Michael Treanor

Treatment for Anhedonia: A Neuroscience Driven Approach.

Anhedonia, or loss of interest or pleasure in usual activities, is characteristic of depression, some types of anxiety, as well as substance abuse and schizophrenia. Anhedonia is a predictor of poor long‐term outcomes, including suicide, and poor treatment response. Because extant psychological and pharmacological treatments are relatively ineffective for anhedonia, there is an unmet therapeutic need for this high‐risk symptom. Current psychological and drug treatments for anxiety and depression focus largely on reducing excesses in negative affect rather than improving deficits in positive affect. Recent advances in affective neuroscience posit that anhedonia is associated with deficits in the appetitive reward system, specifically the anticipation, consumption, and learning of reward. In this paper, we review the evidence for positive affect as a symptom cluster, and its neural underpinnings, and introduce a novel psychological treatment for anxiety and depression that targets appetitive responding. First, we review anhedonia in relation to positive and negative valence systems and current treatment approaches. Second, we discuss the evidence linking anhedonia to biological, experiential, and behavioral deficits in the reward subsystems. Third, we describe the therapeutic approach for Positive Affect Treatment (PAT), an intervention designed to specifically target deficits in reward sensitivity.

Can Memories of Traumatic Experiences or Addiction Be Erased or Modified? A Critical Review of Research on the Disruption of Memory Reconsolidation and Its Applications

Recent research suggests that the mere act of retrieving a memory can temporarily make that memory vulnerable to disruption. This process of “reconsolidation” will typically restabilize the neural representation of the memory and foster its long-term storage. However, the process of reconsolidating the memory takes time to complete, and during this limited time window, the original memory may be modified either by the presentation of new information or with pharmacological agents. Such findings have prompted rising interest in using disruption during reconsolidation as a clinical intervention for anxiety, posttraumatic stress, and substance use disorders. However, “boundary conditions” on memory reconsolidation may pose significant obstacles to clinical translation. The aim of this article is to critically examine the nature of these boundary conditions, their neurobiological substrates, and the potential effect they may have on disruption of reconsolidation as a clinical intervention. These boundary conditions also highlight potential constraints on the reconsolidation phenomenon and suggest a limited role for memory updating consistent with evolutionary accounts of associative learning for threat and reward. We conclude with suggestions for future research needed to elucidate the precise conditions under which reconsolidation disruption may be clinically useful.

Extinction theory & anorexia nervosa: Deepening therapeutic mechanisms.

By virtue of adopting the core symptomatic fear (i.e., a fear of weight gain) as a primary treatment target, the treatment of AN centrally involves exposure-driven processes. However, exposure trials targeting the fear of weight gain in AN have been sparse, yielding mixed results to date. In translating extinction theory to the treatment of AN, it is likely that the absence of a clear distinction between what constitutes the core feared cue and the core feared outcome has stymied the application of exposure treatments in AN. This review considers several configurations of the core fear association in AN, noting distinct therapeutic strategies which may allow for more precise efforts in violating fear-based expectancies. Specific guidance is offered in the clinical decision making process as to which strategies might best promote inhibitory learning, and a clinical case is discussed, in which treatment was adjusted to specifically violate the core underlying fear association.

Treatment of avoidance behavior as an adjunct to exposure therapy: Insights from modern learning theory

Pathological avoidance of benign stimuli is a hallmark of anxiety and related disorders, and exposure-based treatments have often encouraged the removal of avoidance, or safety behaviors, due to their negative effects on extinction learning. Unfortunately, empirical evidence suggests that avoidance behaviors can persist following treatment, and the mere availability of avoidance behavior can be sufficient to renew fear following successful extinction learning. The present paper critically examines the function of avoidance behavior through the lens of modern learning theory, and speculates on novel behavioral and pharmacological strategies for targeting avoidance as an adjunct to current evidence-based treatments.

Discrimination between safe and unsafe stimuli mediates the relationship between trait anxiety and return of fear

ABSTRACT Individuals with anxiety disorders show deficits in the discrimination between a cue that predicts an aversive outcome and a safe stimulus that predicts the absence of that outcome. This impairment has been linked to increased spontaneous recovery of fear following extinction, however it is unknown if there is a link between discrimination and return of fear in a novel context (i.e. context renewal). It is also unknown if impaired discrimination mediates the relationship between trait anxiety and either spontaneous recovery or context renewal. The present study used a differential fear conditioning paradigm to examine the relationships between trait anxiety, discrimination learning, spontaneous recovery and context renewal in healthy volunteers. Fear learning was assessed using continuous ratings of US expectancy and subjective ratings of fear. Discrimination mediated the relationships between trait anxiety and both spontaneous recovery and context renewal such that elevated trait anxiety was associated with poorer discrimination, which in turn was associated with increased fear at test phases. Results are discussed in terms of the genesis and maintenance of anxiety disorders.

