Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation and extinction of prepared fear: A conceptual non-replication.

ABSTRACT: Transcutaneous stimulation of the auricular branch of the vagus nerve (tVNS) may accelerate fear extinction in healthy humans. Here, we aimed to investigate this hypothesis in healthy young participants in a prepared learning paradigm, using spider pictures as conditioned stimuli. After a fear conditioning phase, participants were randomly allocated to receive tVNS (final N = 42) or sham stimulation (final N = 43) during an extinction phase. Conditioned fear was assessed using US expectancy ratings, skin conductance and fear potentiated startle responses. After successful fear acquisition, participants in both groups showed a reduction of fear over the course of the extinction phase. There were no between-group differences in extinction rates for physiological indices of fear. Contrary to

SUBMITTER: Burger AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6068181 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature