The development of fear learning and generalization in 8-13 year-olds
Open accessAbstract
The current study examined developmental changes in fear learning and generalization in 40 healthy 8-13 year-olds using an aversive conditioning paradigm adapted from Lau et al. [Lau et al. [2008] Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 47:94-102]. In this task, the conditioned stimuli (CS+/CS-) are two neutral female faces, and the unconditioned stimulus is a fearful, screaming face. The second phase of the study also included a generalization stimulus (GS): a 50% blend of the CS± faces. The eye-blink startle reflex was utilized to measure defensive responding. Patterns of fear learning and generalization were qualified by child age. Older children demonstrated greater fear learning (i.e., larger startle during CS+ than CS-) than younger children. In addition, older children exhibited the typical pattern of generalization observed in adults, whereas younger children did not. Finally, fear learning also related to contingency awareness; only children who correctly identified the CS+ demonstrated fear-potentiated startle to the CS+. Clinical implications and future directions are discussed.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Alterations in fear extinction, fear inhibition, and stimulus generalization have all been reported, using fear-potentiated startle methods, in populations with trauma- and stressor-related as well as anxiety disorders.
“Alterations in fear extinction, fear inhibition, and stimulus generalization have all been reported, using fear-potentiated startle methods, in populations with trauma- and stressor-related as well as anxiety disorders [see Figure 1; (16, 29–31)].”
From Conditioned fear associated phenotypes as robust, translational indices of trauma-, stressor-, and anxiety-related behaviors (2014) · cites this paper as [31]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Controlling the False Discovery Rate: A Practical and Powerful Approach to Multiple Testing
Benjamini, Y., & Hochberg, Y. (1995) · Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series B: Statistical Methodology · doi:10.1111/j.2517-6161.1995.tb02031.x · Cited by 109,482 · see citing works
The NimStim set of facial expressions: Judgments from untrained research participants.
Tottenham, N., Tanaka, J. W., Leon, A. C., McCarry, T., Nurse, M., Hare, T. A., Marcus, D. J., Westerlund, A., Casey, B., & Nelson, C. (2009) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2008.05.006 · Cited by 3,454 · see citing works
Bechara, A., Tranel, D., Damasio, H., & Damasio, A. R. (1996) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/6.2.215 · Cited by 1,179 · see citing works
Committee report: Guidelines for human startle eyeblink electromyographic studies
Blumenthal, T. D., Cuthbert, B. N., Filion, D. L., Hackley, S., Lipp, O. V., & Van Boxtel, A. (2005) · Psychophysiology · doi:10.1111/j.1469-8986.2005.00271.x · Cited by 1,169 · see citing works
Fear and anxiety: Animal models and human cognitive psychophysiology
Lang, P. J., Davis, M., & Öhman, A. (2000) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/s0165-0327(00)00343-8 · Cited by 1,162 · see citing works
Classical fear-conditioning in the anxiety disorders: a meta-analysis
Lissek, S., Powers, A. S., McClure, E. B., Phelps, E. A., Woldehawariat, G., Grillon, C., & Pine, D. S. (2005) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2004.10.007 · Cited by 1,034 · see citing works
Self-citationActivation of the left amygdala to a cognitive representation of fear
Phelps, E. A., O'Connor, K. J., Gatenby, J. C., Gore, J. C., Grillon, C., & Davis, M. (2001) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/86110 · Cited by 895 · see citing works
Critchley, H. D., Elliott, R., Mathias, C. J., & Dolan, R. J. (2000) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.20-08-03033.2000 · Cited by 813 · see citing works
The Developmental Epidemiology of Anxiety Disorders: Phenomenology, Prevalence, and Comorbidity
Costello, E. J., EGGER, H. L., & Angold, A. C. (2005) · Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America · doi:10.1016/j.chc.2005.06.003 · Cited by 804 · see citing works
Lang, P. J., Simons, R. F., Balaban, M. T., & Simons, R. (2013) · Psychology Press eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780203726457 · Cited by 794 · see citing works
Fear and the brain: where have we been, and where are we going?
