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Cited by 153Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesMemory and Neural MechanismsNeural and Behavioral Psychology Studies

Towards an unconscious neural reinforcement intervention for common fears

Open access
Taschereau-Dumouchel, Vincent, Cortese, Aurelio, Chiba, Toshinori, Knotts, J. D., Kawato, Mitsuo, Lau, Hakwan·2018·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
DOI 10.1073/pnas.1721572115PMC PMC5879705

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Abstract

Significance: Conventional therapies for the treatment of anxiety disorders are aversive, and as a result, many patients terminate treatment prematurely. We have developed an unconscious method to bypass the unpleasantness in conscious exposure using functional magnetic resonance imaging neural reinforcement. Using this method, participants learn to generate brain patterns similar to the multivariate brain pattern of a feared animal. We demonstrate in a double-blind placebo-controlled experiment that neural reinforcement can lead to reliable reductions in physiological fear responses. Crucially, this intervention can be achieved completely unconsciously and without any aversive reaction. Extending our approach to other forms of psychopathologies, such as posttraumatic stress disorders, might eventually provide another means of intervention for patients currently receiving insufficient exposure treatments.

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Crossref · 10.1073/pnas.1721572115

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  • DecNef increased functional connectivity between ventral PFC and amygdala and entirely eliminated SCRs and amygdala activity to feared stimuli (Taschereau-Dumouchel et al. 2018).

    “DecNef increased functional connectivity between the ventral PFC and amygdala, and it entirely eliminated SCRs and amygdala activity to feared stimuli (Taschereau-Dumouchel et al. 2018).”

    From Advancing the treatment of anxiety disorders in transition‐age youth: a review of the therapeutic effects of unconscious exposure. (2025) · cites this paper as Taschereau-Dumouchel et al. 2018

    The Results (Decrease in Physiological Fear Response Following Neural Reinforcement) report significant decreases in SCR and amygdala response to the targeted feared animals, not their complete elimination. The same section describes induced target representations as relatively disconnected from fear-related circuitry; it does not report increased functional connectivity between ventral PFC and amygdala. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 29

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Authors
Taschereau-Dumouchel, V., Cortese, A., Chiba, T., Knotts, J. D., Kawato, M., & Lau, H.
Affiliations
  • Department of Decoded Neurofeedback, Computational Neuroscience Laboratories, Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International, Kyoto 619-0288, Japan;
  • Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (JP)
  • University of California, Los Angeles (US)
Corresponding author
Kawato, Mitsuo
ORCID
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publisher
National Academy of Sciences
Published
2018-03-06
Volume
115
Issue
13
Pages
3470-3475
ISSN
  • 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
  • 1091-6490
DOI
10.1073/pnas.1721572115
PMC
PMC5879705
OpenAlex
W2791418972
Cited by
153
References
12
Citations by year
2026: 13 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 26 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 27 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 1
FWCI
21.01
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • HHS | National Institutes of Health (R01NS088628)
  • Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Santé (Fellowship)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
Keywords
fear conditioning, hyperalignment, fMRI decoding, monetary rewards, anxiety disorders, exposure therapy, skin conductance, amygdala
MeSH terms
Adult, Animals, Brain, Brain Mapping, Double-Blind Method, Fear, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Phobic Disorders, Photic Stimulation, Reinforcement, Psychology, Unconsciousness, Young Adult

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