Exploring the boundaries of post-retrieval extinction in healthy and anxious individuals

Over a dozen studies have examined the efficacy of post-retrieval extinction (PRE) in healthy adults in the fear conditioning laboratory, with a recent meta-analysis (Kredlow et al.., 2016) reporting an overall small-moderate effect on attenuating the return of fear compared to standard extinction. The current study was designed to extend PRE effects to a mixed sample of healthy and anxious individuals, explore potential moderators, and examine the benefit of PRE for a memory conditioned over multiple days. These data were also used to examine whether demographic factors predicted failure to condition and whether modifications to the unconditioned stimulus enhanced fear learning.