No harmful effect of propranolol administered prior to fear memory extinction in rats and humans.

ABSTRACT: Exposure therapy is an evidence-based treatment option for anxiety-related disorders. Many patients also take medication that could, in principle, affect exposure therapy efficacy. Clinical and laboratory evidence indeed suggests that benzodiazepines may have detrimental effects. Large clinical trials with propranolol, a common beta-blocker, are currently lacking, but several preclinical studies do indicate impaired establishment of safety memories. Here, we investigated the effects of propranolol given prior to extinction training in 9 rat studies (N = 215) and one human study (N = 72). A Bayesian meta-analysis of our rat studies provided strong evidence against propranolol-induced extinction memory impairment during a drug-free test, and the human study found no significant difference wi

SUBMITTER: Luyten L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7615999 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature