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Related Concept Videos

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder01:27

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric condition that arises following exposure to traumatic events such as natural disasters, forced displacement, or severe accidents. It significantly impairs individuals' ability to cope with daily activities and disrupts their emotional and psychological equilibrium.
Symptoms and Behavioral Manifestations
A spectrum of distressing symptoms characterizes PTSD. Recurrent flashbacks, where individuals involuntarily relive traumatic events, are a...
Traumatic Memory01:20

Traumatic Memory

Emotionally traumatic events often lead to memories that are exceptionally vivid and enduring, sometimes persisting with remarkable clarity throughout an individual's life. A classic example of this phenomenon is a person who survives a car accident. Even years later, they may recall every detail of the event with startling accuracy — the screeching of the tires, the jarring impact, and the acrid smell of burning rubber. Such vividness contrasts sharply with how an individual remembers mundane...
Introduction to Stress and Lifestyle01:27

Introduction to Stress and Lifestyle

Stress is a multifaceted response to events perceived as challenging or threatening, highlighting physical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral reactions. Physically, stress can lead to fatigue, sleep disruptions, and various health issues such as frequent colds, chest pains, and nausea. Emotionally, it can manifest as anxiety, depression, irritability, and anger triggered by both minor and major life events. Cognitively, it may result in difficulty in concentration, memory, and...
Psychological Responses to Stress01:20

Psychological Responses to Stress

Psychological responses to stress encompass the various cognitive and emotional reactions individuals experience when faced with challenging or threatening situations, such as a job loss. Prolonged exposure to stressors can disturb emotional balance, increasing negative emotions (e.g., anxiety and sadness) and diminishing positive emotions (e.g., joy and satisfaction). These persistent emotional shifts are associated with an increased risk of both physical illness and mental health issues, such...
Principles of Classical Conditioning01:23

Principles of Classical Conditioning

Classical conditioning, as described by Ivan Pavlov, is a foundational concept in associative learning, where a neutral stimulus becomes capable of eliciting a conditioned response through association with an unconditioned stimulus. The process of acquisition, where this learning occurs, and the subsequent phenomena of contiguity, contingency, generalization, discrimination, extinction, and spontaneous recovery are crucial for a comprehensive understanding of classical conditioning.
During the...

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Social Threat-Safety Test Uncovers Psychosocial Stress-Related Phenotypes
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Published on: December 15, 2023

Pre-trauma individual differences in extinction learning predict posttraumatic stress.

Miriam J J Lommen1, Iris M Engelhard, Marit Sijbrandij

  • 1Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Utrecht University, TC Utrecht, The Netherlands. M.J.J.Lommen@uu.nl

Behaviour Research and Therapy
|December 25, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Reduced extinction learning before deployment predicted posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity in soldiers. This finding suggests impaired fear extinction may be a risk factor for developing PTSD after trauma.

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Stress-Enhanced Fear Learning, a Robust Rodent Model of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
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Published on: October 13, 2018

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Last Updated: May 15, 2026

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Stress-Enhanced Fear Learning, a Robust Rodent Model of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
05:49

Stress-Enhanced Fear Learning, a Robust Rodent Model of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Published on: October 13, 2018

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Trauma Studies

Background:

  • Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects a minority of individuals after trauma, suggesting pre-existing factors influence vulnerability.
  • Individual differences in fear conditioning, particularly impaired extinction learning, are hypothesized to contribute to PTSD etiology.
  • Prospective data linking pre-trauma extinction learning to PTSD development are currently lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To prospectively investigate whether reduced extinction learning before a traumatic deployment predicts subsequent posttraumatic stress.
  • To examine the role of pre-trauma fear extinction in the development of PTSD.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort of 249 Dutch soldiers completed a fear conditioning and extinction learning task prior to deployment to Afghanistan.
  • Posttraumatic stress symptoms were assessed after the soldiers returned from their deployment.
  • Statistical analyses controlled for pre-deployment stress symptoms, neuroticism, and combat exposure.

Main Results:

  • Reduced extinction learning capacity before deployment was a significant predictor of higher posttraumatic stress symptom severity after deployment.
  • This predictive relationship remained significant even after accounting for pre-deployment psychological factors and combat exposure.
  • Individual differences in fear extinction learning appear to be a robust predictor of PTSD development.

Conclusions:

  • Impaired fear extinction learning prior to trauma exposure may represent a key vulnerability factor for developing PTSD.
  • These findings highlight the potential of extinction learning as a target for early intervention or prevention strategies for PTSD.
  • Prospective evidence supports the role of fear conditioning mechanisms in the etiology of posttraumatic stress disorder.