Impaired Retrieval Inhibition of Threat Material in Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

ABSTRACT: Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is characterized by cognitive biases toward threat-relevant information, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. We translated a retrieval-practice paradigm from cognitive science to investigate impaired inhibition of threat information as one such mechanism. Participants diagnosed with GAD and never-disordered control participants learned a series of cue-target pairs; whereas some cues were associated only with neutral targets, others were associated with both neutral and threat targets. Next, participants practiced retrieving neutral targets, which typically suppresses the subsequent recall of unpracticed associated targets (retrieval-induced forgetting; RIF). Finally, participants were tested on their recall of all targets. Despite showing in

SUBMITTER: Kircanski K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4811602 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature