Publications

@article{Pan2020,
title = {Social safety learning: Shared safety abolishes the recovery of learned threat},
author = {Y Pan and A Olsson and A Golkar},
doi = {10.1016/j.brat.2020.103733},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-12-01},
journal = {Behaviour Research and Therapy},
volume = {135},
pages = {103733},
abstract = {Humans, like other social animals, learn about threats and safety in the environment through social cues. Yet, the processes that contribute to the efficacy of social safety learning during threat transmission remain unknown. Here, we developed a novel dyadic model of associative threat and extinction learning. In three separate social groups, we manipulated whether safety information during extinction was acquired via direct exposure to the conditioned stimulus (CS) in the presence of another individual (Direct exposure), via observation of other's safety behavior (Vicarious exposure), or via the combination of both (Shared exposure).These groups were contrasted against a fourth group receiving direct CS exposure alone (Asocial exposure). Based on skin conductance responses, we observed that all social groups outperformed asocial learning in inhibiting the recovery of threat, but only Shared exposure abolished threat recovery. These results suggest that social safety learning is optimized by a combination of direct exposure and vicariously transmitted safety signals. This work might help develop exposure therapies used to treat symptoms of threat and anxiety-related disorders to counteract maladaptive fears in humans.},
keywords = {Recovery, Shared safety, Social interaction, Social learning, Threat},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}

@article{P\"{a}rnamets2020,
title = {Physiological synchrony predicts observational threat learning in humans},
author = {P P\"{a}rnamets and L Espinosa and A Olsson},
doi = {10.1098/rspb.2019.2779},
issn = {1471-2954},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-04-25},
journal = {Proceedings of the Royal Society B},
abstract = {Understanding how information about threats in the environment is shared and transmitted between individuals is crucial for explaining adaptive, survival-related behavior in humans and other animals, and for developing treatments for phobias and other anxiety disorders. Research across species has shown that observing a conspecific’s, a “demonstrator’s”, threat responses causes strong and persistent threat memories in the “observer”. Here, we examined if physiological synchrony between demonstrator and observer can serve to predict the strength of observationally acquired conditioned responses. We measured synchrony between demonstrators' and observers' phasic electrodermal signals during learning, which directly reflects autonomic nervous system activity. Prior interpersonal synchrony predicted the strength of the observer's later skin conductance responses to threat predicting stimuli, in the absence of the demonstrator. Dynamic coupling between an observer's and a demonstrator's autonomic nervous system activity may reflect experience sharing processes facilitating the formation of observational threat associations.},
keywords = {Empathy, Fear, Observational learning, Social learning, Synchrony, Threat},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}

@article{Flykt2007,
title = {Skin conductance responses to masked conditioned stimuli: Phylogenetic/ontogenetic factors versus direction of threat?},
author = {A Flykt and F Esteves and A \"{O}hman},
doi = {10.1016/j.biopsycho.2006.08.004},
issn = {03010511},
year = {2007},
date = {2007-03-01},
journal = {Biological Psychology},
volume = {74},
number = {3},
pages = {328--336},
abstract = {Evolutionarily old threat stimuli are likely to require less conscious information processing than threat stimuli of a more recent date. To test this proposal two differential conditioning experiments, with biological threat stimuli (e.g. snakes) in half the groups and cultural threat stimuli (e.g. guns) in the other half, were conducted. The conditioned (CS+) and the control (CS−) stimuli were backward masked during the extinction phase to prevent conscious recognition. The differential skin conductance responding for both biological and cultural threat stimuli survived the masking procedure when the conditioned stimuli were directed towards the participants (Experiment 1), but for neither type of CS when stimuli were not directed towards the participants (Experiment 2). These findings are discussed in relation to the previous finding by \"{O}hman and co-workers and in relation to imminence of threat.},
keywords = {Conditioning, Direction, Guns, Masking, Snakes, Threat},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}

@article{Pan2020,
title = {Social safety learning: Shared safety abolishes the recovery of learned threat},
author = {Y Pan and A Olsson and A Golkar},
doi = {10.1016/j.brat.2020.103733},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-12-01},
journal = {Behaviour Research and Therapy},
volume = {135},
pages = {103733},
abstract = {Humans, like other social animals, learn about threats and safety in the environment through social cues. Yet, the processes that contribute to the efficacy of social safety learning during threat transmission remain unknown. Here, we developed a novel dyadic model of associative threat and extinction learning. In three separate social groups, we manipulated whether safety information during extinction was acquired via direct exposure to the conditioned stimulus (CS) in the presence of another individual (Direct exposure), via observation of other's safety behavior (Vicarious exposure), or via the combination of both (Shared exposure).These groups were contrasted against a fourth group receiving direct CS exposure alone (Asocial exposure). Based on skin conductance responses, we observed that all social groups outperformed asocial learning in inhibiting the recovery of threat, but only Shared exposure abolished threat recovery. These results suggest that social safety learning is optimized by a combination of direct exposure and vicariously transmitted safety signals. This work might help develop exposure therapies used to treat symptoms of threat and anxiety-related disorders to counteract maladaptive fears in humans.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}

@article{P\"{a}rnamets2020,
title = {Physiological synchrony predicts observational threat learning in humans},
author = {P P\"{a}rnamets and L Espinosa and A Olsson},
doi = {10.1098/rspb.2019.2779},
issn = {1471-2954},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-04-25},
journal = {Proceedings of the Royal Society B},
abstract = {Understanding how information about threats in the environment is shared and transmitted between individuals is crucial for explaining adaptive, survival-related behavior in humans and other animals, and for developing treatments for phobias and other anxiety disorders. Research across species has shown that observing a conspecific’s, a “demonstrator’s”, threat responses causes strong and persistent threat memories in the “observer”. Here, we examined if physiological synchrony between demonstrator and observer can serve to predict the strength of observationally acquired conditioned responses. We measured synchrony between demonstrators' and observers' phasic electrodermal signals during learning, which directly reflects autonomic nervous system activity. Prior interpersonal synchrony predicted the strength of the observer's later skin conductance responses to threat predicting stimuli, in the absence of the demonstrator. Dynamic coupling between an observer's and a demonstrator's autonomic nervous system activity may reflect experience sharing processes facilitating the formation of observational threat associations.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}

@article{Flykt2007,
title = {Skin conductance responses to masked conditioned stimuli: Phylogenetic/ontogenetic factors versus direction of threat?},
author = {A Flykt and F Esteves and A \"{O}hman},
doi = {10.1016/j.biopsycho.2006.08.004},
issn = {03010511},
year = {2007},
date = {2007-03-01},
journal = {Biological Psychology},
volume = {74},
number = {3},
pages = {328--336},
abstract = {Evolutionarily old threat stimuli are likely to require less conscious information processing than threat stimuli of a more recent date. To test this proposal two differential conditioning experiments, with biological threat stimuli (e.g. snakes) in half the groups and cultural threat stimuli (e.g. guns) in the other half, were conducted. The conditioned (CS+) and the control (CS−) stimuli were backward masked during the extinction phase to prevent conscious recognition. The differential skin conductance responding for both biological and cultural threat stimuli survived the masking procedure when the conditioned stimuli were directed towards the participants (Experiment 1), but for neither type of CS when stimuli were not directed towards the participants (Experiment 2). These findings are discussed in relation to the previous finding by \"{O}hman and co-workers and in relation to imminence of threat.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}