Learning which stimuli or events may signal harm is crucial for survival. Through classical conditioning, neutral stimuli can gain emotional significance, becoming cues for potential threats in a process known as fear conditioning. Importantly, fear conditioning can occur not only through direct experience but also vicariously, by observing others’ expressions of pain. This study investigates the role of motor and autonomic systems in vicarious fear conditioning. While autonomic expression is often measured through skin conductance responses in social fear learning, the role of the motor system remains largely unexplored. Here, participants watched videos where a colored dot (the conditioned stimulus, CS+) was paired with an electric shock, causing the observed individual to display pain via facial expression. Another dot (CS-) was not followed by a shock, and no pain was expressed. In a subsequent experimental phase, only the colored dots were presented to test participants' learned fear responses. Participants rated the CS+ as more unpleasant and expected a shock significantly more often than for the CS-. Motor system involvement was assessed by measuring corticospinal excitability via motor-evoked potentials (MEP) elicited through transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the left primary motor cortex. Unlike the motor system, which did not differentiate between stimuli, electrodermal activity showed heightened arousal for the CS+ than the CS-. These findings suggest that while skin conductance response reliably indicates anticipation of pain in vicarious fear conditioning, the role of the motor system in socially transmitted fear requires further exploration.

Learning which stimuli or events may signal harm is crucial for survival. Through classical conditioning, neutral stimuli can gain emotional significance, becoming cues for potential threats in a process known as fear conditioning. Importantly, fear conditioning can occur not only through direct experience but also vicariously, by observing others’ expressions of pain. This study investigates the role of motor and autonomic systems in vicarious fear conditioning. While autonomic expression is often measured through skin conductance responses in social fear learning, the role of the motor system remains largely unexplored. Here, participants watched videos where a colored dot (the conditioned stimulus, CS+) was paired with an electric shock, causing the observed individual to display pain via facial expression. Another dot (CS-) was not followed by a shock, and no pain was expressed. In a subsequent experimental phase, only the colored dots were presented to test participants' learned fear responses. Participants rated the CS+ as more unpleasant and expected a shock significantly more often than for the CS-. Motor system involvement was assessed by measuring corticospinal excitability via motor-evoked potentials (MEP) elicited through transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the left primary motor cortex. Unlike the motor system, which did not differentiate between stimuli, electrodermal activity showed heightened arousal for the CS+ than the CS-. These findings suggest that while skin conductance response reliably indicates anticipation of pain in vicarious fear conditioning, the role of the motor system in socially transmitted fear requires further exploration.

Vicarious fear conditioning: An investigation into the role of the motor system

DEMIRAL, ECEM NUR
2023/2024

Abstract

Learning which stimuli or events may signal harm is crucial for survival. Through classical conditioning, neutral stimuli can gain emotional significance, becoming cues for potential threats in a process known as fear conditioning. Importantly, fear conditioning can occur not only through direct experience but also vicariously, by observing others’ expressions of pain. This study investigates the role of motor and autonomic systems in vicarious fear conditioning. While autonomic expression is often measured through skin conductance responses in social fear learning, the role of the motor system remains largely unexplored. Here, participants watched videos where a colored dot (the conditioned stimulus, CS+) was paired with an electric shock, causing the observed individual to display pain via facial expression. Another dot (CS-) was not followed by a shock, and no pain was expressed. In a subsequent experimental phase, only the colored dots were presented to test participants' learned fear responses. Participants rated the CS+ as more unpleasant and expected a shock significantly more often than for the CS-. Motor system involvement was assessed by measuring corticospinal excitability via motor-evoked potentials (MEP) elicited through transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the left primary motor cortex. Unlike the motor system, which did not differentiate between stimuli, electrodermal activity showed heightened arousal for the CS+ than the CS-. These findings suggest that while skin conductance response reliably indicates anticipation of pain in vicarious fear conditioning, the role of the motor system in socially transmitted fear requires further exploration.
2023
Vicarious fear conditioning: An investigation into the role of the motor system
Learning which stimuli or events may signal harm is crucial for survival. Through classical conditioning, neutral stimuli can gain emotional significance, becoming cues for potential threats in a process known as fear conditioning. Importantly, fear conditioning can occur not only through direct experience but also vicariously, by observing others’ expressions of pain. This study investigates the role of motor and autonomic systems in vicarious fear conditioning. While autonomic expression is often measured through skin conductance responses in social fear learning, the role of the motor system remains largely unexplored. Here, participants watched videos where a colored dot (the conditioned stimulus, CS+) was paired with an electric shock, causing the observed individual to display pain via facial expression. Another dot (CS-) was not followed by a shock, and no pain was expressed. In a subsequent experimental phase, only the colored dots were presented to test participants' learned fear responses. Participants rated the CS+ as more unpleasant and expected a shock significantly more often than for the CS-. Motor system involvement was assessed by measuring corticospinal excitability via motor-evoked potentials (MEP) elicited through transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the left primary motor cortex. Unlike the motor system, which did not differentiate between stimuli, electrodermal activity showed heightened arousal for the CS+ than the CS-. These findings suggest that while skin conductance response reliably indicates anticipation of pain in vicarious fear conditioning, the role of the motor system in socially transmitted fear requires further exploration.
Vicarious pain
Threat conditioning
TMS
MEP
SCR
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12608/79613