LeDoux, J. (1998) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s0006-3223(98)00282-0 · Cited by 782 · see citing works
Stress response and the adolescent transition: performance versus peer rejection stressors
Stroud, L. R., Foster, E., Papandonatos, G. D., Handwerger, K., Granger, D. A., Kivlighan, K. T., & Niaura, R. (2009) · Development and Psychopathology · doi:10.1017/s0954579409000042 · Cited by 610 · see citing works
Overgeneralization of conditioned fear as a pathogenic marker of panic disorder
Lissek, S., Rabin, S., Heller, R. E., Lukenbaugh, D., Geraci, M., Pine, D. S., & Grillon, C. (2010) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.09030410 · Cited by 565 · see citing works
Self-citationHitchcock, J., & Davis, M. (1986) · Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.1037/0735-7044.100.1.11 · Cited by 541 · see citing works
Hitchcock, J. M., & Davis, M. (1986) · Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.1037//0735-7044.100.1.11 · Cited by 536 · see citing works
Startle reactivity and anxiety disorders: aversive conditioning, context, and neurobiology
Grillon, C. (2002) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s0006-3223(02)01665-7 · Cited by 498 · see citing works
Fear‐Potentiated Startle in Humans: Effects of Anticipatory Anxiety on the Acoustic Blink Reflex
Grillon, C., AMELI, R., Woods, S. W., Merikangas, K., & Davis, M. (1991) · Psychophysiology · doi:10.1111/j.1469-8986.1991.tb01999.x · Cited by 462 · see citing works
Mineka, S., & Oehlberg, K. A. (2008) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2007.11.007 · Cited by 406 · see citing works
Emotion, novelty, and the startle reflex: Habituation in humans.
Bradley, M. M., Lang, P. J., & Cuthbert, B. N. (1993) · Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.1037//0735-7044.107.6.970 · Cited by 406 · see citing works
Startle Reflex Modification: Emotion or Attention?
Bradley, M. M., Cuthbert, B. N., & Lang, P. J. (1990) · Psychophysiology · doi:10.1111/j.1469-8986.1990.tb01966.x · Cited by 403 · see citing works
Lissek, S., Biggs, A. L., Rabin, S. J., Cornwell, B. R., Alvarez, R. P., Pine, D. S., & Grillon, C. (2008) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2008.02.005 · Cited by 401 · see citing works
Self-citationAnxious Responses to Predictable and Unpredictable Aversive Events.
Grillon, C., Baas, J. P., Lissek, S., Smith, K., & Milstein, J. (2004) · Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.1037/0735-7044.118.5.916 · Cited by 349 · see citing works
Self-citationEmotion, novelty, and the startle reflex: Habituation in humans.
Bradley, M. M., Lang, P. J., & Cuthbert, B. N. (1993) · Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.1037/0735-7044.107.6.970 · Cited by 317 · see citing works
Development of anxiety: the role of threat appraisal and fear learning
Britton, J. C., Lissek, S. M., Grillon, C., Norcross, M. A., & Pine, D. S. (2010) · Depression and Anxiety · doi:10.1002/da.20733 · Cited by 281 · see citing works
Self-citationRepetitive picture processing: autonomic and cortical correlates.
Codispoti, M., Ferrari, V., & Bradley, M. M. (2006) · Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2005.11.009 · Cited by 261 · see citing works
Contextual conditioning and auditory cue conditioning dissociate during development.
Rudy, J. W. (1993) · Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.1037//0735-7044.107.5.887 · Cited by 220 · see citing works
Fear Conditioning in Adolescents With Anxiety Disorders: Results From a Novel Experimental Paradigm
Lau, J. Y. F., Lissek, S. M., Nelson, E. E., Lee, Y. M., Roberson‐Nay, R., Poeth, K., Jenness, J. L., Monique Ernst, D., Grillon, C., & Pine, D. S. (2008) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/chi.0b01e31815a5f01 · Cited by 215 · see citing works
Self-citationAssociative learning deficits increase symptoms of anxiety in humans
Grillon, C. (2002) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s0006-3223(01)01370-1 · Cited by 203 · see citing works
Distinct neural signatures of threat learning in adolescents and adults
Lau, J. Y., Britton, J. C., Nelson, E. E., Angold, A., Ernst, M., Goldwin, M., Grillon, C., Leibenluft, E., Lissek, S., Norcross, M., et al. (2011) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1005494108 · Cited by 197 · see citing works
Self-citationKim, J. H., & Richardson, R. (2010) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2009.09.003 · Cited by 189 · see citing works
Neural response to reward and depressive symptoms in late childhood to early adolescence
Bress, J. N., Smith, E., Foti, D., Klein, D. N., & Hajcak, G. (2012) · Biological Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2011.10.004 · Cited by 187 · see citing works
Self-citationContextual conditioning and auditory cue conditioning dissociate during development.
Rudy, J. W. (1993) · Behavioral Neuroscience · doi:10.1037/0735-7044.107.5.887 · Cited by 173 · see citing works
Fear-potentiated startle in adolescent offspring of parents with anxiety disordersf
Grillon, C., Dierker, L., & Merikangas, K. R. (1998) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s0006-3223(98)00188-7 · Cited by 150 · see citing works
Is aversive learning a marker of risk for anxiety disorders in children?
