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Journal of the Experimental Analysis of... Jan 2021Basic research on avoidance by Murray Sidman laid the foundation for advances in the classification, conceptualization and treatment of avoidance in psychological...
Basic research on avoidance by Murray Sidman laid the foundation for advances in the classification, conceptualization and treatment of avoidance in psychological disorders. Contemporary avoidance research is explicitly translational and increasingly focused on how competing appetitive and aversive contingencies influence avoidance. In this laboratory investigation, we examined the effects of escalating social-evaluative threat and threat of social aggression on avoidance of social interactions. During social-defeat learning, 38 adults learned to associate 9 virtual peers with an increasing probability of receiving negative evaluations. Additionally, 1 virtual peer was associated with positive evaluations. Next, in an approach-avoidance task with social-evaluative threat, 1 peer associated with negative evaluations was presented alongside the peer associated with positive evaluations. Approaching peers produced a positive or a probabilistic negative evaluation, while avoiding peers prevented a negative evaluation (and forfeited a positive evaluation). In an approach-avoidance task with social aggression, virtual peers gave and took money away from participants. Escalating social-evaluative threat and aggression increased avoidance, ratings of feeling threatened and threat expectancy and decreased ratings of peer favorableness. These findings underscore the potential of coupling social defeat and approach-avoidance paradigms for translational research on the neurobehavioral mechanisms of social approach-avoidance decision-making and anxiety.
Topics: Adult; Aggression; Anxiety; Avoidance Learning; Humans; Social Behavior; Social Defeat
PubMed: 33369748
DOI: 10.1002/jeab.654 -
The Journal of Pain 2020Avoidance is considered key in the development of chronic pain. However, little is known about how avoidance behavior subsequently affects pain-related fear and pain. We...
Avoidance is considered key in the development of chronic pain. However, little is known about how avoidance behavior subsequently affects pain-related fear and pain. We investigated this using a robotic arm reaching avoidance task. In a between-subjects design both Experimental Group (n = 30) and Yoked Control Group (n = 30) participants perform either of 3 movement trajectories (T1-T3) to reach a target location. During acquisition, only participants of the Experimental Group could partially or fully avoid a painful electrocutaneous stimulus by choosing the intermediate trajectory (T2; 50% reinforcement) or the longest trajectory (T3; 0% reinforcement) versus the shortest trajectory (T1: 100% reinforcement). After acquisition, contingencies changed (all trajectories 50% reinforced), and the acquired avoidance behavior no longer effectively prevented pain from occurring. The Yoked Control Group received the same reinforcement schedule as the Experimental Group irrespective of their behavior. When avoidance behavior became ineffective for the Experimental Group, pain-related fear increased for the previously safe(r) trajectories (T2 and T3) and remained the same for T1, whereas pain threshold and tolerance declined. For the Yoked Group, pain-related fear increased for all trajectories. The Experimental Group persisted in emitting avoidance behavior following the contingency change, albeit at a lower frequency than during acquisition. PERSPECTIVE: Results indicate participants become more afraid of and sensitive to pain, when previously acquired avoidance is no longer effective. Also, participants continue to show avoidance behavior despite it being not adaptive anymore. These findings suggest that ineffective avoidance may play role in the maintenance and development of chronic pain.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Arm; Avoidance Learning; Electric Stimulation; Fear; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Motor Activity; Nociceptive Pain; Pain Perception; Pain Threshold; Touch Perception; Young Adult
PubMed: 31541718
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2019.09.002 -
BMC Biology Feb 2021Recognition of stress and mobilization of adequate "fight-or-flight" responses is key for survival and health. Previous studies have shown that exposure of...
BACKGROUND
Recognition of stress and mobilization of adequate "fight-or-flight" responses is key for survival and health. Previous studies have shown that exposure of Caenorhabditis elegans to pathogens or toxins simultaneously stimulates cellular stress and detoxification responses and aversive behavior. However, whether a coordinated regulation exists between cytoprotective stress responses and behavioral defenses remains unclear.
