Keeping the fear down: effects of vagal tone and of DCS on the retention and generalization of interoceptive fear extinction.

The overarching objective of this project is to find ways to improve retention and generalization of extinction of interoceptive fear. We will try to do so in two different ways. First, D-cycloserine (DCS), a partial NMDA receptor agonist, seems to improve extinction and exposure outcomes in animals and human clinical populations respectively. It has however been less effective in non-clinical populations hampering basic research needed before implying DCS on a large scale in clinical populations. Our first objective is to develop a paradigm in the laboratory that allows to study the effects of DCS on retention and generalization of extinction of interoceptive fear in non-clinical populations. Second, heart rate variability in the high frequency band (HRV-HF) (or:vagal tone) has been proposed as the index of inhibitory capacity of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex over subcortical areas driving fear responding. Therefore, behavioral interventions that increase an individuals vagal tone may affect extinction outcomes importantly. In this project we will manipulate vagal tone by HRV biofeedback training and assess its effect on the retention of extinction of interoceptive fear.

Keywords:Retention, Generalization, Extinction, Interoceptive fear, DCS, HRV

Disciplines:Biological and physiological psychology, General psychology, Other psychology and cognitive sciences