Institute for Pharmacology and Toxicology, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany; Integrative Neuroscience Program, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany.
Institute for Pharmacology and Toxicology, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany; Center of Behavioral Brain Sciences, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany.
Behav Brain Res. 2020 Sep 1;393:112799. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2020.112799. Epub 2020 Jul 7.
Stimuli that are either presented directly after or explicitly unpaired to an aversive event can be associated with the relief or absence of the aversive event. Such stimuli then become conditioned stimuli (CS) for relief or safety, respectively, and are able to induce appetitive-like behavioral responses, e.g. startle attenuation. Of note, the aversive event is not only associated with the stimuli but also with the context in which the aversive event occurs. However, it is poorly understood whether this context affects the expression of conditioned relief or safety. Using laboratory rats, we demonstrated that the individual effects of a safety CS, but not of a relief CS, is strongly correlated with the fear-inducing properties of the experimental context. This suggest that the expression of conditioned safety is more sensitive to contextual fear than conditioned relief. Our findings are in line with the idea that a safety CS works as a conditioned inhibitor (here: of contextual fear). As safety learning is affected in anxiety disorders, the context-sensitivity of safety CS could be considered in the therapy of anxiety disorder patients.
刺激物要么直接呈现，要么与厌恶事件明确不相关联，都可以与厌恶事件的缓解或缺失相关联。这些刺激物随后分别成为缓解或安全的条件刺激（CS），并能够引起类似食欲的行为反应，例如惊跳反应减弱。值得注意的是，厌恶事件不仅与刺激物有关，而且与厌恶事件发生的环境有关。然而，目前尚不清楚这种环境是否会影响条件缓解或安全的表达。使用实验室大鼠，我们证明了安全 CS 的个体效应，但不是缓解 CS 的个体效应，与实验环境引起恐惧的特性密切相关。这表明条件性安全的表达比条件性缓解对环境恐惧更为敏感。我们的研究结果与以下观点一致，即安全 CS 作为条件抑制剂（此处：环境恐惧的抑制剂）起作用。由于焦虑障碍会影响安全学习，因此在治疗焦虑障碍患者时，可以考虑安全 CS 的环境敏感性。