RESULTS
Here, we show that exposure of C. elegans to high concentrations of naturally attractive food-derived odors, benzaldehyde and diacetyl, induces toxicity and food avoidance behavior. Benzaldehyde preconditioning activates systemic cytoprotective stress responses involving DAF-16/FOXO, SKN-1/Nrf2, and Hsp90 in non-neuronal cells, which confer both physiological (increased survival) and behavioral tolerance (reduced food avoidance) to benzaldehyde exposure. Benzaldehyde preconditioning also elicits behavioral cross-tolerance to the structurally similar methyl-salicylate, but not to the structurally unrelated diacetyl. In contrast, diacetyl preconditioning augments diacetyl avoidance, weakens physiological diacetyl tolerance, and does not induce apparent molecular defenses. The inter-tissue connection between cellular and behavioral defenses is mediated by JNK-like stress-activated protein kinases and the neuropeptide Y receptor NPR-1. Reinforcement of the stressful experiences using spaced training forms stable stress-specific memories. Memory retrieval by the olfactory cues leads to avoidance of food contaminated by diacetyl and context-dependent behavioral decision to avoid benzaldehyde only if there is an alternative, food-indicative odor.
CONCLUSIONS
Our study reveals a regulatory link between conserved cytoprotective stress responses and behavioral avoidance, which underlies "fight-or-flight" responses and facilitates self-protection in real and anticipated stresses. These findings imply that variations in the efficiency of physiological protection during past episodes of stress might shape current behavioral decisions.
Topics: Animals; Avoidance Learning; Benzaldehydes; Caenorhabditis elegans; Decision Making; Diacetyl; Food; Odorants; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 33563272
DOI: 10.1186/s12915-021-00956-y -
ELife May 2021Upon exposure to harmful microorganisms, hosts engage in protective molecular and behavioral immune responses, both of which are ultimately regulated by the nervous...
Upon exposure to harmful microorganisms, hosts engage in protective molecular and behavioral immune responses, both of which are ultimately regulated by the nervous system. Using the nematode , we show that ingestion of leads to a fast pathogen avoidance behavior that results in aversive learning. We have identified multiple sensory mechanisms involved in the regulation of avoidance of The G-protein coupled receptor NPR-1-dependent oxygen-sensing pathway opposes this avoidance behavior, while an ASE neuron-dependent pathway and an AWB and AWC neuron-dependent pathway are directly required for avoidance. Colonization of the anterior part of the intestine by leads to AWB and AWC mediated olfactory aversive learning. Finally, two transient receptor potential melastatin (TRPM) channels, GON-2 and GTL-2, mediate this newly described rapid pathogen avoidance. These results suggest a mechanism by which TRPM channels may sense the intestinal distension caused by bacterial colonization to elicit pathogen avoidance and aversive learning by detecting changes in host physiology.
Topics: Animals; Avoidance Learning; Caenorhabditis elegans; Enterococcus faecalis; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Intestines; Neurons; TRPM Cation Channels; Virulence
PubMed: 34032213
DOI: 10.7554/eLife.65935 -
Learning & Memory (Cold Spring Harbor,... Nov 2020While interest in active avoidance has recently been resurgent, many concerns relating to the nature of this form of learning remain unresolved. By separating stimulus...
While interest in active avoidance has recently been resurgent, many concerns relating to the nature of this form of learning remain unresolved. By separating stimulus and response acquisition, aversive Pavlovian-instrumental transfer can be used to measure the effect of avoidance learning on threat processing with more control than typical avoidance procedures. However, the motivational substrates that contribute to the aversive transfer effect have not been thoroughly examined. In three studies using rodents, the impact of a variety of aversive signals on shock-avoidance responding (i.e., two-way shuttling) was evaluated. Fox urine, as well as a tone paired with the delivery of the predator odor were insufficient modulatory stimuli for the avoidance response. Similarly, a signal for the absence of food did not generate appropriate aversive motivation to enhance shuttling. Only conditioned Pavlovian stimuli that had been paired with unconditioned threats were capable of augmenting shock-avoidance responding. This was true whether the signaled outcome was the same (e.g., shock) or different (e.g., klaxon) from the avoidance outcome (i.e., shock). These findings help to characterize the aversive transfer effect and provide a more thorough analysis of its generalization to warning signals for different kinds of threats. This feature of aversive motivation has not been demonstrated using conventional avoidance procedures and could be potentially useful for applying avoidance in treatment settings.
