Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35748393›Full record

Trial reportThe international journal of neuropsychopharmacology2022

Alpha-2 Adrenoreceptor Antagonist Yohimbine Potentiates Consolidation of Conditioned Fear.

Matthias F J Sperl, Christian Panitz, Nadine Skoluda, Urs M Nater, Diego A Pizzagalli, Christiane Hermann, Erik M Mueller

Open access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
1.4field-weighted citation impact, top 20% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Modulation of the noradrenergic system using transcranial ultrasonic stimulation targeted to the brainstem locus coeruleus in awake mice.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. The anxiogenic drug yohimbine is a reinforcer in male and female rats.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2024
    Article
  6. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.

Matthias F J SperlDepartment of Psychology, Personality Psychology and Assessment, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-5011-0780
Christian PanitzDepartment of Psychology, Personality Psychology and Assessment, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-6692-8555
Nadine SkoludaDepartment of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0002-4140-2423
Urs M NaterDepartment of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0002-2430-5090
Diego A PizzagalliDepartment of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, & Center for Depression, Anxiety and Stress Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-7772-1143
Christiane HermannDepartment of Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Giessen, Giessen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-5969-2898
Erik M MuellerDepartment of Psychology, Personality Psychology and Assessment, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-8721-8963
Harvard University · USPhilipps University of Marburg · DEUniversity of Vienna · ATJustus-Liebig-Universität Gießen · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHyperconsolidation of aversive associations and poor extinction learning have been hypothesized to be crucial in the acquisition of pathological fear. Previous animal and human research points to the potential role of the catecholaminergic system, particularly noradrenaline and dopamine, in acquiring emotional memories. Here, we investigated in a between-participants design with 3 groups whether the noradrenergic alpha-2 adrenoreceptor antagonist yohimbine and the dopaminergic D2-receptor antagonist sulpiride modulate long-term fear conditioning and extinction in humans.

methodsFifty-five healthy male students were recruited. The final sample consisted of n = 51 participants who were explicitly aware of the contingencies between conditioned stimuli (CS) and unconditioned stimuli after fear acquisition. The participants were then randomly assigned to 1 of the 3 groups and received either yohimbine (10 mg, n = 17), sulpiride (200 mg, n = 16), or placebo (n = 18) between fear acquisition and extinction. Recall of conditioned (non-extinguished CS+ vs CS-) and extinguished fear (extinguished CS+ vs CS-) was assessed 1 day later, and a 64-channel electroencephalogram was recorded.

resultsThe yohimbine group showed increased salivary alpha-amylase activity, confirming a successful manipulation of central noradrenergic release. Elevated fear-conditioned bradycardia and larger differential amplitudes of the N170 and late positive potential components in the event-related brain potential indicated that yohimbine treatment (compared with a placebo and sulpiride) enhanced fear recall during day 2.

conclusionsThese results suggest that yohimbine potentiates cardiac and central electrophysiological signatures of fear memory consolidation. They thereby elucidate the key role of noradrenaline in strengthening the consolidation of conditioned fear associations, which may be a key mechanism in the etiology of fear-related disorders.

Indexed as

Extinction, PsychologicalSalivary alpha-AmylasesAdrenergic alpha-2 Receptor AntagonistsDopamineFearHumansMaleNorepinephrineReceptors, Adrenergic, alpha-2SulpirideYohimbineAdrenergic alpha-2 Receptor AntagonistsDopamineNorepinephrineReceptors, Adrenergic, alpha-2Salivary alpha-AmylasesSulpirideYohimbinedopamineFear conditioningnorepinephrinesulpirideyohimbine

Identifiers

PMID35748393
PMCPMC9515133
OpenAlexW4283460279

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.