Estudos sobre extinção do condicionamento Pavloviano envolvendo estímulos aversivos (condicionamento de medo) são considerados como análogos experimentais das terapias por exposição, nas quais pacientes são confrontados com situações temidas (porém seguras) com o objetivo de reduzir respostas de medo. Nos experimentos sobre extinção, estímulos que eliciam respostas condicionais (estímulos condicionais, CSs) por terem sido previamente associados a estímulos aversivos incondicionais (estímulos incondicionais, US) são apresentados repetidamente na ausência do US. Como resultado, as respostas condicionais de medo diminuem. Um desafio nessa área é sustentar a redução do medo a longo prazo, visto que o retorno de respostas condicionais (retorno do medo) é comumente observado no laboratório e na clínica. Estudos recentes conseguiram impedir o retorno do medo por meio da extinção pós-recuperação (post-retrieval extinction, PRE), procedimento que consiste em extinção após a apresentação de um estímulo que estava presente durante o condicionamento (retrieval cue). Contudo, tentativas de replicação desse procedimento geraram resultados conflitantes. O objetivo desta tese é contribuir para o debate sobre as variáveis envolvidas no retorno do medo com o uso da PRE em humanos. Um experimento foi conduzido para verificar se o comportamento verbal emitido pelos participantes durante a PRE pode mudar a probabilidade de retorno do medo. Participantes adultos (n=57) foram submetidos a condicionamento Pavloviano diferencial no qual uma fotografia de uma face humana (CS+) foi pareada a um estímulo elétrico leve (US), enquanto que outra fotografia de face humana nunca foi pareada ao US. No dia seguinte, os participantes foram alocados em um de três grupos (n=19): Experimental atividade verbal relacionada (Exp R), Experimental atividade verbal não-relacionada (Exp N) e Controle. Todos os grupos passaram por extinção, mas para os grupos experimentais, esse procedimento foi antecedido em 10 min por uma pista (retrieval cue) que consistia na apresentação não-reforçada dos CSs. Durante o intervalo entre essa pista e a extinção, os participantes do grupo Exp R se engajaram numa atividade na qual tinham que fazer verbalizações relacionadas às contingências experimentais, enquanto que os participantes do grupo Exp N tinham que fazer verbalizações que não estavam relacionadas às contingências experimentais. O grupo controle foi submetido à extinção tradicional (sem apresentação de pista ou 10 min de intervalo antes da extinção). No terceiro dia, todos os participantes passaram por um teste que consistia em quatro apresentações do US seguidas de extinção (teste de restabelecimento). As respostas de condutância da pele frente ao CS e ao US foram usadas como medidas das respostas condicionais e incondicionais, respectivamente. Retorno do medo, medido pelo responder diferencial (discriminação entre CS+ e CS-) no teste, estava presente no grupo controle e em menor grau no grupo Exp R. Em comparação, sujeitos do grupo Exp N não apresentaram responder diferencial em função de diminuição nas respostas frente ao CS+ e aumento nas respostas frente ao CS-. Este estudo mostra que o comportamento verbal pode mudar os efeitos da PRE, o que tem implicações para a sua adaptação para uso clínico / Studies on extinction of Pavlovian conditioning involving aversive stimuli (fear conditioning) have been considered experimental analogues of exposure treatments in which patients are confronted with feared but safe situations in order to reduce fear responses. In extinction experiments, stimuli that elicit conditioned fear responses (conditioned stimuli, CS) because they have been previously associated with aversive stimuli (unconditioned stimuli, US) are repeatedly presented in the absence of the US. As a result, conditioned fear responses tend to diminish. The challenge in this area is how to maintain fear reduction in the long term, as return of conditioned fear responses (return of fear) is commonly observed in laboratory and clinical settings. Recent studies were able to prevent return of fear by means of post-retrieval extinction (PRE), a procedure consisting of extinction after the presentation of a stimulus that was present during conditioning (retrieval cue). However, replications of this procedure have yielded mixed results. With this thesis, I attempted to contribute to the debate on the variables that determine the probability of return of fear after PRE in humans. An experiment was conducted to test if verbal behavior emitted by participants during PRE can change the probability of return of fear. Adult participants (n=57) underwent differential Pavlovian conditioning in which one photograph of a human face (CS+) was paired with a mild electrical stimulus (US), whereas another photograph of human face was not paired with the US. On the next day, participants were designated to one of three groups (n=19): Experimental related verbal activity (Exp R), Experimental non-related verbal activity (Exp N), and Control. All groups underwent extinction but for experimental groups, a retrieval cue consisting of a single unreinforced presentation of the CSs was carried out 10-min prior to extinction. During the interval between retrieval cue and extinction, participants from the Exp R group were required to engage in an activity directing their overt verbal behavior towards the experimental contingencies, whereas participants from the Exp N group were required to engage in an activity directing their overt verbal behavior away from the experimental contingencies. Control group underwent a standard extinction procedure (no retrieval cue or 10-min interval prior to extinction). On a third day, all participants underwent a test consisting of four presentations of the US alone followed by extinction (reinstatement test). Skin conductance responses to the presentations of the CSs and US were used as the dependent measure of conditioned and unconditioned responses, respectively. Return of fear, as measured through differential responding (discrimination between CS+ and CS-), was present in subjects from the control group and to a lesser extent in subjects from the Exp R group. In contrast, differential responding was abolished in subjects from the Exp N group, a result that was dependent both on decrease in responses to the CS+ as well as increase in responses to the CS-. This study shows that verbal behavior might change the effects of PRE, which can have implication for its adaptation for treating pathological fear

Background: Fluent speakers and people who stutter manifest alterations in autonomic and emotional responses as they view stuttered relative to fluent speech samples. These reactions are indicative of an aroused autonomic state and are hypothesized to be triggered by the abrupt breakdown in fluency exemplified in stuttered speech. Furthermore, these reactions are assumed to be the basis for the stereotypes held by different communicative partners towards people who stutter. Aims: To examine the autonomic and emotional reactions of graduate student clinicians in speech–language pathology as they viewed fluent and severe stuttered speech samples. Methods & Procedures: Twenty-one female graduate student clinicians in speech–language pathology participated in this study. Each participant viewed four 30-s video samples (two fluent and two stuttered speech samples) while their autonomic responses (skin conductance response (SCR) and heart rate (HR)) were concurrently captured. Furthermore, emotional responses to stuttered and fluent speech samples were captured using the self-assessment manikin (SAM) and a rating scale with nine bipolar adjectives reflecting one's feelings. Outcomes & Results: An increase in SCR and deceleration in HR was observed as graduate clinicians viewed stuttered speech samples versus fluent speech samples and the differences were statistically significant. In addition, results from the self-rating scales showed that participants had negative feelings (e.g., emotionally aroused, unpleasant, embarrassed, uncomfortable, etc.) while viewing stuttered speech. Conclusions & Implications: Findings suggest that graduate student clinicians in speech–language pathology demonstrated altered autonomic and emotional responses similar to those manifested by fluent and stuttered speakers as they viewed stuttered speech samples. Collectively, these findings support the contention that the inherent nature of stuttered speech triggers a visceral reaction in a listener, irrespective of their background and knowledge about the disorder.

L’oxaliplatine (OXA) est un anticancéreux couramment employé en oncologie, son efficacité étant reconnue en première ligne dans le traitement de nombreux cancers. Cependant, son utilisation est limitée par l’apparition de neuropathies impactant la qualité de vie du patient. Pour identifier et étudier des marqueurs cliniques, plasmatiques et électrochimiques de neuropathie chronique induite par l’oxaliplatine (NPIO), deux études pilotes (LIPIDOXA et CANALOXA) ont été réalisées. Les patients de l’étude LIPIDOXA ont été inclus avant traitement par OXA et ont été évalués avant traitement, tout au long du traitement et six mois après l’arrêt. Entre mai 2014 et juin 2016, 35 patients ont été inclus. L’apparition d’une hypoesthésie thermique a été mise en évidence six mois après arrêt de l’OXA, révélateur d’un processus neurotoxique qui se poursuit même après l’arrêt du traitement. L’étude des marqueurs plasmatiques a révélé, en fin de traitement, une augmentation de la production de prostaglandines E2, un niveau moins élevé de stress oxydant chez les patients souffrant d’une neuropathie de grade 2 ainsi qu’une diminution de la concentration des triglycérides polyinsaturés associée à une tendance à l’augmentation des acides gras libres polyinsaturés. Les patients de l’étude CANALOXA, tous neuropathiques, ont été inclus en cours de traitement par OXA et évalués une seule fois. Entre avril 2016 et mars 2017, 36 patients ont été inclus. Les valeurs des conductances électrochimiques de la peau (ESC) étaient pathologiques pour un tiers des patients. Les valeurs d’ESC étaient bien corrélées avec le score de douleur neuropathique.Ces marqueurs sont cependant peu spécifiques et semblent d’apparition tardive. Aussi, ils sont difficilement utilisables en pratique clinique pour un éventuel suivi de la tolérance neurologique au traitement. Au-delà de l’apport clinique et thérapeutique modéré, ce travail renforce la compréhension de la physiopathologie de la NPIO dans le domaine de la neuropathie à petites fibres, les processus inflammatoires associés et la perturbation du métabolisme lipidique chez le patient traité par oxaliplatine.La complémentarité et les similarités de ces travaux rappellent que la prise en charge du patient doit être globale et conjuguer des éléments variés au sein desquels le patient doit rester au cœur de la gestion de la NPIO. Ce projet de recherche s’inscrit dans une dynamique d’amélioration continue et les résultats des études pilotes constituent une base pour approfondir les travaux. / Oxaliplatin (OXA) is an anti-cancer drug widely used in oncology, its effectiveness is recognized in first-line chemotherapy regimen in many cancers. However, its use is limited by an onset of a disabling peripheral neuropathy with a negative association with quality of life. To identify and study clinical, plasma and electrochemical markers of oxaliplatin-induced chronic neuropathy (OIPN), two pilot studies (LIPIDOXA and CANALOXA) were conducted.Patients in the LIPIDOXA study were included prior to OXA treatment and were evaluated before treatment, during treatment, and six months after discontinuation. Between May 2014 and June 2016, 35 patients were included. The onset of thermal hypoaesthesia was highlighted six months after OXA completion, revealing a neurotoxic process that extends beyond treatment. The study of plasma markers revealed, at the end of treatment, an increase of prostaglandins E2 release, a lower level of oxidative stress in patients suffering from grade-2 neuropathy as well as a decrease in the concentration of polyunsaturated triglycerides associated with a tendency in polyunsaturated free fatty acids increase. The patients in the CANALOXA study, all neuropathic, were included during treatment with OXA and evaluated once. Between April 2016 and March 2017, 36 patients were included. The values of the electrochemical conductances of the skin (ESC) were pathological for one third of patients. ESC values were well correlated with the neuropathic pain score.However, these markers are sparsely specific and seem to be of late onset. Thus, they are are not suitable for a possible monitoring of the neurological tolerance of the treatment in the current care practice. Beyond the moderate clinical and therapeutic contribution, this work strengthens the understanding of the pathophysiology of OIPN in the field of small-fiber neuropathy, the associated inflammatory processes and the disruption of lipid metabolism in the patient treated with oxaliplatin.The complementarity and similarity of this work remind us that the patient care must be global and combine various elements in which the patient must remain at the heart of the management of the OIPN. This project takes part in a dynamic of continuous improvement and the results of these pilot studies constitute the basis for further research in this field.