Topics: Acoustic Stimulation; Animals; Avoidance Learning; Conditioning, Classical; Electroshock; Generalization, Psychological; Male; Motivation; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley
PubMed: 33060285
DOI: 10.1101/lm.052316.120 -
Behavioural Brain Research Mar 2021Avoidance is a well-established maintenance factor in anxiety-related psychopathology. Individuals prone to anxiety show more maladaptive avoidance responses in...
BACKGROUND
Avoidance is a well-established maintenance factor in anxiety-related psychopathology. Individuals prone to anxiety show more maladaptive avoidance responses in conditioning paradigms aimed at avoidance learning, which indicates impairments in safety learning. To what extent avoidance learning is associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is still unclear, despite the logical relevance to the symptomatology. In this prospective study, we investigate avoidance learning responses in first responders, a population at high risk for traumatic exposure and thus PTSD development, and studied whether avoidance learning was associated with concurrent and future PTSD symptoms.
METHOD
Firefighters (N = 502) performed an avoidance learning task at baseline assessment in which they first learned that two conditioned stimuli (CS+) were followed by an aversive stimulus (US) and one conditioned stimulus (CS-) was not. After that, they could learn to which CS avoidance of the US was effective, ineffective or unnecessary. Self-reported PTSD symptoms were assessed at baseline, and at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months.
RESULTS
Participants exhibited comparable avoidance patterns to low anxiety individuals from previous studies. Avoidance learning responses were not associated with PTSD symptoms at baseline nor at follow-up.
DISCUSSION
Our study found no evidence that avoidance learning was related to PTSD symptom severity in a high-risk, yet low symptomatic population, nor did it predict the development of PTSD symptoms at a later point in time. Future research should focus on studying avoidance learning in a clinical or high symptomatic sample to further clarify the role of avoidance learning in PTSD development.
Topics: Adult; Avoidance Learning; Conditioning, Classical; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Firefighters; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Occupational Stress; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
PubMed: 33358921
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2020.113064 -
Zoological Research May 2020Adult male tree shrews vigorously defend against intruding male conspecifics. However, the characteristics of social behavior have not been entirely explored in these...
Adult male tree shrews vigorously defend against intruding male conspecifics. However, the characteristics of social behavior have not been entirely explored in these males. In this study, male wild-type tree shrews ( ) and C57BL/6J mice were first allowed to familiarize themselves with an open-field apparatus. The tree shrews exhibited a short duration of movement (moving) in the novel environment, whereas the mice exhibited a long duration of movement. In the 30 min social preference-avoidance test, target animals significantly decreased the time spent by the experimental tree shrews in the social interaction (SI) zone, whereas experimental male mice exhibited the opposite. In addition, experimental tree shrews displayed a significantly longer latency to enter the SI zone in the second 15 min session (target-present) than in the first 15 min session (target-absent), which was different from that found in mice. Distinct behavioral patterns in response to a conspecific male were also observed in male tree shrews and mice in the first, second, and third 5 min periods. Thus, social behaviors in tree shrews and mice appeared to be time dependent. In summary, our study provides results of a modified social preference-avoidance test designed for the assessment of social behavior in tree shrews. Our findings demonstrate the existence of social avoidance behavior in male tree shrews and prosocial behavior in male mice toward unfamiliar conspecifics. The tree shrew may be a new animal model, which differs from mice, for the study of social avoidance and prosocial behaviors.
Topics: Animals; Avoidance Learning; Behavior, Animal; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Social Behavior; Tupaiidae
PubMed: 32212430
DOI: 10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2020.034 -
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews Apr 2023Making effective decisions during approach-avoidance conflict is critical in daily life. Aberrant decision-making during approach-avoidance conflict is evident in a... (Review)
Review
Making effective decisions during approach-avoidance conflict is critical in daily life. Aberrant decision-making during approach-avoidance conflict is evident in a range of psychological disorders, including anxiety, depression, trauma-related disorders, substance use disorders, and alcohol use disorders. To help clarify etiological pathways and reveal novel intervention targets, clinical research into decision-making is increasingly adopting a computational psychopathology approach. This approach uses mathematical models that can identify specific decision-making related processes that are altered in mental health disorders. In our review, we highlight foundational approach-avoidance conflict research, followed by more in-depth discussion of computational approaches that have been used to model behavior in these tasks. Specifically, we describe the computational models that have been applied to approach-avoidance conflict (e.g., drift-diffusion, active inference, and reinforcement learning models), and provide resources to guide clinical researchers who may be interested in applying computational modeling. Finally, we identify notable gaps in the current literature and potential future directions for computational approaches aimed at identifying mechanisms of approach-avoidance conflict in psychopathology.
