Threat conditioning in anxiety-related disorders: an empirical study and systematic review

Abstract

Anxiety disorders (AD) are a prevalent form of psychological disorder with far-ranging negative consequences for those suffering with them. Recent efforts have utilised human threat conditioning procedures to gain further understanding of how individuals with ADs respond to conditioned threat and safety cues. Research in this area is at the vanguard of optimising exposure-based treatments and recent developments have yielded promising results. Yet, exposure-based treatments are still marred with lower-than-desired remission rates and higher-than-desired relapse rates, hence further investigation of the factors that may inhibit the success of exposure-based therapies is needed. In chapter two, the reader will be introduced to the concept of intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and its suspected role in inhibiting extinction learning which has potential clinical implications. The empirical study within this chapter describes a two-day threat conditioning procedure using a student sample (N=101) with the aim of investigating the relationship between IU and extinction learning whilst controlling for diagnostic measures. The results demonstrate a null association between these two variables contradicting previous findings. In chapter three, the reader will be introduced to the relevant literature regarding threat conditioning and extinction processes in those with ADs. Although ADs and other specific anxiety-related conditions have had recent systematic reviews on this topic, there is a lack of synthesis in relation to panic disorder (PD) and specific phobia (SP). Hence, a systematic review was carried out focussing on patient-control differences in threat conditioning processes in relation to both PD and SP separately. The review uncovered interesting, yet tentative, patterns of results which indicate key patient-control alterations in threat acquisition in PD patients, and alterations in threat acquisition and extinction in SP patients. The results of both studies have meaningful clinical and academic implications which are outlined and discussed further.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Kane Steggles: orcid.org/0009-0004-3577-3000

ORCID for Jayne Morriss: orcid.org/0000-0002-7928-9673

ORCID for Matthew Garner: orcid.org/0000-0001-9481-2226

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