No description available.

In this study, effects of facial self-reflection and complexity of self on physiological responses were investigated. Skin conductance levels were measured during baseline and neutral conditions, then under a self-focusing condition provided by mirror reflection of the face. Subjects completed measures of self-complexity, depressive affect, self-esteem, anxiety and body image satisfaction. Eye tracking data was collected during the mirror condition. Results showed a significant effect of mirror self-reflection on physiological reactivity as measured by differences between mirror and baseline mean responses. Pre-test depressive affect was correlated with low self-esteem but not with self-complexity. Self-complexity was negatively correlated with orientation to physical appearance and positively correlated with greater differences between baseline and mirror mean reactivity. Self-complexity and depressive affect did not significantly predict physiological reactivity, although a trend was found for the influence of each variable. Post-hoc analyses showed significant group differences for both self-complexity and depressive affect on physiological reactivity, although the influence of self-complexity was in the unexpected direction. Results of this study are consistent with general findings that negative self-esteem, anxiety and depression are strongly correlated. In addition, a strong correlation was found between negative self-esteem and dissociative symptoms. Exploratory analyses of eye tracking data found no significant relations among personality variables and percent of time looking at facial image, although some trends were found. Trends for a relation of self-complexity with time looking at facial image, negative evaluation of appearance in the mirror, and less focus on physical appearance suggest a component in the domain of self-complexity related to physical appearance. Clearly, self-complexity has a number of interrelated dimensions and remains a challenging area of study. In addition, the combination of eye tracking and physiological measurement is a relatively new area of study that shows promise for continued investigation.

La douleur sociale est une forme de douleur non physique dérivant de la perception de l'exclusion sociale. L'importance de la compréhension de ses modulations comportementales et neuronales est fondamentale, car ses conséquences sur le long terme peuvent être très néfastes. Dans ce travail de thèse, j'ai exploré ces aspects à travers une étude comportementale à l‟aide d‟enregistrements par SCR (Skin Conductance Recording), et trois études en iEEG (électro-encéphalographie intracrânienne) chez des patients épileptiques. La première étude comportementale a exploré la direction dans laquelle l'exclusion sociale est influencée par une récompense et ses réactions sur le long terme. Ainsi, la récompense monétaire altère l'équilibre social et augmente l‟activité électrodermale. La personne ayant été exclue met alors en oeuvre des mécanismes de vengeance en défavorisant la personne qui l‟a exclue précédemment. Les études en iEEG ont été une fenêtre unique d'exploration du cerveau lors de différentes types de modulation de l'exclusion. Dans la première étude en iEEG, nous avons observé que la douleur sociale produit une activation des oscillations thêta (3-7 Hz), lors de d'exclusion, dans l'insula, l'ACC, le cortex préfrontal et le gyrus fusiforme. La deuxième étude iEEG s'est intéressée aux modulations produites par la douleur sociale dans BA 19 et BA 17 présentant des P1 d'amplitude majeure lors de l'observation des photos du joueur qui exclut. La troisième étude en iEEG a exploré la réponse neuronale de l'influence d'une variable monétaire lors de l'exclusion. Nos résultats démontrent que l'insula postérieure présente une activation thêta indépendante du fait que l'exclusion soit positive (exclusion et gain d'argent) ou encore négative (exclusion et perte d'argent), à la différence de l'insula antérieure, active seulement lors d'une exclusion négative / Pain is a form of social non-physical pain arising from the perception of social exclusion. The importance of understanding its behavioral and neuronal modulations has a critical value, since its long lasting consequences can be extremely harmful. In this thesis I firstly explored these issues through a behavioral SCR study (Skin Conductance Recording), and successively through three iEEG studies in patients with epilepsy (intracranial EEG). The SCR study explored the direction in which social exclusion is influenced by a reward and its long lasting reactions. Money affects social equilibrium and increases the SCR pics. The excluded individual implements revenge attitudes toward the person who excluded in a previuous interaction. The iEEG studies were a unique window for exploring the brain during different types of social pain modulations. In the first iEEG study, we found that social pain produced activation of theta oscillations (3-7 Hz) during exclusion in the insula, in the ACC, in the prefrontal cortex and in the fusiform face area. The second iEEG study wanted to explore deeply the primitive modulations produced by social pain in visual area. We found in BA 19 and BA 17 greater P1 peak amplitude during excluder pictures presentation. The third iEEG study investigated the neuronal modulations produced by a monetary reward during social pain. These results demonstrated that the posterior insula has a theta activation independent of whether the exclusion is positive (excluded but gaining money) or more negative (excluded but losing money), whereas the anterior insula, has a theta activation only during a negative exclusion

