Individual differences in learning predict the return of fear
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13420_2015_176_ReferencePDF.pdf
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Author(s)
Hartley, Catherine A.
Gershman, Samuel J
Date Issued
June 2015
Journal
Learning & Behavior
Publisher
Springer US
Citation
Gershman, Samuel J., and Catherine A. Hartley. “Individual Differences in Learning Predict the Return of Fear.” Learning & Behavior 43, no. 3 (June 23, 2015): 243–250.
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
Using a laboratory analogue of learned fear (Pavlovian fear conditioning), we show that there is substantial heterogeneity across individuals in spontaneous recovery of fear following extinction training. We propose that this heterogeneity might stem from qualitative individual differences in the nature of extinction learning. Whereas some individuals tend to form a new memory during extinction, leaving their fear memory intact, others update the original threat association with new safety information, effectively unlearning the fear memory. We formalize this account in a computational model of fear learning and show that individuals who, according to the model, are more likely to form new extinction memories tend to show greater spontaneous recovery compared to individuals who appear to only update a single memory. This qualitative variation in fear and extinction learning may have important implications for understanding vulnerability and resilience to fear-related psychiatric disorders.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.3758/s13420-015-0176-z
