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The Journal of Pain Nov 2014Current fear-avoidance models consider pain-related fear as a crucial factor in the development of chronic pain. However, pain-related fear often occurs in a context of...
UNLABELLED
Current fear-avoidance models consider pain-related fear as a crucial factor in the development of chronic pain. However, pain-related fear often occurs in a context of multiple, competing goals. This study investigated whether pain-related fear and avoidance behavior are attenuated when individuals are faced with a pain avoidance goal and another valued but competing goal, operationalized as obtaining a monetary reward. Fifty-five healthy participants moved a joystick toward different targets. In the experimental condition, a movement to one target (conditioned stimulus [CS+]) was followed by a painful unconditioned stimulus (pain-US) and a rewarding unconditioned stimulus (reward-US) on 50% of the trials, whereas the other movement (nonreinforced conditioned stimulus [CS-]) movement was not. In the control condition, the CS+ movement was followed by the pain-US only. Results showed that pain-related fear was elevated in response to the CS+ compared to the CS- movement, but that it was not influenced by the reward-US. Interestingly, participants initiated a CS+ movement slower than a CS- movement in the control condition but not in the experimental condition. Also, in choice trials, participants performed the CS+ movement more frequently in the experimental than in the control condition. These results suggest that the presence of a valued competing goal can attenuate avoidance behavior.
PERSPECTIVE
The current study provides experimental evidence that both pain and competing goals impact on behavioral decision making and avoidance behavior. These results provide experimental support for treatments of chronic pain that include an individual's pursuit of valuable daily life goals, rather than limiting focus to pain reduction only.
Topics: Adult; Avoidance Learning; Decision Making; Extinction, Psychological; Female; Goals; Humans; Male; Pain; Young Adult
PubMed: 25152301
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2014.08.003 -
Brain Research Jan 2005The crucian carp performs a typical avoidance behavior when exposed to olfactory cues from injured skin of conspecifics. They swim rapidly to the bottom and hide in... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
The crucian carp performs a typical avoidance behavior when exposed to olfactory cues from injured skin of conspecifics. They swim rapidly to the bottom and hide in available material. This work examines the effects of skin extract exposure and availability of hiding material on this behavior, and concomitant changes in brain monoaminergic activity in crucian carp. Individual fish were exposed to skin extract in aquaria with or without hiding material. Exposure to skin extract resulted in the expected avoidance behavior consisting of rapid movement towards the bottom of the aquarium. This lasted for 1-2 min. Activity then decreased below the level observed before exposure, suggesting a "freezing" type of avoidance behavior. This behavior was independent of availability of hiding material. Brain dopaminergic activity increased in telencephalon and decreased in the brain stem following skin extract exposure, again independent of availability of hiding material. However, fish kept in aquaria without hiding material showed an elevation of serotonergic activity in the brain stem and the optic tectum compared to fish with available hiding material. Absence of hiding material increased serotonergic activity also without exposure to skin extract. In aquaria with hiding material, the fish stirred up a cloud of fine sediments and showed a more pronounced decrease in locomotor activity in agreement with this being a more efficient freezing or immobile avoidance behavior. These results show that basic components of avoidance behavior and related brain changes are present in the fish brain, in accordance with the common phylogenetic roots of avoidance behavior in all vertebrates.
Topics: Analysis of Variance; Animals; Avoidance Learning; Behavior, Animal; Biogenic Monoamines; Brain; Brain Chemistry; Carps; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Escape Reaction; Motor Activity; Odorants; Olfactory Pathways; Skin
PubMed: 15680947
DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2004.10.050 -
Hormones and Behavior Feb 2020Adolescence is a developmental period that is associated with physical, cognitive, and affective maturation and a time when sex biases in multiple psychiatric diseases...
