Cited by 165Memory and Neural MechanismsAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesNeural and Behavioral Psychology Studies

Neural correlates of trait anxiety in fear extinction

Sehlmeyer, C., Dannlowski, U., Schöning, S., Kugel, H., Pyka, M., Pfleiderer, B., Zwitserlood, P., Schiffbauer, H. +3 more·2011·Psychological Medicine

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Fear conditioning involves the amygdala as the main neural structure for learning fear responses whereas fear extinction mainly activates the inhibitory prefrontal cortex (PFC). In this study we investigated whether individual differences in trait anxiety affect amygdala and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) activation during fear conditioning and extinction. METHOD: Thirty-two healthy subjects were investigated by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) at 3 T while performing a cued fear-conditioning task. All participants completed the trait version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T). Activations of the amygdala and the dACC were examined with respect to the effects of trait anxiety. RESULTS: Analysis of the fMRI data demonstrated enhanced activation in fear-related brain areas, such as the insula and the ACC, during both fear conditioning and extinction. Activation of the amygdala appeared only during the late acquisition phase whereas deactivation was observed during extinction. Regression analyses revealed that highly trait-anxious subjects exhibited sustained amygdala activation and reduced dACC involvement during the extinction of conditioned responses. CONCLUSIONS: This study reveals that high levels of trait anxiety are associated with both increased amygdala activation and reduced dACC recruitment during the extinction of conditioned fear. This hyper-responsivity of the amygdala and the deficient cognitive control during the extinction of conditioned fear in anxious subjects reflect an increased resistance to extinct fear responses and may thereby enhance the vulnerability to developing anxiety disorders.

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Crossref · 10.1017/s0033291710001248

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  • Studies examining the extinction of contextual fear have implicated a larger role for the dACC.

    “Although an emphasis has been placed on the role of subgenual and rostral ACC in the modulation of amygdala activation during extinction of cue conditioned fear in studies of human fear conditioning (Delgado et al., 2008; Milad et al., 2007; Phelps et al., 2004), studies examining the extinction of contextual fear have implicated a larger role for the dACC (Lang et al., 2009; Sehlmeyer et al., 201”

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Authors
Sehlmeyer, C., Dannlowski, U., Schöning, S., Kugel, H., Pyka, M., Pfleiderer, B., Zwitserlood, P., Schiffbauer, H., Heindel, W., Arolt, V., & Konrad, C.
Affiliations
  • University Hospital Münster (DE)
  • University of Münster (DE)
  • University Hospital Bonn (DE)
  • Philipps University of Marburg (DE)
Corresponding author
Konrad, C.
Venue
Psychological Medicine
Published
2010-06-16
Volume
41
Issue
4
Pages
789-798
ISSN
  • 0033-2917 (ISSN-L)
  • 1469-8978
OpenAlex
W2054434123
Cited by
165
References
66
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 21
FWCI
7.74
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Psychological Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
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
trait anxiety, fear extinction, fear conditioning, amygdala, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, individual differences, cognitive control, insula, neural correlates
MeSH terms
Adult, Amygdala, Anxiety, Arousal, Brain Mapping, Conditioning, Classical, Extinction, Psychological, Fear, Female, Gyrus Cinguli, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Nerve Net, Oxygen, Personality Inventory, Temperament, Prefrontal Cortex, Young Adult

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