A novel paradigm to study interpersonal threat-related learning and extinction in children using virtual reality

Sci Rep. 2017 Dec 4;7(1):16840. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-17131-5.

Abstract

Disruptions in fear-extinction learning are centrally implicated in a range of stress-related disorders, including anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder. Given that these disorders frequently begin in childhood/adolescence, an understanding of fear-extinction learning in children is essential for (1) detecting the source of developmental susceptibility, (2) identifying mechanisms leading to pathology, and (3) informing the development and/or more judicious application of treatments for youth. Here, we offer and validate a novel virtual reality paradigm to study threat-related learning and extinction in children that models real-world cues, environments, and fear-inducing events that children are likely to experience, and are linked to the development of fear- and stress-related pathologies. We found that our paradigm is well tolerated in children as young as 6 years, that children show intact fear and extinction learning, and show evidence of divergence in subjective, physiological, and behavioral measures of conditioned fear. The paradigm is available for use in 3-D and in 2-D (e.g., for the MRI scanner) upon request at www.tnp2lab.org .

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Child
  • Extinction, Psychological*
  • Fear / physiology*
  • Female
  • Galvanic Skin Response / physiology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Virtual Reality*