Cholinergic Modulation of Exposure Disrupts Hippocampal Processes and Augments Extinction: Proof-of-Concept Study With Social Anxiety Disorder

摘要

BACKGROUND: In rodents, context specificity of Pavlovian extinction is attenuated by manipulations that impair hippocampal function, including systemic administration of scopolamine, a muscarinic-cholinergic receptor antagonist. Context renewal translates into return of fear following exposure therapy to feared situations. We evaluated the effectiveness of scopolamine for attenuating context renewal of phobic fear in humans.