Factors Associated with Variability in Fear Acquisition and Extinction Learning: Implications for Stress and Anxiety Disorders
David Johnson, Ph.D.
York College, CUNY
Stress and anxiety disorders such as PTSD, phobia and OCD, impact tens of millions of people worldwide, with significant effects on quality of life for those afflicted and a global economic impact of billions of dollars in treatment costs and lost productivity. Many of these disorders are experientially driven; that is, they can result from moderate to severe trauma experiences. Thus, many researchers and clinicians view these conditions as memory disorders. Substantial evidence shows that individuals with diminished capacity to dynamically learn about predictors of threat and danger, or fail to update their knowledge when appropriate, are at increased risk for the emergence of fear-related disorder. Exposure-based therapies, based on the principles of fear extinction learning, are the most effective approaches for treating these disorders, but they only work for approximately 50% of patients. Identifying factors that predict trauma vulnerability and treatment response are crucial to develop new and / or optimized clinical approaches. Here, I will highlight some research I’ve carried out to help identify these factors.
ORGANIZERS
Dr. Nesha Burghardt, Hunter College CUNY
Dr. Asohan Amarasingham, CCNY CUNY