A preregistered, direct replication attempt of the retrieval-extinction effect in cued fear conditioning in rats.

ABSTRACT: In 2009, Monfils and colleagues proposed a behavioral procedure that was said to result in a permanent attenuation of a previously established fear memory, thereby precluding a possible return of fear after extinction (Monfils, Cowansage, Klann, & LeDoux, 2009). By presenting a single retrieval trial one hour before standard extinction training, they found an enduring reduction of fear. The retrieval-extinction procedure holds great clinical potential, particularly for anxiety patients, but the findings are not undisputed, and several conceptual replications have failed to reproduce the effect. These failures have largely been attributed to small procedural differences. This preregistered study is the first endeavor to exactly replicate three key experiments of the original report by Monfi

SUBMITTER: Luyten L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5931313 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature