Publications

@article{Haaker2021,
title = {Observation of others’ threat reactions recovers memories previously shaped by firsthand experiences},
author = {J Haaker and L Diaz-Mataix and G Guillazo-Blanch and S A Stark and L Kern and J LeDoux and A Olsson},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2101290118},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-07-27},
journal = {PNAS},
volume = {118},
number = {30},
abstract = {Information about dangers can spread effectively by observation of others’ threat responses. Yet, it is unclear if such observational threat information interacts with associative memories that are shaped by the individual’s direct, firsthand experiences. Here, we show in humans and rats that the mere observation of a conspecific’s threat reactions reinstates previously learned and extinguished threat responses in the observer. In two experiments, human participants displayed elevated physiological responses to threat-conditioned cues after observational reinstatement in a context-specific manner. The elevation of physiological responses (arousal) was further specific to the context that was observed as dangerous. An analogous experiment in rats provided converging results by demonstrating reinstatement of defensive behavior after observing another rat’s threat reactions. Taken together, our findings provide cross-species evidence that observation of others’ threat reactions can recover associations previously shaped by direct, firsthand aversive experiences. Our study offers a perspective on how retrieval of threat memories draws from associative mechanisms that might underlie both observations of others’ and firsthand experiences.},
keywords = {reinstatment, Social learning, threat conditioning, Vicarious learning},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}

@article{Golkar2016,
title = {Neural signals of vicarious extinction learning},
author = {A Golkar and J Haaker and I Selbing and A Olsson},
url = {http://www.emotionlab.se/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Armita_SCAN_authorscopy.pdf},
doi = {10.1093/scan/nsw068},
year = {2016},
date = {2016-02-13},
journal = {Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience},
volume = {11},
number = {10},
pages = {1541-1549},
abstract = {Social transmission of both threat and safety is ubiquitous, but little is known about the neural circuitry underlying vicarious safety learning. This is surprising given that these processes are critical to flexibly adapt to a changeable environment. To address how the expression of previously learned fears can be modified by the transmission of social information, two conditioned stimuli (CS + s) were paired with shock and the third was not. During extinction, we held constant the amount of direct, non-reinforced, exposure to the CSs (i.e. direct extinction), and critically varied whether another individual-acting as a demonstrator-experienced safety (CS + vic safety) or aversive reinforcement (CS + vic reinf). During extinction, ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) responses to the CS + vic reinf increased but decreased to the CS + vic safety This pattern of vmPFC activity was reversed during a subsequent fear reinstatement test, suggesting a temporal shift in the involvement of the vmPFC. Moreover, only the CS + vic reinf association recovered. Our data suggest that vicarious extinction prevents the return of conditioned fear responses, and that this efficacy is reflected by diminished vmPFC involvement during extinction learning. The present findings may have important implications for understanding how social information influences the persistence of fear memories in individuals suffering from emotional disorders.},
keywords = {Amygdala, Extinction, Obsfear procedure, Social learning, Vicarious learning, vmPFC},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}

@article{Golkar2013,
title = {Other people as means to a safe end},
author = {A Golkar and I Selbing and O Flygare and A \"{O}hman and A Olsson},
url = {http://www.emotionlab.se/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Golkar2013.pdf},
doi = {10.1177/0956797613489890},
year = {2013},
date = {2013-09-10},
journal = {Psychological Science},
volume = {24},
number = {11},
pages = {2182-2190},
abstract = {Information about what is dangerous and safe in the environment is often transferred from other individuals through social forms of learning, such as observation. Past research has focused on the observational, or vicarious, acquisition of fears, but little is known about how social information can promote safety learning. To address this issue, we studied the effects of vicarious-extinction learning on the recovery of conditioned fear. Compared with a standard extinction procedure, vicarious extinction promoted better extinction and effectively blocked the return of previously learned fear. We confirmed that these effects could not be attributed to the presence of a learning model per se but were specifically driven by the model’s experience of safety. Our results confirm that vicarious and direct emotional learning share important characteristics but that social-safety information promotes superior down-regulation of learned fear. These findings have implications for emotional learning, social-affective processes, and clinical practice.},
keywords = {Emotion, Extinction, Fear, Learning, Observational learning, Obsfear procedure, Reinstatement, Social cognition, Vicarious learning},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}

