Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 16, 2026
11:17
Extinction Training During the Reconsolidation Window Prevents Recovery of Fear
Published on: August 24, 2012
Temporal properties of fear extinction--does time matter?
Armita Golkar1, Martin Bellander, Arne Öhman
1Karolinska Institutet, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Psychology Section, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden. armita.golkar@ki.se
Behavioral Neuroscience
|December 13, 2012
Summary
Fear extinction weakens conditioned responses (CR). This study found that the number of nonreinforced trials, not total exposure time, is critical for reducing fear. Shorter trials aided extinction but didn't predict fear recovery.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Fear extinction is the reduction of conditioned responses (CR) through nonreinforcement.
- Two models explain extinction: Rescorla & Wagner (number of trials) and Gallistel & Gibbon (total nonreinforced exposure time).
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate which model better explains fear extinction in humans.
- To determine if the number of trials or cumulative exposure time is the primary factor in CR decrement.
Main Methods:
- A human differential fear conditioning study was conducted.
- The fear-potentiated startle response was used to measure the conditioned response (CR).
- Two extinction models were tested against the experimental data.
Main Results:
- The number of nonreinforced exposure trials was found to be critical for fear extinction.
- Cumulated duration of nonreinforcement did not adequately explain the observed findings.
- Shorter conditioned stimulus (CS) trials facilitated within-session extinction.
Conclusions:
- The number of trials model provides a better account of fear extinction than the cumulative exposure time model.
- While shorter CS trials aid extinction within a session, they do not predict the subsequent recovery of fear.
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