Temporal dynamics of relief in avoidance conditioning and fear extinction: Experimental validation and clinical relevance
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The learning principles that guide the acquisition and extinction of avoidance are not fully understood. We developed a novel paradigm to study the temporal dynamics of relief, a putative reinforcer of avoidance, and the recovery of fear and avoidance following extinction. During conditioning, the avoidance action canceled the aversive unconditional stimulus (US), without terminating the predictive conditional stimulus (CS). Relief pleasantness was rated after fixed CS offsets, when US omission occured. Avoidance was effective to one CS, but not to another, to track stimulus-specific avoidance learning. Fear was extinguished under response prevention in a separate context. Recovery tests took place 24 h later, in both contexts and with a monetary cost added to the avoidance action. We found that avoidance gradually became stimulus-specific during conditioning, but hardly recovered during delayed testing. Across all phases, initial omissions of the aversive US triggered relief that gradually declined over consecutive omissions, in line with a theoretical prediction error signal. Participants that scored low on distress tolerance, however, displayed sustained levels of relief over continuous omissions. We propose that such forms of sustained relief may produce over-reinforcement of foregoing avoidance actions and promote the development of pathological avoidance. The current paradigm represents an efficacious tool to study the temporal dynamics of relief across avoidance learning and fear extinction and to characterize relief dysregulations in relation to psychopathology.
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The availability of an avoidance response following fear extinction has been shown to increase levels of fear.
“the availability of an avoidance response following fear extinction has been shown to increase levels of fear”
From Relapse of anxiety-related fear and avoidance: Conceptual analysis of treatment with acceptance and commitment therapy (2020) · cites this paper as Vervliet, Lange, & Milad, 2017
The Discussion reports a return of fear at the 24-hour test, when an avoidance button was available after extinction. It suggests that the button may have signaled threat, but also proposes that the cost of avoiding contributed to fear; it calls for a future comparison with no avoidance button. The paper therefore does not establish that availability itself increased fear. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredAvoidance may persist even after fear has been extinguished.
“Avoidance may persist even after fear has been extinguished”
From Relapse of anxiety-related fear and avoidance: Conceptual analysis of treatment with acceptance and commitment therapy (2020) · cites this paper as Vervliet, Lange, & Milad, 2017
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Self-citationMore engagement in inefficient avoidance through partial reinforcement
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Self-citationThe generalization of threat beliefs to novel safety stimuli induced by safety behaviors.
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Self-citationSafety signals reinforce instrumental avoidance in humansPreprint
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Increase in avoidance of learnt fear via unconditioned stimulus revaluation
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van de Pavert, I., Hulsman, A. M., Karin Roelofs, A., & Klumpers, F. (2019) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/h85ay
You’ll never know if you never try
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Overnight fasting affects avoidance learning and reliefPreprint
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Fear Extinction as a Psychologist Views It
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- Authors
- Vervliet, B., Lange, I., & Milad, M. R.
- Affiliations
- Harvard University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Vervliet, Bram
- Venue
- Behaviour Research and Therapy
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2017-09
- Volume
- 96
- Pages
- 66-78
- ISSN
- 0005-7967 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2605638819
- Cited by
- 118
- References
- 40
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 2
- FWCI
- 3.46
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Behaviour Research and Therapy (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Publications (Maastricht University) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Lirias (KU Leuven) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Research Publications (Maastricht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- 7th European Community Framework Programme (PIOF-GA-2013-627743)
- University of Louisville (PF/10/005)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Keywords
- relief, avoidance conditioning, fear extinction, response prevention, temporal dynamics, prediction error, distress tolerance, psychopathology
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Avoidance Learning, Conditioning, Classical, Conditioning, Operant, Extinction, Psychological, Fear, Female, Galvanic Skin Response, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Reaction Time, Young Adult
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