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Updated: Apr 3, 2026

Extinction Training During the Reconsolidation Window Prevents Recovery of Fear
Published on: August 24, 2012
Timing Matters: Providing Contingency Instructions to Modify Fear Extinction Memories in Anxiety Disorders
Annalisa Lipp1, Christian J Merz2, Beray Macit3
1Department of Behavioral and Clinical Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany; Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
Background:
Cognitive processes play a significant role in fear extinction. Contingency instructions (CIs) about the non-occurrence of an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) can be used to promote fear extinction learning and extinction retrieval. However, previous research has mainly been performed with healthy individuals, and a systematic study on the effects of CIs administered during different phases of the extinction memory acquisition in patients with anxiety disorders (ADs) is lacking.
Methods:
We investigated the effects of CIs administered before and/or after fear extinction training on extinction learning and retrieval processes in 240 participants (120 patients with ADs, 120 healthy control participants) using a 3-day fear conditioning paradigm. Skin conductance responses (SCRs), conditioned stimulus (CS) valence, and UCS expectancy ratings served as readout measures.
Results:
CIs before extinction training enhanced extinction learning for both patients with ADs and healthy control participants as indexed by SCRs and affective measures. Similarly, postextinction CI administration led to reduced CS differentiation in SCRs and UCS expectancy during extinction retrieval in healthy control participants and patients. After reinstatement, postextinction CI administration also diminished fear relapse in the original acquisition and novel context. Here, time-dependent effects of CIs seemed to further depend on contextual cues established during initial fear acquisition and extinction.
Conclusions:
Our findings contribute to the existing knowledge on the role of time-dependent administration of CIs in fear extinction and offer novel insights into how cognitive interventions can be integrated to augment existing therapeutic approaches for ADs.
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