Preventing fear return in humans: Music-based intervention during reactivation-extinction paradigm

Abstract

In several research studies, the reactivation extinction paradigm did not effectively prevent the return of fear if administered without any intervention technique. Therefore, in this study, the authors hypothesized that playing music (high valence, low arousal) during the reconsolidation window may be a viable intervention technique for eliminating fear-related responses. A three-day auditory differential fear conditioning paradigm was used to establish fear conditioning. Participants were randomly assigned into three groups, i.e., one control group, standard extinction (SE), and two experimental groups, reactivation extinction Group (RE) and music reactivation extinction (MRE), of twenty participants in each group. Day 1 included the habituation and fear acquisition phases; on Day 2 (after 24 hours), the intervention was conducted, and re-extinction took place on Day 3. Skin conductance responses were used as the primary outcome measure. Results indicated that the MRE group was more effective in reducing fear response than the RE and SE groups in the re-extinction phase. Furthermore, there was no significant difference observed between SE and RE groups. This is the first study known to demonstrate the effectiveness of music intervention in preventing the return of fear in a healthy individual. Therefore, it might also be employed as an intervention strategy (non-pharmacological approach) for military veterans, in emotion regulation, those diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and those suffering from specific phobias.

The mechanism of action in a spontaneous resolution of chronic depression, anxiety, and burnout—a retrospective case study

“…Occasionally, the required kind of new, unexpected information may be produced endogenously, without social interaction, induced by substances and innate mechanisms of healing. Alternatively, it can be produced by specific nuances in music (de Mori, 2009;Verma et al, 2024); the selection of music is thus essential. In practice, psychedelics may allow for recombination of memories in new ways, producing new interpretations, or allow for revisiting traumatic events and seeing them 'from a distance', giving an overall view of the past.…”