Abstract

Patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have persistent fear despite the presence of safety signals. Although the inability to inhibit fear is a central problem in PTSD, it has not been well studied. One of the goals of the present study is to assess fear potentiation and fear inhibition as independent processes in humans. This study will use fear potentiation of the acoustic startle response as a measure of fear, given that it has been observed across many different species and its neural correlates are well known. The first part of the study will translate a conditional discrimination procedure (AX+/BX-), validated in animals, in order to quantify fear inhibition in PTSD. Furthermore, we will test whether the subjects are cognitively aware of the contingencies between the experimental stimuli. Previous research has found that contingency awareness plays a key factor in developing fear-potentiated startle. The present study will investigate how awareness interacts with startle in PTSD subjects. Finally, the present study will examine the relationship between contingency awareness and fear inhibition.

  Funding Agency

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Postdoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (F32)
Project #
5F32MH070129-02
Application #
6927199
Study Section
Biobehavioral Mechanisms of Emotion, Stress and Health Study Section (MESH)
Program Officer
Chavez, Mark
Project Start
2004-06-24
Project End
2007-06-23
Budget Start
2005-06-24
Budget End
2006-06-23
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2005
Total Cost
$49,928
Indirect Cost

  Institution

Name
Emory University
Department
Psychiatry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
066469933
City
Atlanta
State
GA
Country
United States
Zip Code
30322

  Publications

Hardy, Raven; Fani, Negar; Jovanovic, Tanja et al. (2018) Food addiction and substance addiction in women: Common clinical characteristics. Appetite 120:367-373
Costanzo, Michelle; Jovanovic, Tanja; Norrholm, Seth D et al. (2016) Psychophysiological Investigation of Combat Veterans with Subthreshold Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms. Mil Med 181:793-802
Michopoulos, Vasiliki; Rothbaum, Alex O; Jovanovic, Tanja et al. (2015) Association of CRP genetic variation and CRP level with elevated PTSD symptoms and physiological responses in a civilian population with high levels of trauma. Am J Psychiatry 172:353-62
Jovanovic, Tanja; Nylocks, Karin Maria; Gamwell, Kaitlyn L et al. (2014) Development of fear acquisition and extinction in children: effects of age and anxiety. Neurobiol Learn Mem 113:135-42
Glover, Ebony M; Mercer, Kristina B; Norrholm, Seth D et al. (2013) Inhibition of fear is differentially associated with cycling estrogen levels in women. J Psychiatry Neurosci 38:341-8
Christianson, John P; Fernando, Anushka B P; Kazama, Andy M et al. (2012) Inhibition of fear by learned safety signals: a mini-symposium review. J Neurosci 32:14118-24
Glover, Ebony M; Jovanovic, Tanja; Mercer, Kristina B et al. (2012) Estrogen levels are associated with extinction deficits in women with posttraumatic stress disorder. Biol Psychiatry 72:19-24
Jovanovic, Tanja; Kazama, Andrew; Bachevalier, Jocelyne et al. (2012) Impaired safety signal learning may be a biomarker of PTSD. Neuropharmacology 62:695-704
Jovanovic, Tanja; Norrholm, Seth Davin (2011) Neural mechanisms of impaired fear inhibition in posttraumatic stress disorder. Front Behav Neurosci 5:44
Norrholm, Seth D; Jovanovic, Tanja; Olin, Ilana W et al. (2011) Fear extinction in traumatized civilians with posttraumatic stress disorder: relation to symptom severity. Biol Psychiatry 69:556-63

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