States of epistemic curiosity interfere with memory for incidental scholastic facts

Curiosity can be a powerful motivator to learn and retain new information. Evidence shows that high states of curiosity elicited by a specific source (i.e., a trivia question) can promote memory for incidental stimuli (non-target) presented close in time. The spreading effect of curiosity states on memory for other information has potential for educational applications. Specifically, it could provide techniques to improve learning for information that did not spark a sense of curiosity on its own. Here, we investigated how high states of curiosity induced through trivia questions affect memory performance for unrelated scholastic facts (e.g., scientific, English, or historical facts) presented in close temporal proximity to the trivia question. Across three task versions, participants viewed trivia questions closely followed in time by a scholastic fact unrelated to the trivia question, either just prior to or immediately following the answer to the trivia question. Participants then completed a surprise multiple-choice memory test (akin to a pop quiz) for the scholastic material. In all three task versions, memory performance was poorer for scholastic facts presented after trivia questions that had elicited high versus low levels of curiosity. These results contradict previous findings showing curiosity-enhanced memory for incidentally presented visual stimuli and suggest that target information that generates a high-curiosity state interferes with encoding complex and unrelated scholastic facts presented close in time

What do I do now? Intolerance of uncertainty is associated with discrete patterns of anticipatory physiological responding to different contexts

Heightened physiological responses to uncertainty are a common hallmark of anxiety disorders. Many separate studies have examined the relationship between individual differences in intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and physiological responses to uncertainty during different contexts. Despite this there is a scarcity of research examining the extent to which individual differences in IU are related to shared or discrete patterns of anticipatory physiological responding across different contexts. Anticipatory physiological responses to uncertainty were assessed in three different contexts (associative threat learning and extinction, threat uncertainty, decision-making) within the same sample (n = 45). During these tasks, behavioural responses (i.e. reaction times, choices), skin conductance and corrugator supercilli activity were recorded. In addition, self-reported IU and trait anxiety were measured. IU was related to both skin conductance and corrugator supercilii activity for the associative threat learning and extinction context, and decision-making context. However, trait anxiety was related to corrugator supercilii activity during the threat uncertainty context. Ultimately, this research helps us further tease apart the role of IU on different aspects of anticipation (i.e. valence and arousal) across contexts, which will be relevant for future IU-related models of psychopathology

The impact of prior and ongoing threat on the false alarm threshold for facial discrimination

Perceptual adaptations facilitate rapid responses to threats but can come with the cost of false alarms, or the failure to discriminate safe or novel stimuli from signals of true threat. For example, a fatigued colleague might be avoided when their tired expression is interpreted as a scowl, or a glimpse at a stranger might cause a rush of anxiety if they resemble a known adversary. We examined false alarms in the context of facial cues, which can become exaggerated signals of threat across anxiety disorders. In Experiment 1, ongoing threat lowered the false alarm threshold for discrimination based on anger intensity compared to prior and no threat. In Experiment 2, prior and ongoing threat each lowered the false alarm threshold for identity-based facial discrimination compared to no threat. These results could be relevant for anxiety disorders in which excessive false alarms may contribute to overgeneralized threat responses

Conceptual similarity promotes generalization of higher order fear learning

We tested the hypothesis that conceptual similarity promotes generalization of conditioned fear. Using a sensory preconditioning procedure, three groups of subjects learned an association between two cues that were conceptually similar, unrelated, or mismatched. Next, one of the cues was paired with a shock. The other cue was then reintroduced to test for fear generalization, as measured by the skin conductance response. Results showed enhanced fear generalization that correlated with trait anxiety levels in the group that learned an association between conceptually similar stimuli. These findings suggest that conceptual representations of conditional stimuli influence human fear learning processes

Human fear conditioning: from neuroscience to the clinic

Both clinicians and neuroscientists have been long interested in the topic of fear conditioning, with recent advances in neuroscience, in particular, igniting a shared interest in further translation between these domains. Here, we review some historical aspects of this relationship and the progress that has been made in translating the neuroscientific study of fear conditioning to the conceptualization and treatment of mental disorders, especially anxiety-related disorders. We also address some conceptual and methodological challenges faced by this research, and offer some suggestions to support future progress in the field

Common and distinct neural correlates of fear extinction and cognitive reappraisal: a meta-analysis of fMRI studies

Cognitive reappraisal and fear extinction learning represent two different approaches to emotion regulation. While their respective neural correlates have been widely studied with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), few direct comparisons between these processes have been conducted. We conducted a meta-analysis of fMRI studies of reappraisal and fear extinction, with the aim of examining both commonalities and differences in their neural correlates. We also conducted independent analyses that focused on specific reappraisal strategies (reinterpretation, distancing). Overall, we observed that the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and the bilateral anterior insular cortex (AIC) were similarly consistently engaged by reappraisal and extinction. Extinction was more consistently linked to activation of sensory and emotion processing regions, whereas reappraisal was more consistently associated with activation of a dorsal fronto-parietal network. Interestingly, the amygdala was preferentially deactivated by distancing. These results suggest that the dACC and the AIC are involved in domain-general regulatory networks. Differences between extinction and reappraisal could be explained by their relative processing demands on visual perceptual versus higher cognitive neural systems.Funding for this study was provided by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) (PI16/00889, PI16/00144 and PI14/00292), FEDER funds/ European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) - a way to build Europe-, a PERIS award from the Ministry of Health of the Generalitat de Catalunya (SLT006/17/249), and AGAUR (2017 SGR 1247). CIBERSAM is an initiative of the Carlos III Health Institute. MP-P and MA-N are supported by a FI Grant from AGAUR-Generalitat de Catalunya (2015 FI_B 00839 and 2017 FI_B 00327, respectively), grants co-funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) “ESF, Investing in your future”. JR and CS-M are supported by a ‘Miguel Servet’ contract from the ISCIII (CP14/00041 and CPII16/00048, respectively). AA-E is supported by a PFIS Predoctoral Contract (FI16/00311). BV is supported by a KU Leuven start-up grant STG/17/035. BJH is supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) Clinical Career Development Award (1124472)