The long term goal of this project is to improve our understanding of how neural systems in the human brain subserve aversive emotional states like fear and anxiety by assessing the brain metabolic activity of healthy volunteers with Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). Specifically, this project will focus on the acquisition and performance of Pavlovian fear conditioning by assessing dynamic changes in regional activation during the learning process and when a fear response is expressed. These goals will be achieved with two experiments. In the first experiment, volunteers will be initially trained (acquisition) to fear a neutral stimulus. Then their memory for the previous training (performance) will be assessed. Functional and anatomical images will be obtained during both acquisition and performance phase. In the second experiment, volunteers will be differentially trained to fear one stimulus (Csplus) and not to fear a second stimulus (CS-). In this experiment, subjects will serve as their own control, and Probe trials will be used to make comparisons without UCS presentation. These experiments will answer questions about which neural structures are involved in learning and expression of conditional fear, will describe the temporal pattern of activation within these structures, will provide insights into how the involvement of various structures change as learning occurs and fear is expressed, and will comparisons with learning animal model systems. The data to be collected will substantially advance our understanding of neuroanatomical mechanisms of human fear and anxiety, and may directly contribute to improvements in the assessment and treatment of affective disorders.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (F31)
Project #
1F31MH011722-01A1
Application #
2516598
Study Section
Social and Group Processes Review Committee (SGP)
Project Start
1998-03-23
Project End
Budget Start
1998-01-01
Budget End
1998-12-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
1997
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
City
Milwaukee
State
WI
Country
United States
Zip Code
53201
Knight, David C; Smith, Christine N; Cheng, Dominic T et al. (2004) Amygdala and hippocampal activity during acquisition and extinction of human fear conditioning. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci 4:317-25
Knight, David C; Cheng, Dominic T; Smith, Christine N et al. (2004) Neural substrates mediating human delay and trace fear conditioning. J Neurosci 24:218-28
Knight, D C; Smith, C N; Stein, E A et al. (1999) Functional MRI of human Pavlovian fear conditioning: patterns of activation as a function of learning. Neuroreport 10:3665-70