Facilitation of fear extinction by D-cycloserine: theoretical and clinical implications
Open accessAbstract
Anxiety disorders are among the most common psychological disturbances in the industrialized world. Current behavioral therapy procedures for these disorders are somewhat effective, but their efficacy could be substantially improved. Because these procedures are largely based on the process of extinction, manipulations that enhance extinction may lead to improvements in treatment effectiveness. We review the evidence that D-cycloserine (DCS), a partial NMDA agonist, facilitates extinction of learned fear in rats. Although only a few studies have examined the effects of DCS on extinction of learned fear, this work suggests that this drug may have a number of potential clinical benefits. In addition, attempts at interpreting this research illustrate our limited understanding of the processes involved in extinction.
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D-cycloserine (DCS), an NMDA receptor partial agonist, facilitated extinction learning in rats; this finding was replicated in rodents but not replicated using skin conductance and expectancy ratings in humans.
“Walker et al. (64) found that d-cycloserine (DCS), an NMDA receptor partial agonist, facilitated extinction learning in rats; a finding that was later replicated by several other groups employing multiple types of fear learning paradigms in rodents [e.g., Ref. (65)] but not replicated using skin conductance and expectancy ratings in humans (66).”
From Conditioned fear associated phenotypes as robust, translational indices of trauma-, stressor-, and anxiety-related behaviors (2014) · cites this paper as [65]
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- Authors
- Richardson, R., Ledgerwood, L., & Cranney, J.
- Affiliations
- UNSW Sydney (AU)
- Venue
- Learning & Memory
- Publisher
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
- Published
- 2004-09
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 510-516
- ISSN
- 1072-0502 (ISSN-L)
- 1549-5485
- OpenAlex
- W2136043560
- Cited by
- 185
- References
- 37
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 19
- Type
- posted content
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Learning & Memory (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Keywords
- D-cycloserine, fear extinction, learned fear, anxiety disorders, NMDA receptor partial agonist, extinction therapy, behavior therapy, rats
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Antimetabolites, Anxiety, Association Learning, Conditioning, Classical, Cues, Cycloserine, Extinction, Psychological, Fear, Humans, Mental Recall, N-Methylaspartate, Rats
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