@article{Haaker2021,
title = {Observation of others’ threat reactions recovers memories previously shaped by firsthand experiences},
author = {J Haaker and L Diaz-Mataix and G Guillazo-Blanch and S A Stark and L Kern and J LeDoux and A Olsson},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2101290118},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-07-27},
journal = {PNAS},
volume = {118},
number = {30},
abstract = {Information about dangers can spread effectively by observation of others’ threat responses. Yet, it is unclear if such observational threat information interacts with associative memories that are shaped by the individual’s direct, firsthand experiences. Here, we show in humans and rats that the mere observation of a conspecific’s threat reactions reinstates previously learned and extinguished threat responses in the observer. In two experiments, human participants displayed elevated physiological responses to threat-conditioned cues after observational reinstatement in a context-specific manner. The elevation of physiological responses (arousal) was further specific to the context that was observed as dangerous. An analogous experiment in rats provided converging results by demonstrating reinstatement of defensive behavior after observing another rat’s threat reactions. Taken together, our findings provide cross-species evidence that observation of others’ threat reactions can recover associations previously shaped by direct, firsthand aversive experiences. Our study offers a perspective on how retrieval of threat memories draws from associative mechanisms that might underlie both observations of others’ and firsthand experiences.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}

@article{Golkar2016,
title = {Neural signals of vicarious extinction learning},
author = {A Golkar and J Haaker and I Selbing and A Olsson},
url = {http://www.emotionlab.se/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Armita_SCAN_authorscopy.pdf},
doi = {10.1093/scan/nsw068},
year = {2016},
date = {2016-02-13},
journal = {Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience},
volume = {11},
number = {10},
pages = {1541-1549},
abstract = {Social transmission of both threat and safety is ubiquitous, but little is known about the neural circuitry underlying vicarious safety learning. This is surprising given that these processes are critical to flexibly adapt to a changeable environment. To address how the expression of previously learned fears can be modified by the transmission of social information, two conditioned stimuli (CS + s) were paired with shock and the third was not. During extinction, we held constant the amount of direct, non-reinforced, exposure to the CSs (i.e. direct extinction), and critically varied whether another individual-acting as a demonstrator-experienced safety (CS + vic safety) or aversive reinforcement (CS + vic reinf). During extinction, ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) responses to the CS + vic reinf increased but decreased to the CS + vic safety This pattern of vmPFC activity was reversed during a subsequent fear reinstatement test, suggesting a temporal shift in the involvement of the vmPFC. Moreover, only the CS + vic reinf association recovered. Our data suggest that vicarious extinction prevents the return of conditioned fear responses, and that this efficacy is reflected by diminished vmPFC involvement during extinction learning. The present findings may have important implications for understanding how social information influences the persistence of fear memories in individuals suffering from emotional disorders.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}

@article{Golkar2013,
title = {Other people as means to a safe end},
author = {A Golkar and I Selbing and O Flygare and A \"{O}hman and A Olsson},
url = {http://www.emotionlab.se/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Golkar2013.pdf},
doi = {10.1177/0956797613489890},
year = {2013},
date = {2013-09-10},
journal = {Psychological Science},
volume = {24},
number = {11},
pages = {2182-2190},
abstract = {Information about what is dangerous and safe in the environment is often transferred from other individuals through social forms of learning, such as observation. Past research has focused on the observational, or vicarious, acquisition of fears, but little is known about how social information can promote safety learning. To address this issue, we studied the effects of vicarious-extinction learning on the recovery of conditioned fear. Compared with a standard extinction procedure, vicarious extinction promoted better extinction and effectively blocked the return of previously learned fear. We confirmed that these effects could not be attributed to the presence of a learning model per se but were specifically driven by the model’s experience of safety. Our results confirm that vicarious and direct emotional learning share important characteristics but that social-safety information promotes superior down-regulation of learned fear. These findings have implications for emotional learning, social-affective processes, and clinical practice.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}