Elemental and configural representation of a conditioned context.
Behav Brain Res
; 471: 115119, 2024 08 05.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38906481
ABSTRACT
A context can be conceptualized as a stable arrangement of elements or as the sum of single elements. Both configural and elemental representations play a role in associative processes. This study aimed to explore the respective contributions of these two representations of a context in the acquisition of conditioned anxiety in humans. Virtual reality (VR) can be an ecologically valid tool to investigate context-related mechanisms, yet the influence of the sense of presence within the virtual environment remains unclear. Forty-eight healthy individuals participated in a VR-based context conditioning wherein electric shocks (unconditioned stimulus, US) were unpredictably delivered in one virtual office (CTX+), but not in the other (CTX-). During the test phase, nine elements from each context were presented singularly. We found a cluster of participants, who exhibited heightened anticipation of the US for anxiety-related elements as compared to the other group. In contrast to their clear elemental representation, these individuals showed diminished discriminative responses between the two context's configurations. Discriminative responses to the contexts were boosted in those individuals, who had a weaker elemental representation. Importantly, the individual sense of presence significantly influenced the conditioned responses. These findings align with the dual-representation view of context and provide insights into the role of presence in eliciting (conditioned) anxiety responses.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Ansiedad
/
Condicionamiento Clásico
/
Realidad Virtual
Límite:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Behav Brain Res
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Alemania
Pais de publicación:
Países Bajos