Individual differences in fear acquisition: multivariate analyses of different emotional negativity scales, physiological responding, subjective measures, and neural activation

TY - JOUR

T1 - Individual differences in fear acquisition: multivariate analyses of different emotional negativity scales, physiological responding, subjective measures, and neural activation

AU - Sjouwerman, Rachel

AU - Scharfenort, Robert

AU - Lonsdorf, Tina B

PY - 2020/9/17

Y1 - 2020/9/17

N2 - Negative emotionality is a well-established and stable risk factor for affective disorders. Individual differences in negative emotionality have been linked to associative learning processes which can be captured experimentally by computing CS-discrimination values in fear conditioning paradigms. Literature suffers from underpowered samples, suboptimal methods, and an isolated focus on single questionnaires and single outcome measures. First, the specific and shared variance across three commonly employed questionnaires [STAI-T, NEO-FFI-Neuroticism, Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) Scale] in relation to CS-discrimination during fear-acquisition in multiple analysis units (ratings, skin conductance, startle) is addressed (NStudy1 = 356). A specific significant negative association between STAI-T and CS-discrimination in SCRs and between IU and CS-discrimination in startle responding was identified in multimodal and dimensional analyses, but also between latent factors negative emotionality and fear learning, which capture shared variance across questionnaires/scales and across outcome measures. Second, STAI-T was positively associated with CS-discrimination in a number of brain areas linked to conditioned fear (amygdala, putamen, thalamus), but not to SCRs or ratings (NStudy2 = 113). Importantly, we replicate potential sampling biases between fMRI and behavioral studies regarding anxiety levels. Future studies are needed to target wide sampling distributions for STAI-T and verify whether current findings are generalizable to other samples.

AB - Negative emotionality is a well-established and stable risk factor for affective disorders. Individual differences in negative emotionality have been linked to associative learning processes which can be captured experimentally by computing CS-discrimination values in fear conditioning paradigms. Literature suffers from underpowered samples, suboptimal methods, and an isolated focus on single questionnaires and single outcome measures. First, the specific and shared variance across three commonly employed questionnaires [STAI-T, NEO-FFI-Neuroticism, Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) Scale] in relation to CS-discrimination during fear-acquisition in multiple analysis units (ratings, skin conductance, startle) is addressed (NStudy1 = 356). A specific significant negative association between STAI-T and CS-discrimination in SCRs and between IU and CS-discrimination in startle responding was identified in multimodal and dimensional analyses, but also between latent factors negative emotionality and fear learning, which capture shared variance across questionnaires/scales and across outcome measures. Second, STAI-T was positively associated with CS-discrimination in a number of brain areas linked to conditioned fear (amygdala, putamen, thalamus), but not to SCRs or ratings (NStudy2 = 113). Importantly, we replicate potential sampling biases between fMRI and behavioral studies regarding anxiety levels. Future studies are needed to target wide sampling distributions for STAI-T and verify whether current findings are generalizable to other samples.

KW - Adult

KW - Anxiety Disorders/physiopathology

KW - Brain/physiology

KW - Conditioning, Classical/physiology

KW - Emotions/physiology

KW - Extinction, Psychological/physiology

KW - Fear/physiology

KW - Female

KW - Galvanic Skin Response/physiology

KW - Humans

KW - Individuality

KW - Learning/physiology

KW - Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods

KW - Male

KW - Multivariate Analysis

KW - Reflex, Startle/physiology

KW - Uncertainty

U2 - 10.1038/s41598-020-72007-5

DO - 10.1038/s41598-020-72007-5

M3 - SCORING: Journal article

C2 - 32943701

VL - 10

SP - 15283

JO - SCI REP-UK

JF - SCI REP-UK

SN - 2045-2322

IS - 1

ER -