How stress and glucocorticoids timing-dependently affect extinction and relapse

Abstract

In recent years, various research groups aimed to augment extinction learning (the most important underlying mechanism of exposure therapy) using glucocorticoids (GCs), in particular the stress hormone cortisol. In this review, we introduce the STaR (Stress Timing affects Relapse) model, a theoretical model of the timing-dependent effects of stress/GCs treatment on extinction and relapse. In particular, we show that (1) pre-extinction stress/GCs promote memory consolidation in a context-independent manner, making extinction memory more resistant to relapse following context change. (2) Post-extinction stress also enhances extinction consolidation, but in a context-bound manner. These differences may result from the timing-dependent effects of cortisol on emotional memory contextualization. At the neural level, extinction facilitation is reflected in alterations in the amygdala-hippocampal-prefrontal cortex network. (3) Stress/GCs before a retrieval test impair extinction retrieval and promote relapse. This may result from strengthening amygdala signaling or disruption of the inhibitory functioning of the prefrontal cortex. The STaR model can contribute to the understanding and prevention of relapse processes.

Keywords: Cortisol; Exposure therapy; Fear conditioning; Renewal; Return of fear.