The role of associative fear and avoidance learning in anxiety disorders: Gaps and directions for future research

HIGHLIGHTSReview demonstrating the role of fear acquisition, generalization, extinction, return, and avoidance learning for anxiety disorders.Basic research needs to target distinct mechanism such as extinction (generalization) and avoidance.Basic research needs to target individual differences pertinent to anxiety disorders such as comorbid depression, age, and sex.Basic research needs to target paradigms involving ambiguity and conflict.Clinical translation studies are needed to validate basic research strategies aiming at treatment optimization. ABSTRACT Anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorders and are often chronic and disabling. Although exposure‐based treatments are effective, a substantial number of individuals fail to fully remit or experience a return of symptoms after treatment. Understanding the critical processes underlying the development and treatment of anxiety disorders will help identify individuals at risk and optimize treatments. Aversive associative learning offers explanatory pathways through which fear and anxiety emerge, spread, persist, and resurge. This narrative review examines the advances made in our understanding of associative fear and avoidance learning in anxiety disorders. Overall, the extant literature supports a key role of aversive associative learning in the development and treatment of anxiety disorders. However, research targeting specific mechanisms such as extinction generalization and avoidance, the fragility of extinction, and moderating influences of individual differences pertinent to anxiety disorders (e.g., age, sex, depression) is needed. We discuss the need for more ecological valid and complex paradigms to model ambiguity and conflict as well as for clinical translation studies to optimize treatment.

Optimierung expositionsbasierter Therapie@@@Maximizing exposure therapy: Ein Ansatz des inhibitorischen Lernens@@@An inhibitory learning approach

ZusammenfassungExposition ist eine wirksame Behandlung bei Angststörungen, jedoch zeigt eine substanzielle Anzahl von Klienten keine signifikante Symptomreduktion oder ein Wiederkehren der Angst. Es wird angenommen, dass ängstliche Personen Defizite in grundlegenden Mechanismen der Expositionstherapie, wie dem inhibitorischen Lernen, aufweisen. Ein gezieltes Ansprechen dieser Defizite könnte demnach die Wirksamkeit von Exposition optimieren. Allerdings fehlen bisher Vorschläge zur konkreten Umsetzung in der Praxis. Dieser Beitrag verdeutlicht anhand verschiedener Strategien, wie das Modell zur Optimierung der Behandlung von Angststörungen praktisch umsetzbar ist. Die vorgeschlagenen Strategien unterscheiden sich hierbei von einem reinen habituationsbasierten Ansatz oder kognitiven Ansätzen zur Widerlegung von Überzeugungen. Die Strategien umfassen: 1) das Widerlegen angstbezogener Erwartungen, 2) vertiefte Extinktion, 3) Extinktion mit gelegentlicher Verstärkung, 4) Entfernen von Sicherheitssignalen, 5) Variabilität, 6) Erinnerungsreize, 7) multiple Kontexte und 8) affektives Labeling. Durch Fallbeispiele wird die Anwendung dieser Strategien bei verschiedenen Angststörungen illustriert.AbstractExposure is an effective approach for treating anxiety disorders, although a substantial number of individuals fail to benefit or experience a return of fear. Research results suggest that anxious individuals show deficits in the mechanisms underlying exposure therapy, such as inhibitory learning. Targeting these processes may help improve the efficacy of exposure; however, there has been little discussion of how to implement this model in clinical practice. The primary aim of this paper is to provide examples to clinicians for how to apply this model to optimize exposure therapy, in ways that distinguish it from a fear habituation approach and a belief disconfirmation approach. Optimization strategies include (1) expectancy violation, (2) deepened extinction, (3) occasional reinforced extinction, (4) removal of safety signals, (5) variability, (6) retrieval cues, (7) multiple contexts and (8) affect labeling. Case studies illustrate methods of applying these techniques with a variety of anxiety disorders.

Maximizing exposure therapy An inhibitory learning approach

ZusammenfassungExposition ist eine wirksame Behandlung bei Angststörungen, jedoch zeigt eine substanzielle Anzahl von Klienten keine signifikante Symptomreduktion oder ein Wiederkehren der Angst. Es wird angenommen, dass ängstliche Personen Defizite in grundlegenden Mechanismen der Expositionstherapie, wie dem inhibitorischen Lernen, aufweisen. Ein gezieltes Ansprechen dieser Defizite könnte demnach die Wirksamkeit von Exposition optimieren. Allerdings fehlen bisher Vorschläge zur konkreten Umsetzung in der Praxis. Dieser Beitrag verdeutlicht anhand verschiedener Strategien, wie das Modell zur Optimierung der Behandlung von Angststörungen praktisch umsetzbar ist. Die vorgeschlagenen Strategien unterscheiden sich hierbei von einem reinen habituationsbasierten Ansatz oder kognitiven Ansätzen zur Widerlegung von Überzeugungen. Die Strategien umfassen: 1) das Widerlegen angstbezogener Erwartungen, 2) vertiefte Extinktion, 3) Extinktion mit gelegentlicher Verstärkung, 4) Entfernen von Sicherheitssignalen, 5) Variabilität, 6) Erinnerungsreize, 7) multiple Kontexte und 8) affektives Labeling. Durch Fallbeispiele wird die Anwendung dieser Strategien bei verschiedenen Angststörungen illustriert.AbstractExposure is an effective approach for treating anxiety disorders, although a substantial number of individuals fail to benefit or experience a return of fear. Research results suggest that anxious individuals show deficits in the mechanisms underlying exposure therapy, such as inhibitory learning. Targeting these processes may help improve the efficacy of exposure; however, there has been little discussion of how to implement this model in clinical practice. The primary aim of this paper is to provide examples to clinicians for how to apply this model to optimize exposure therapy, in ways that distinguish it from a fear habituation approach and a belief disconfirmation approach. Optimization strategies include (1) expectancy violation, (2) deepened extinction, (3) occasional reinforced extinction, (4) removal of safety signals, (5) variability, (6) retrieval cues, (7) multiple contexts and (8) affect labeling. Case studies illustrate methods of applying these techniques with a variety of anxiety disorders.