Craske, M. G., Waters, A. M., Lindsey Bergman, R., Naliboff, B., Lipp, O. V., Negoro, H., & Ornitz, E. M. (2008) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2008.04.011 · Cited by 146 · see citing works
Waters, A. M., Henry, J., & Neumann, D. L. (2009) · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0015635 · Cited by 111 · see citing works
Evidence for retarded extinction of aversive learning in anxious children
Liberman, L. C., Lipp, O. V., Spence, S. H., & March, S. (2005) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2005.11.004 · Cited by 108 · see citing works
Cook, E. W., & Turpin, G. (1997) · Cited by 94 · see citing works
Genetic variation in brain‐derived neurotrophic factor and human fear conditioning
Hajcak, G., Castille, C., Olvet, D. M., Dunning, J. P., Roohi, J., & Hatchwell, E. (2009) · Genes Brain & Behavior · doi:10.1111/j.1601-183x.2008.00447.x · Cited by 84 · see citing works
Self-citationReeb‐Sutherland, B. C., Helfinstein, S. M., Degnan, K. A., Pérez‐Edgar, K. E., Henderson, H. A., Lissek, S. M., Chronis-Tuscano, A. M., Grillon, C., Pine, D. S., & Fox, N. A. (2009) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/chi.0b013e31819f70fb · Cited by 69 · see citing works
Self-citationMeasuring anxious responses to predictable and unpredictable threat in children and adolescents
Schmitz, A. P., Merikangas, K. R., Swendsen, H., Cui, L., Heaton, L. L., & Grillon, C. (2011) · Journal of Experimental Child Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2011.02.014 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Neumann, D. L., Waters, A. M., Westbury, H. R., & Henry, J. (2008) · Biological Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2008.08.005 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Mood Symptoms and Emotional Responsiveness to Threat in School-Aged Children
Borelli, J. L., Sbarra, D. A., Crowley, M. J., & Mayes, L. C. (2011) · Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology · doi:10.1080/15374416.2011.546047 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Dissociations between psychobiologic reactivity and emotional expression in children
Quas, J. A., Hong, M., Alkon, A., & Boyce, W. T. (2000) · Developmental Psychobiology · doi:10.1002/1098-2302(200011)37:3
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
McLaughlin, K. A., Sheridan, M. A., & Lambert, H. K. (2014) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.10.012 · Cited by 1,389 · see citing works
“As noted above, only recently have developmentally appropriate and effective fear learning paradigms been developed for children and adolescents (Glenn et al., 2012; Lau et al., 2011).”
BackgroundLonsdorf, T. B., Menz, M. M., Andreatta, M., Fullana, M. A., Golkar, A., Haaker, J., Heitland, I., Hermann, A., Kuhn, M., Kruse, O., et al. (2017) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.02.026 · Cited by 837 · see citing works
Developmental rodent models of fear and anxiety: from neurobiology to pharmacology
Ganella, D. E., & Kim, J. H. (2014) · British Journal of Pharmacology · doi:10.1111/bph.12643 · Cited by 107 · see citing works
Briscione, M. A., Jovanovic, T., & Norrholm, S. D. (2014) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2014.00088 · Cited by 105 · see citing works
An Inhibitory Learning Approach to Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Children and Adolescents
McGuire, J. F., & Storch, E. A. (2019) · Cognitive and Behavioral Practice · doi:10.1016/j.cbpra.2017.12.003 · Cited by 82 · see citing works
Sensitive periods in affective development: nonlinear maturation of fear learning
Hartley, C. A., & Lee, F. S. (2015) · Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1038/npp.2014.179 · Cited by 80 · see citing works
McGuire, J. F., Orr, S. P., Essoe, J. K.-Y., McCracken, J. T., Storch, E. A., & Piacentini, J. (2016) · Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics · doi:10.1080/14737175.2016.1199276 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
“Moreover, youth in several studies exhibited poor awareness of the CS–US contingency [56,61,75,76].”
InfluentialOdriozola, P., & Gee, D. G. (2021) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2020.20020232 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Developmental emergence of fear/threat learning: neurobiology, associations and timing
Tallot, L., Doyère, V., & Sullivan, R. M. (2016) · Genes, Brain and Behavior · doi:10.1111/gbb.12261 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
- Authors
- Glenn, C. R., Klein, D. N., Lissek, S., Britton, J. C., Pine, D. S., & Hajcak, G.
- Affiliations
- Stony Brook University (US)
- University of Minnesota (US)
- National Institutes of Health (US)
- Corresponding author
- Glenn, Catherine R.
- Venue
- Developmental Psychobiology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2011-11-09
- Volume
- 54
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 675-684
- ISSN
- 0012-1630 (ISSN-L)
- 1098-2302
- PMC
- PMC3288474
- OpenAlex
- W1980377882
- Cited by
- 144
- References
- 43
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 3.90
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- europepmc.org
- Locations
- Developmental Psychobiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH069942, F31MH086197)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Keywords
- fear learning, fear generalization, fear potentiation, startle response, aversive conditioning, facial expressions, contingency awareness, age differences, children
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Child, Child Development, Conditioning, Classical, Fear, Female, Generalization, Psychological, Humans, Learning, Male, Reflex, Startle, Adolescent Development
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
