Pharmacologic augmentation of extinction learning during exposure therapy for PTSD

摘要

The paradigm of fear conditioning remains a dominant model for characterizing the neurobiology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (1). Previously neutral stimuli that were bystanders in the setting of an aversive stimulus (e.g., trauma exposure) subsequently trigger fear and anxiety. Healthy adaptive responses to trauma involve successful extinction learning, whereby conditioned stimuli regain their neutrality. Extinction learning is a tractable process with excellent translation across mammalian species, and a body of basic science has implicated the role of gluta-matergic signaling (2).