Associative learning in flying phobia

Vriends, Noortje; Michael, Tanja; Schindler, Bettina; Margraf, Jürgen

doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2011.11.003

Cited by 14 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 28 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Although the above studies do not all demonstrate an enhancement of conditionability in phobia, when this enhancement is present (e.g., Vriends et al 2012), it is suggested here that it may be caused by metaplasticity in the amygdala. Metaplasticity is defined as a dynamic regulation of synaptic plasticity thresholds in a neuronal population, resulting, for example, in exaggerated or inhibited LTP (Garcia et al 1997).…”

Section: Potential Mechanisms Of Persistent Fear In Experiential-speccontrasting

confidence: 58%

“…The authors also found that phobic subjects display higher amygdala activation in response to the phobia-related conditioned stimulus than to the nonphobiarelated conditioned stimulus. In another study, the authors (Vriends et al 2012) found a stronger conditioning effect in flying phobia. Particularly, compared with healthy controls, patients with flying phobia rated conditioned stimuli more frightening.…”

Section: Potential Mechanisms Of Persistent Fear In Experiential-specmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…Studies on the conditioning of fear in phobias indicate that fear is high in phobic compared with nonphobic subjects. However, there are studies indicating exaggerated general conditionability in phobia (Lissek et al 2008;Vriends et al 2012), while in other studies there was either no general conditionability (Hermann et al 2002;Schweckendiek et al 2011) or exaggerated conditionability only with phobia-related conditioned stimuli (Schweckendiek et al 2011). The authors also found that phobic subjects display higher amygdala activation in response to the phobia-related conditioned stimulus than to the nonphobiarelated conditioned stimulus.…”

Section: Potential Mechanisms Of Persistent Fear In Experiential-specmentioning

confidence: 89%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Neurobiology of fear and specific phobias

García

2017

Learn. Mem.

157

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Fear, which can be expressed innately or after conditioning, is triggered when a danger or a stimulus predicting immediate danger is perceived. Its role is to prepare the body to face this danger. However, dysfunction in fear processing can lead to psychiatric disorders in which fear outweighs the danger or possibility of harm. Although recognized as highly debilitating, pathological fear remains insufficiently treated, indicating the importance of research on fear processing. The neurobiological basis of normal and pathological fear reactions is reviewed in this article. Innate and learned fear mechanisms, particularly those involving the amygdala, are considered. These fear mechanisms are also distinguished in specific phobias, which can indeed be nonexperiential (implicating innate, learning-independent mechanisms) or experiential (implicating learning-dependent mechanisms). Poor habituation and poor extinction are presented as dysfunctional mechanisms contributing to persistence of nonexperiential and experiential phobias, respectively.

show abstract

Section: Potential Mechanisms Of Persistent Fear In Experiential-speccontrasting

confidence: 58%

Section: Potential Mechanisms Of Persistent Fear In Experiential-specmentioning

confidence: 86%

Section: Potential Mechanisms Of Persistent Fear In Experiential-specmentioning

confidence: 89%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Neurobiology of fear and specific phobias

García

2017

Learn. Mem.

157

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Summarising the onset of flying phobia in their interview study, Wilhelm and Roth ( 1997 ) report that, for many individuals, the fear of flying “apparently began with a rise in anxiety of flying that was either triggered internally or was a transitory overreaction to a minor external event” (p. 258). It is notable that experimental evidence suggests that individuals with flying phobia demonstrate a stronger conditioning effect when neutral stimuli are paired with aversive stimuli (not associated with flying) compared to non-flying phobics (Vriends et al, 2012 ). This finding might suggest that individual differences in preparedness for associative learning (i.e., in the pairing of external or internal neutral conditioned stimuli with aversive stimuli) may contribute to the development of flying phobia.…”

Section: Perceived Threat and Related Cuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Processes Contributing to the Maintenance of Flying Phobia: A Narrative Review

Clark

Rock

2016

Front. Psychol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Flying phobia is a highly prevalent anxiety disorder, which causes sufferers significant distress and life interference. The processes which maintain flying phobia remain poorly understood. A systematic search of the literature was performed to identify what research has been conducted into the processes which may be involved in the fear of flying and whether processes which are believed to maintain other anxiety disorder diagnoses have been investigated in flying phobia. The results of the literature review are presented and related to existing cognitive behavioral theory and research. The results indicate that little research has been conducted into a number of areas considered important in the wider cognitive behavioral literature on anxiety disorders: namely attention, mental imagery, memory, worry, and safety-seeking behaviors. The review proposes a hypothetical model, derived from cognitive behavioral theory, for the processes which may be involved in maintaining flying phobia, and considers a number of areas for future research.

show abstract

“…Participants of the control sample received giveaways from a Swiss airline, such as T-shirts and key fobs, for participation. The participants were also experimentally investigated (reported elsewhere [11] ).…”

Section: Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%