Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression frequently co-occur following a traumatic event. Differences in the processing of autobiographical memory have been observed in both disorders in the form of overgeneralised memories and negative intrusive memories. The current study examined how symptoms of PTSD and depression influence the phenomenological characteristics of trauma memories. Undergraduate students who had experienced a traumatic event (n = 696) completed questionnaires online including measures of PTSD and depressive symptom severity. They rated their trauma memory on several phenomenological characteristics using the Memory Experiences Questionnaire [Sutin, A. R., & Robins, R. W. (2007). Phenomenology of autobiographical memories: The memory experiences questionnaire. Memory.]. Moderated multiple regression was used to examine how PTSD and depressive symptom severity related to each phenomenological characteristic. Symptoms of PTSD and depression were related separately and uniquely to the phenomenological characteristics of the trauma memory. PTSD severity predicted trauma memories that were more negative, contained higher sensory detail, and were more vivid. In contrast, depressive symptom severity predicted trauma memories that were less accessible and less coherent. These findings suggest that depressive and PTSD symptomatology affect traumatic memory differently and support a distinction between these two disorders.

Objectives Pharmacological studies using propranolol suggest that if reactivation signals that new information will be learned (i.e., there is an expectation for learning) reconsolidation can be enhanced. We examined if the verbal instructions to expect new learning will enhance reconsolidation of fear memories using the post-retrieval extinction paradigm. Methods On day one, participants (n = 48) underwent differential fear conditioning to two images (CS+ and CS-). On day two, participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups; groups one and two had their memory for the CS+ reactivated (i.e., a single presentation of the CS+) 10 minutes prior to extinction, whereas group three did not have their memory reactivated but went right to extinction (no reactivation group). One reactivation group was told that they would learn something new about the images (expectation for learning group), and the other group was told that they would not learn anything new (no expectation for learning group). On day three, return of fear was measured following reinstatement (i.e., four shocks). Fear potentiated startle (FPS) and skin conductance response (SCR) were measured throughout. Results There was evidence of fear acquisition for participants for SCR but not FPS. With regards to reconsolidation, SCR increased for the CS+ and CS-in all groups from the end of extinction to the beginning of re-extinction (i.e., return of fear). For FPS, post-hoc tests conducted on the sub-group of participants showing fear learning showed that FPS remained stable in the two reactivation groups, but increased to the CS+, but not the CS- in the no reactivation group. Implications These findings suggest that a verbal manipulation of the expectation for learning may not be salient enough to enhance reconsolidation. Results are discussed in relation to theories on differences in between SCR, as a measure of cognitive awareness, and FPS, as a measure of fear.

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Anxiety can sometimes inhibit and sometimes potentiate sexual arousal. We examined whether an anxiety manipulation in a classical fear-conditioning paradigm impacts self-reported sexual arousal in men and women. University students (62 men, 61 women) underwent differential fear conditioning to erotic images; half the images were sometimes (60%) paired with a shock (CS+) and half were never paired with a shock (CS−). For each trial, participants rated their sexual arousal and anxiety in response to the image; skin conductance response (SCR) and zygomatic and corrugator activity were recorded. During acquisition, self-reported sexual arousal was lower to CS+ than CS− (inhibiting effect), but in men only. During extinction, self-reported sexual arousal was lower to CS+ than CS− for both genders. Some differences produced by CS+ and CS− were observed for SCR and zygomatic and corrugator activation at different points during acquisition and extinction, but the effects were unrelated to ratings of anxiety or sexual arousal. The negative impact of anxiety on sexual arousal appears to be resistant to extinction, and small gender differences were observed. Future studies should include direct measures of physiological sexual arousal. The relationship between sexual arousal and anxiety appears to be complex and should be further investigated.

Objective: The present study examined if the expectation for learning enhances reconsolidation of conditioned fear memories using the post-retrieval extinction paradigm in an undergraduate sample (n = 48). Methods: The study took place over three consecutive days. The expectation for learning was manipulated through oral instructions prior to memory reactivation. On day one, participants underwent differential fear conditioning to two spider images (CS+ and CS-). On day two, participants were assigned to either a reactivation with expectation for learning group, a reactivation with no expectation for learning group, or a no reactivation group. On day three, return of fear in response to the CS+ spider image was measured following reinstatement (i.e., four shocks). Fear potentiated startle (FPS) and skin conductance response (SCR) were taken as measures of fear. Results: The study found evidence that the expectation for learning may enhanced reconsolidation with FPS as a measure of fear as it was only the expectation for learning group in which FPS to the CS+ remained stable following reinstatement, however this effect was small and non-robust. In contrast, no evidence of reconsolidation was observed for SCR, as all participants exhibited a return of fear following reinstatement. Implications: These findings suggest that a verbal manipulation of the expectation for learning may not be salient enough to induce reconsolidation as measured by SCR but may be sufficient as measured by FPS. Additionally, given in the inconsistent findings between SCR and FPS, the study’s results bring into question whether the post-retrieval extinction paradigm is appropriate to investigate reconsolidation using both physiological measures concurrently.