In appetitive conditioning, a neutral stimulus (CS) is conditioned to elicit a positive emotional response by pairing it with a positive/appetitive unconditioned stimulus (US). This method is useful for studying emotional disorders and emotion in general. Studying appetitive conditioning in humans has been hampered by the lack of adequate positive unconditioned stimuli. This study investigated multimodal social stimuli as potential unconditioned stimuli in an appetitive conditioning paradigm. Neutral faces (CS+’giggle’ and CS+’woohoo’) were paired with two multimodal unconditioned stimuli consisting of the same smiling face and two different sound stimuli (US‘giggle’ and US‘woohoo’). The dependent variable was participant skin conductance response (SCR) alongside participant emotional ratings of the stimuli, that together indexes the conditioned response. CS+’giggle’ was hypothesized to be rated as happier, and less fearful than CS+’woohoo’. Successful conditioning was evidenced by higher happiness ratings for both stimuli after acquisition compared to habituation. However, no effect of acquisition was found on SCR.  US’woohoo’ was also rated as more fearful and arousing and less happy and pleasant than the US’giggle’. In sum, this thesis presents a paradigm that can be used in future studies on appetitive conditioning.

Stress and time pressure is more present in todays labor markets. In financial markets a securities broker is forced to take decisions on investments under high cognitive load and under extreme time pressure. The research of decision under risk gained new ground with the development of the prospect theory and gave us new insights to the decision making of men. Prospect theory has shown that people are risk seekers when dealing with loss decisions and risk avert when dealing with profit decisions. The value function are defined over gains and losses. Losses looms larger then gains. Although much research conducted on the decision making under risk no previous research have been done showing how time pressure affects decision at risk by using skin conductance. This paper aimed through a randomized experiment with 23 participants examine how time pressure affects individuals' decisions related to risk. Furthermore, it intends to analyze whether time pressure mediate a possible effect of stress by using skin conductance. The results show that there is an increase in risk aversion for gains. This risk aversion was also statistically significant at the 1% level when each participant's responses were used and almost at 5% level when the mean values from each participant was used. Upon loss a risk -seeking behavior could be noticed but it was not statistically significant at the 5 % level. Stress levels as measured by skin conductance showed that the time-pressed group showed signs of stress. However, no stress data was significant at the 5 % level. / Stress och tidspress är idag allt mer närvarande på arbetsmarknaden. På de finansiella marknaderna kan en värdepappersmäklare tvingas ta beslut om investeringar under hög kognitiv belastning och under en extrem tidspress. Forskningen av beslut under risk har genom prospect theory gett oss nya insikter om vilka beslut vi människor tar. Prospect theory har visat att människor är risksökande vid förlustfrågor och riskaversiva vid vinstfrågor. Prospect theorys värdefunktion är definierad över vinst och förlust. Förluster väger tyngre än vinster. Trots att mycket forskning genomförts på beslut vid risk har ingen tidigare forskning hur tidspress påverkar beslut vid risk med hjälp av hudkonduktans tidigare genomförts. Denna uppsats hade som mål att genom ett randomiserat experiment med 23 deltagare undersöka hur tidspress påverkar individers beslut kopplade till risk. Vidare är syftet att också analysera om upplevd stress medierar en eventuell effekt av tidspress genom att använda hudkonduktans. Resultatet visar att det finns en ökad riskaversion vid vinstfrågor. Denna riskaversion var även statistiskt säkerställd på 1% nivå när varje deltagares svar användes och nästan på 5% nivå då medelvärden från varje deltagare användes. Vid förlustfrågor fanns ett risksökande beteende men den var ej statistiskt säkerställd på 5% nivå. Stressnivåerna som uppmättes med hudkonduktans visade att den tidspressade gruppen blev stressade. Dock var inga stressdata signifikanta på 5% nivå.