Adolescence is a developmental period that is associated with physical, cognitive, and affective maturation and a time when sex biases in multiple psychiatric diseases emerge. While puberty onset marks the initiation of adolescence, it is unclear whether the pubertal rise in gonadal hormones generates sex differences in approach-avoidance behaviors that may impact psychiatric vulnerability. To examine the influence of pubertal development on adult behavior, we removed the gonads or performed sham surgery in male and female mice just prior to puberty onset and assessed performance in an odor-guided foraging task and anxiety-related behaviors in adulthood. We observed no significant sex differences in foraging or anxiety-related behaviors between intact adult male and female mice but found significant differences between adult male and female mice that had been gonadectomized (GDX) prior to puberty onset. GDX males failed to acquire the odor-guided foraging task, showed reduced locomotion, and exhibited increased anxiety-like behavior, while GDX females showed the opposite pattern of behavior. These data suggest that puberty may minimize rather than drive differences in approach-avoidance phenotypes in male and female mice.
Topics: Animals; Anxiety; Avoidance Learning; Behavior, Animal; Castration; Cognition; Exploratory Behavior; Female; Gonadal Hormones; Growth and Development; Locomotion; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Sex Characteristics; Sexual Maturation; Time Factors
PubMed: 31778717
DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.104641 -
The Neuroscientist : a Review Journal... Aug 2023Dysfunction in the prefrontal cortex is commonly implicated in anxiety disorders, but the mechanisms remain unclear. Approach-avoidance conflict tasks have been... (Review)
Review
Dysfunction in the prefrontal cortex is commonly implicated in anxiety disorders, but the mechanisms remain unclear. Approach-avoidance conflict tasks have been extensively used in animal research to better understand how changes in neural activity within the prefrontal cortex contribute to avoidance behaviors, which are believed to play a major role in the maintenance of anxiety disorders. In this article, we first review studies utilizing electrophysiology to reveal the relationship between changes in neural activity and avoidance behavior in rodents. We then review recent studies that take advantage of optical and genetic techniques to test the unique contribution of specific prefrontal cortex circuits and cell types to the control of anxiety-related avoidance behaviors. This new body of work reveals that behavior during approach-avoidance conflict is dynamically modulated by individual cell types, distinct neural pathways, and specific oscillatory frequencies. The integration of these different pathways, particularly as mediated by interactions between excitatory and inhibitory neurons, represents an exciting opportunity for the future of understanding anxiety.
Topics: Animals; Anxiety; Anxiety Disorders; Prefrontal Cortex; Avoidance Learning; Neural Pathways
PubMed: 35086369
DOI: 10.1177/10738584211069071 -
Journal of Psychiatric Research Jul 2017The development of exaggerated avoidance behavior is largely responsible for the decreased quality of life in patients suffering from anxiety disorders. Studies using...
The development of exaggerated avoidance behavior is largely responsible for the decreased quality of life in patients suffering from anxiety disorders. Studies using animal models have contributed to the understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying the acquisition of avoidance responses. However, much less is known about its extinction. Here we provide evidence in mice that learning about the safety of an environment (i.e., safety learning) rather than repeated execution of the avoided response in absence of negative consequences (i.e., response extinction) allowed the animals to overcome their avoidance behavior in a step-down avoidance task. This process was context-dependent and could be blocked by pharmacological (3 mg/kg, s.c.; SR141716) or genetic (lack of cannabinoid CB1 receptors in neurons expressing dopamine D1 receptors) inactivation of CB1 receptors. In turn, the endocannabinoid reuptake inhibitor AM404 (3 mg/kg, i.p.) facilitated safety learning in a CB1-dependent manner and attenuated the relapse of avoidance behavior 28 days after conditioning. Safety learning crucially depended on endocannabinoid signaling at level of the hippocampus, since intrahippocampal SR141716 treatment impaired, whereas AM404 facilitated safety learning. Other than AM404, treatment with diazepam (1 mg/kg, i.p.) impaired safety learning. Drug effects on behavior were directly mirrored by drug effects on evoked activity propagation through the hippocampal trisynaptic circuit in brain slices: As revealed by voltage-sensitive dye imaging, diazepam impaired whereas AM404 facilitated activity propagation to CA1 in a CB1-dependent manner. In line with this, systemic AM404 enhanced safety learning-induced expression of Egr1 at level of CA1. Together, our data render it likely that AM404 promotes safety learning by enhancing information flow through the trisynaptic circuit to CA1.
