Testing Emotional Vulnerability to Threat in Adults Using a Virtual Reality Paradigm of Fear Associated With Autonomic Variables
Fear and anxiety are generally assessed as responses of prey to high or low levels of threatening environments, fear-conditioned or unconditioned stimuli, or the intensity and distance between predator and prey. Depending on whether a threat is close to or distant from the individual, the individual...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.860447/full |
| _version_ | 1828922325692579840 |
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| author | Marcus L. Brandão Marcus L. Brandão Manoel Jorge Nobre Ruth Estevão |
| author_facet | Marcus L. Brandão Marcus L. Brandão Manoel Jorge Nobre Ruth Estevão |
| author_sort | Marcus L. Brandão |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Fear and anxiety are generally assessed as responses of prey to high or low levels of threatening environments, fear-conditioned or unconditioned stimuli, or the intensity and distance between predator and prey. Depending on whether a threat is close to or distant from the individual, the individual exhibits specific behaviors, such as being quiet (freezing in animals) if the threat is distant or fleeing if the threat is close. In a seminal paper in 2007, Dean Mobbs developed an active prevention virtual reality paradigm (VRP) to study a threat’s spatial imminence using finger shocks. In the present study, we used a modified VRP with a distinctive feature, namely a dynamic threat-of-loud noise paradigm. The results showed a significant reduction in the number of times the subjects were captured in the high predator phase (85 dB) vs. control phases, suggesting that the participants were motivated to avoid the high predator. Concomitant with avoidance behavior, a decrease in respiratory rate and an increase in heart rate characterized the defense reaction. These results demonstrate behavioral and autonomic effects of threat intensity in volunteers during a VRP, revealing a profile of defense reaction that reflects the individual emotional susceptibility to the development of anxiety. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T22:18:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a533128069b542f1ae9f53f5ea2b1bfe |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-0640 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T22:18:29Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-a533128069b542f1ae9f53f5ea2b1bfe2022-12-21T23:29:26ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402022-04-011310.3389/fpsyt.2022.860447860447Testing Emotional Vulnerability to Threat in Adults Using a Virtual Reality Paradigm of Fear Associated With Autonomic VariablesMarcus L. Brandão0Marcus L. Brandão1Manoel Jorge Nobre2Ruth Estevão3Instituto de Neurociências e Comportamento, São Paulo, BrazilNAP-USP-Neurobiology of Emotions Research Centre (NuPNE), Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo (FMRP-USP), São Paulo, BrazilInstituto de Neurociências e Comportamento, São Paulo, BrazilInstituto de Neurociências e Comportamento, São Paulo, BrazilFear and anxiety are generally assessed as responses of prey to high or low levels of threatening environments, fear-conditioned or unconditioned stimuli, or the intensity and distance between predator and prey. Depending on whether a threat is close to or distant from the individual, the individual exhibits specific behaviors, such as being quiet (freezing in animals) if the threat is distant or fleeing if the threat is close. In a seminal paper in 2007, Dean Mobbs developed an active prevention virtual reality paradigm (VRP) to study a threat’s spatial imminence using finger shocks. In the present study, we used a modified VRP with a distinctive feature, namely a dynamic threat-of-loud noise paradigm. The results showed a significant reduction in the number of times the subjects were captured in the high predator phase (85 dB) vs. control phases, suggesting that the participants were motivated to avoid the high predator. Concomitant with avoidance behavior, a decrease in respiratory rate and an increase in heart rate characterized the defense reaction. These results demonstrate behavioral and autonomic effects of threat intensity in volunteers during a VRP, revealing a profile of defense reaction that reflects the individual emotional susceptibility to the development of anxiety.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.860447/fullfearanxietyemotional resilienceaversive stimulidefense reaction |
| spellingShingle | Marcus L. Brandão Marcus L. Brandão Manoel Jorge Nobre Ruth Estevão Testing Emotional Vulnerability to Threat in Adults Using a Virtual Reality Paradigm of Fear Associated With Autonomic Variables Frontiers in Psychiatry fear anxiety emotional resilience aversive stimuli defense reaction |
| title | Testing Emotional Vulnerability to Threat in Adults Using a Virtual Reality Paradigm of Fear Associated With Autonomic Variables |
| title_full | Testing Emotional Vulnerability to Threat in Adults Using a Virtual Reality Paradigm of Fear Associated With Autonomic Variables |
| title_fullStr | Testing Emotional Vulnerability to Threat in Adults Using a Virtual Reality Paradigm of Fear Associated With Autonomic Variables |
| title_full_unstemmed | Testing Emotional Vulnerability to Threat in Adults Using a Virtual Reality Paradigm of Fear Associated With Autonomic Variables |
| title_short | Testing Emotional Vulnerability to Threat in Adults Using a Virtual Reality Paradigm of Fear Associated With Autonomic Variables |
| title_sort | testing emotional vulnerability to threat in adults using a virtual reality paradigm of fear associated with autonomic variables |
| topic | fear anxiety emotional resilience aversive stimuli defense reaction |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.860447/full |
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