Emotions are an integral part of the human experience and their interpretation can provide valuable but also misleading clues about oneself and other people’s state of mind. Negative emotional states can be perceived as uncomfortable and – when experienced chronically – can develop into anxiety and mood disorders. The more pervasive these disorders the more severely they affect and disable a person’s everyday functioning and often their sleep as well. According to Lang and colleagues (1998), emotions may be expressed verbally, behaviorally, and physiologically, i.e., emotions can be reported, observed, and objectively measured. Each measurement approach provides important, unique, and often conflicting information that can be used in the assessment and treatment evaluation of psychological disorders affecting the emotions. Autonomic measures have been used to indicate the physiological components of emotions, such as those along the worry-anxiety-fear-panic spectrum. Worry has been shown to suppress cardiac responses to imaginal feared material (see Borkovec, Alcaine, & Behar, 2004) and reduce autonomic variability (Hoehn-Saric, McLeod, Funderburk, & Kowalski, 2004; Hoehn-Saric, McLeod, & Zimmerli, 1989). Results for panic and anticipatory anxiety are less conclusive but theoretically these states should go along with increased autonomic arousal. Abnormal autonomic arousal might also be present during sleep as both panic disorder and worrying have been associated with sleeping difficulties. However, most empirical research has been confined to the laboratory where high internal validity is achieved at the cost of poor ecological validity. Thus, the purpose of this doctoral dissertation is to extend and validate laboratory findings on worry, anticipatory anxiety, and panic using ambulatory monitoring. Twenty-four hour monitoring not only can give valuable insights into a person’s daytime emotional experience but also allows observing how these emotions might affect their sleep in their natural environment. In the following chapter, the reader will be introduced to a conceptual framework that ties together worry, anxiety, fear, and panic, and related anxiety disorders (section 2.1), to autonomic arousal and electrodermal and cardiac arousal in particular (section 2.2), to sleep and its relation to autonomic arousal and anxiety disorders (section 2.3), and to ambulatory monitoring (section 2.4). After illustrating the aims of this thesis (chapter 3), chapters 4 to 6 present the results of three empirical studies conducted as part of this doctoral research. The first study deals solely with electrodermal monitoring and how it is affected by confounding variables in an ambulatory context (chapter 4). The next study then seeks to investigate the relationship between electrodermal arousal and anticipatory anxiety and panic in a sample of panic disorder patients and healthy controls. The last study focuses primarily on the effect of trait and state worry on subjective and objective sleep and electrodermal and cardiac arousal in a group of high and low worriers. Chapters 7 to 9 summarize and integrate the findings from these three empirical studies, discuss methodological limitations, and provide an outlook into future research.

Juslin and Västfjäll introduced a theoretical framework aiming to explain how music can induce emotions. The framework contains seven psychological mechanisms, which explain how emotions are induced. The aim of the present study was to investigate how four of these psychological mechanisms would induce emotion both with self-reported feelings and psychophysiological measurement using a systematical design. The results showed that different psychological mechanisms induced different kind of emotions both as bodily responses and subjective feelings. These results supported that the theoretical framework is a valid explanation of how music induces emotions.