Topics: Animals; Arachidonic Acids; Avoidance Learning; Cannabinoid Receptor Antagonists; Early Growth Response Protein 1; Extinction, Psychological; Hippocampus; Inhibition, Psychological; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Transgenic; Piperidines; Pyrazoles; Receptor, Cannabinoid, CB1; Rimonabant; Voltage-Sensitive Dye Imaging
PubMed: 28222356
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2017.02.002 -
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of... Mar 2021This study experimentally investigated the determinants of avoidance behavior when participants are forewarned of aversive outcomes. The effects of 3 variables on...
This study experimentally investigated the determinants of avoidance behavior when participants are forewarned of aversive outcomes. The effects of 3 variables on avoidance behavior were examined: point-loss amount (5 levels, from 20 to 100 points), duration of timeout from positive reinforcement (5 levels, 20 to 100 s), and 3 predictive accuracy levels (100%, 50%, and 0%) of warning stimuli. Twelve participants completed 3 sessions, each comprising 25 discrete trials, that differed in predictive accuracy level. Throughout a session, a participant engaged in button press responses that were reinforced by points under a conjunctive fixed-ratio fixed-interval schedule. During each trial, a warning stimulus that indicated a loss amount and a timeout duration was presented. If the participant pressed the avoidance button, then the timeout started, otherwise the loss occurred. The trial ended with termination of timeout or an occurrence of the loss. Results showed that avoidance responses increased when the loss amount increased and decreased when the timeout duration increased. The frequency of avoidance responses was lowest when the predictive accuracy of warning stimuli was 0%. These findings demonstrated that this experimental procedure could be useful for investigating human avoidance behavior outside the laboratory.
Topics: Avoidance Learning; Conditioning, Operant; Humans; Reinforcement Schedule; Reinforcement, Psychology
PubMed: 33331011
DOI: 10.1002/jeab.658 -
Neuroendocrinology Feb 1990The relation between passive avoidance behavior and primary antibody response was studied in rats. The avoidance latency was varied by means of variation of the shock...
The relation between passive avoidance behavior and primary antibody response was studied in rats. The avoidance latency was varied by means of variation of the shock intensity during the learning trial; a higher shock intensity resulted in a longer avoidance latency at the retention test. The avoidance latencies were inversely proportional to the magnitude of the primary antibody response. Neuropeptides, such as [Arg8]-vasopressin (AVP) were shown to potentiate retrieval processes. Administration of 10 ng desglycinamide AVP (DGAVP) 1 h prior to the retention test facilitated passive avoidance behavior (increase in avoidance latency). Conversely i.c.v administration of vasopressin antiserum resulted in attenuation of the avoidance behavior. The effects of altered passive avoidance behavior as a consequence of i.c.v. administration of DGAVP or vasopressin antiserum were studied on the primary antibody response. Again an inversely proportional relationship between the avoidance latency and the magnitude of the primary antibody response was observed. The results show that the immune system can specifically react to graded environmental stimuli. It is hypothesized that vasopressin may be an endogenous mediator determining the outcome of the avoidance behavior and the primary antibody response.
Topics: Animals; Antibody Formation; Arginine Vasopressin; Avoidance Learning; Behavior, Animal; Injections, Intraventricular; Male; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains
PubMed: 2106096
DOI: 10.1159/000125331 -
Nordic Journal of Psychiatry Oct 2018The primary aim of the present explorative naturalistic study was to examine the association of poor insight, avoidance behavior, and not-just-right sensation with...
The importance of insight, avoidance behavior, not-just-right perception and personality traits in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): a naturalistic clinical study.
PURPOSE
The primary aim of the present explorative naturalistic study was to examine the association of poor insight, avoidance behavior, and not-just-right sensation with baseline parameters including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms, baseline severity scores, comorbidity, and personality traits. A second aim was to examine how insight, avoidance and not-just-right sensation influence treatment outcome.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
In total, 317 medical records from children and adolescents with OCD referred to a specialized OCD clinic in Denmark were recorded for baseline parameters and treatment outcome. All information was used.
RESULTS
Avoidance behavior and poor insight were associated with an increased baseline severity, whereas not-just-right perception was not. Avoidance behavior was associated with the contamination/cleaning subtype, and a not-just-right sensation with the hoarding/symmetry subtype. Lower insight and avoidance behavior were associated with comorbid conditions. At post-treatment, not-just-right perception was associated with a risk of relapse, whereas lower insight was negatively associated with gaining remission. Avoidance behavior reduced the probability of remission and increased the number of offered sessions as well as and the likelihood of having SRI prescribed. Different personality traits were associated with treatment outcome.
