This research program investigates why memories for fearful events are hard to forget and what can be done to help individuals who are susceptible to developing debilitating fear memories. When people experience threatening situations, the memories for the events can haunt them long after the event has passed, causing prolonged and sometimes traumatic stress. Returning to the context in which the trauma occurred, or being exposed to cues that remind people of their trauma, can cause a potent return of fear, even several years later. It is not well known how the brain lays down long-term memory traces of fearful events, or how trauma reminders activate brain pathways that lead to the return of fear. It is also not known why some people are particularly prone to developing long-term distress after a threatening experience, whereas others are more resilient. Finally, it is not known how best to help individuals overcome their fears in a way that makes them less likely to being re-experienced over time.

The proposed research will tackle these important and challenging problems by conducting experiments in healthy adults who are exposed to fearful events and are trained to extinguish their fear memories. People will be placed into a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner while they encounter fearful or threatening stimuli viewed through virtual reality simulators. Bodily and brain responses that are activated by fear will be recorded. The use of virtual reality is an innovative approach that allows researchers an ethical way to better model how fears are learned, suppressed, and recovered in complex environments. The researchers will manipulate several factors to determine how they promote or hinder the recovery of fear. These include varying the distance between the research participant and the fearful stimulus in the virtual world, and determining the effectiveness of having people extinguish their fears in multiple virtual environments. Differences in people's cognitive abilities and emotional reactions will be linked to the brain data to determine why some individuals are more likely to exhibit the recovery of fear memories.

The research has important societal implications for helping people who suffer from traumatic memories. The research can also assist in efforts to identify individuals for certain professions who may be more resilient to developing debilitating fear memories, including emergency health care workers, police forces, and military personnel, who are routinely exposed to potentially traumatic experiences. The research will advance scientific knowledge in identifying the brain mechanisms that contribute to fear memory and will highlight how virtual reality technology can be integrated into neuroscience-based applications.

Agency
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Institute
Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences (BCS)
Application #
1460909
Program Officer
Kurt Thoroughman
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
2015-04-15
Budget End
2018-09-30
Support Year
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
$550,070
Indirect Cost
Name
Duke University
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Durham
State
NC
Country
United States
Zip Code
27705