Topics: Humans; Decision Making; Alcoholism; Anxiety Disorders; Learning; Anxiety; Avoidance Learning
PubMed: 36804398
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105103 -
Molecular Psychiatry Feb 2020The dorsal striatum has been linked to decision-making under conflict, but the mechanism by which striatal neurons contribute to approach-avoidance conflicts remains...
The dorsal striatum has been linked to decision-making under conflict, but the mechanism by which striatal neurons contribute to approach-avoidance conflicts remains unclear. We hypothesized that striatopallidal dopamine D2 receptor (D2R)-expressing neurons promote avoidance, and tested this hypothesis in two exploratory approach-avoidance conflict paradigms in mice: the elevated zero maze and open field. Genetic elimination of D2Rs on striatopallidal neurons (iMSNs), but not other neural populations, increased avoidance of the open areas in both tasks, in a manner that was dissociable from global changes in movement. Population calcium activity of dorsomedial iMSNs was disrupted in mice lacking D2Rs on iMSNs, suggesting that disrupted output of iMSNs contributes to heightened avoidance behavior. Consistently, artificial disruption of iMSN output with optogenetic stimulation heightened avoidance of open areas of these tasks, while inhibition of iMSN output reduced avoidance. We conclude that dorsomedial striatal iMSNs control approach-avoidance conflicts in exploratory tasks, and highlight this neural population as a potential target for reducing avoidance in anxiety disorders.
Topics: Animals; Anxiety Disorders; Avoidance Learning; Brain; Cell Line; Corpus Striatum; Female; Gray Matter; Habits; Inhibition, Psychological; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Knockout; Neurons; Optogenetics; Receptors, Dopamine D2; Stereotypic Movement Disorder
PubMed: 29695836
DOI: 10.1038/s41380-018-0051-3 -
Journal of Biological Physics Mar 2020In any ecosystem, chaotic situations may arise from equilibrium state for different reasons. To overcome these chaotic situations, sometimes the system itself exhibits...
In any ecosystem, chaotic situations may arise from equilibrium state for different reasons. To overcome these chaotic situations, sometimes the system itself exhibits some mechanisms of self-adaptability. In this paper, we explore an eco-epidemiological model consisting of three aquatic groups: phytoplankton, zooplankton, and marine free viruses. We assume that the phytoplankton population is infected by external free viruses and zooplankton get affected on consumption of infected phytoplankton; also, the infected phytoplankton do not compete for resources with the susceptible one. In addition, we model a mechanism by which zooplankton recognize and avoid infected phytoplankton, at least when susceptible phytoplankton are present. The zooplankton extinction chance increases on increasing the force of infection or decreasing the intensity of avoidance. Further, when the viral infection triggers chaotic dynamics, high zooplankton avoidance intensity can stabilize again the system. Interestingly, for high avoidance intensity, nutrient enrichment has a destabilizing effect on the system dynamics, which is in line with the paradox of enrichment. Global sensitivity analysis helps to identify the most significant parameters that reduce the infected phytoplankton in the system. Finally, we compare the dynamics of the system by allowing the infected phytoplankton also to share resources with the susceptible phytoplankton. A gradual increase of the virus replication factor turns the system dynamics from chaos to doubling state to limit cycle to stable state and the system finally settles down to the zooplankton-free equilibrium point. Moreover, on increasing the intensity of avoidance, the system shows a transcritical bifurcation from the zooplankton-free equilibrium to the coexistence steady state and remains stable thereafter.
Topics: Animals; Avoidance Learning; Models, Biological; Phytoplankton; Zooplankton
PubMed: 32180076
DOI: 10.1007/s10867-020-09538-5