Nonkes, Judith R Homberg
Sep 18, 2012·Behavioural Brain Research·Judith R Homberg
Nov 21, 2012·The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology·Alessia LuoniMarco A Riva
Oct 30, 2016·Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews·Judith R HombergElaine N Aron
Aug 18, 2020·Progress in Neuro-psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry·Maria WilladsenMarkus Wöhr

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Anxiety Disorders

Discover the latest research on anxiety disorders including agoraphobia, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder here.