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Modulation of sustained fear by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the right inferior frontal cortex (rIFC)
- Source :
- Biological psychology. 139
- Publication Year :
- 2017
-
Abstract
- Downregulation of emotional responses to threat is strongly associated with frontal cortex functions. Additionally pathological anxiety has been proposed to be associated with the altered frontal control. Understanding the frontal regulation of both initial and sustained fear responses seems to be crucial for further research on the treatment of anxiety disorders. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the right inferior frontal cortex (rIFC) on the subjects' psychophysiological responses as measured by skin conductance reaction (SCR) during a sustained threat paradigm. 80 participants were randomly assigned to an anodal and sham stimulation group in a double-blinded manner. Indicated by visual cues, participants anticipated the temporally unpredictable occurrence of aversive or neutral auditory stimuli. We found a significant interaction effect of condition x tDCS for SCR during the sustained threat. Post-hoc tests revealed a significant reduction in SCR during sustained fear in verum stimulated group. The results confirm that tDCS of the rIFC attenuates sustained fear. This supports the suggested role of the rIFC in psychophysiological emotional regulation and the potential use of tDCS to enhance these effects.
- Subjects :
- Adult
Male
Frontal cortex
Right inferior
medicine.medical_treatment
Prefrontal Cortex
Stimulation
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
behavioral disciplines and activities
050105 experimental psychology
03 medical and health sciences
Young Adult
0302 clinical medicine
medicine
Humans
0501 psychology and cognitive sciences
Sensory cue
Transcranial direct-current stimulation
business.industry
General Neuroscience
05 social sciences
Emotional regulation
Fear
Galvanic Skin Response
Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
Anxiety
Female
medicine.symptom
business
Skin conductance
Neuroscience
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 18736246
- Volume :
- 139
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Biological psychology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....34e444b9817efde4f6c8bbe1af0136d9