CONCLUSION
Insight, avoidance behavior, and not-just-right perceptions seem important for baseline severity and post-treatment outcome. Baseline examination should include a systematic description, which could guide treatment. The present study is an explorative study describing a naturalistic clinical population. Therefore, a number of limitations should be taken into consideration when interpreting the results. More systematic studies on the importance of insight, avoidance behavior and not-just-right perceptions are warranted.
Topics: Adolescent; Avoidance Learning; Child; Comorbidity; Denmark; Female; Humans; Male; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder; Perception; Personality; Problem Solving
PubMed: 29993297
DOI: 10.1080/08039488.2018.1486454 -
Behavioral and Brain Functions : BBF May 2017Sex has been considered as a potential factor regulating individual behaviors in different contexts. Recently, findings on sex differences in the neuroendocrine circuit...
BACKGROUND
Sex has been considered as a potential factor regulating individual behaviors in different contexts. Recently, findings on sex differences in the neuroendocrine circuit have expanded due to exact measurements and control of neuronal activity, while findings on sex differences in behavioral phenotypes are limited. One efficient way to determine the miscellaneous aspects of a sexually different behavior is to segment it into a set of simpler responses induced by discrete scenes.
METHODS
In the present study, we conducted a battery of behavioral tests within a variety of unique risky scenes, to determine where and how sex differences arise in responses under those scenes.
RESULTS
A significant sex difference was observed in the avoidance responses measured in the two-way active and the passive avoidance tests. The phenotype observed was higher mobility in male mice and reduced mobility in female mice, and required associative learning between an escapable risk and its predictive cue. This was limited in other scenes where escapable risk or predictive cue or both were missing.
CONCLUSIONS
Taken together, the present study found that the primary sex difference occurs in mobility in the avoidance response after perceiving escapable risks.
Topics: Animals; Avoidance Learning; Behavior, Animal; Conditioning, Classical; Female; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Risk; Sex Characteristics; Sex Factors
PubMed: 28476122
DOI: 10.1186/s12993-017-0126-3 -
The Journal of Pain Apr 2016Pain automatically elicits escape-avoidance behavior to avert bodily harm. In patients with chronic pain, long-term escape-avoidance behavior may increase the risk of...
UNLABELLED
Pain automatically elicits escape-avoidance behavior to avert bodily harm. In patients with chronic pain, long-term escape-avoidance behavior may increase the risk of chronic disability. The aim of the presents study was to examine whether implementation intentions reduce escape-avoidance behavior during painful tasks in healthy individuals. Implementation intentions are "if-then" self-statements associating situational cues with goal-directed behaviors. Seventy healthy participants performed a painful finger pressing task, preceded by either implementation intention instructions with pain or a nonpain cue as a cue for goal-directed behavior, or control instructions. Escape-avoidance behavior was operationalized as task duration and response rate. Inhibitory control was measured using the Stop Signal Task. The pain implementation intentions resulted in the longest task duration (P = .02), and thus less escape-avoidance behavior. Low inhibitory control was associated with shorter task duration (P = .03), and thus more escape-avoidance behavior. The nonpain implementation intentions resulted in the highest response rate, but only when inhibitory control was low (P = .04). Implementation intentions referring to pain or nonpain reduce escape-avoidance behavior on a painful task. It is worthwhile to examine whether individuals in pain and with low inhibitory control benefit from interventions that incorporate implementation intentions.
PERSPECTIVE
To our knowledge, this study is the first to show that forming implementation intentions reduces escape-avoidance behavior during pain and fosters nonpain goal pursuit. The use of implementation intentions is indicated to be an intervention that could be of use in patients with pain, particularly when inhibitory control is low.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Analysis of Variance; Avoidance Learning; Cues; Female; Goals; Healthy Volunteers; Humans; Intention; Male; Middle Aged; Pain; Surveys and Questionnaires; Young Adult
PubMed: 26746152
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2015.12.014