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Stress-Enhanced Fear Learning, a Robust Rodent Model of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Published on: October 13, 2018
Longitudinal Changes in Fear Learning across Pregnancy: Moderation by Sexual Trauma
Mariana Rocha1, Sriya Karra1, Meghna Ravi1
1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Women'S Health Reports (New Rochelle, N.Y.)
|August 5, 2026
Summary
Pregnancy enhances threat detection in Black individuals, but high sexual trauma history may disrupt this adaptive response. Understanding these fear learning changes is crucial for managing PTSD risk during pregnancy.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Public Health
Background:
- Black pregnant individuals face elevated risks for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Sexual trauma history can worsen PTSD symptoms.
- Fear learning disruptions are central to PTSD development and maintenance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate longitudinal changes in fear acquisition and extinction throughout pregnancy.
- To examine the moderating effect of sexual trauma on fear learning trajectories.
- To understand threat sensitivity changes during pregnancy in under-resourced Black populations.
Main Methods:
- 116 participants completed interviews assessing lifetime sexual trauma using the Trauma Exposure Inventory.
- Fear-potentiated startle responses were measured across up to three physiological assessments during pregnancy.
- Linear mixed models and conditional models were used to analyze fear learning data.
Main Results:
- Fear acquisition (startle response to danger cues) increased significantly over pregnancy in the general sample.
- This increase was present in individuals with no or average sexual trauma exposure.
- Individuals with high sexual trauma exposure did not show this increase in threat sensitivity during pregnancy.
Conclusions:
- Pregnancy progression appears adaptive, enhancing startle responses to danger cues.
- High sexual trauma exposure may blunt typical pregnancy-related changes in threat sensitivity.
- These findings highlight the complex interplay between trauma history and physiological adaptations during pregnancy.
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