School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China; Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China; Center for Mental Health Education, Hainan University, Haikou, China.
Behav Res Ther. 2019 Nov;122:103461. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2019.103461. Epub 2019 Aug 21.
The procedure of memory reconsolidation provides an opportunity to improve some mental disorders caused by maladaptive memories, such as Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Prediction error was considered a necessary condition for triggering memory reconsolidation. However, it is difficult to create a satisfying prediction error to successfully open memory reconsolidation in a clinical context. The purpose of this study was to explore a more practicable method to trigger memory reconsolidation. We used a successive 4-day fear-potentiated startle paradigm to compare the effect of uncertainty with prediction error during retrieval on preventing the return of fear. Bayes factor, combined with p value and effect size, was used as the main indicator of statistical inference. The results indicated that spontaneous recovery and reinstatement of fear were not observed in the uncertainty group, whereas return of fear was observed for the prediction error group. However, the direct comparison between the two groups did not yield statistically significant results, potentially reflecting a lack of statistical power. Nonetheless, these results suggest that uncertainty retrieval could be a better means to trigger memory reconsolidation than prediction error, making uncertainty a worthwhile factor to consider in future research on memory reconsolidation.
记忆再巩固过程为改善由不良记忆引起的一些精神障碍提供了机会，如创伤后应激障碍。预测误差被认为是触发记忆再巩固的必要条件。然而，在临床环境中很难产生令人满意的预测误差以成功打开记忆再巩固。本研究旨在探索一种更可行的方法来触发记忆再巩固。我们使用连续 4 天的恐惧增强性 startle 范式，比较了在检索过程中不确定性与预测误差对防止恐惧返回的影响。贝叶斯因子结合 p 值和效应量作为统计推断的主要指标。结果表明，不确定性组未观察到自发恢复和恐惧再现，而预测误差组观察到恐惧返回。然而，两组之间的直接比较没有产生统计学上显著的结果，可能反映出统计功效不足。尽管如此，这些结果表明，不确定性检索可能是触发记忆再巩固比预测误差更好的方法，使不确定性成为未来记忆再巩固研究中值得考虑的因素。
