Michael Davis

Summary

Affiliation: Emory University
Country: USA

Publications

  1. ncbi Acoustic startle reflex in rhesus monkeys: a review
    Michael Davis
    Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
    Rev Neurosci 19:171-85. 2008
  2. ncbi NMDA receptors and fear extinction: implications for cognitive behavioral therapy
    Michael Davis
    Emory University, Yerkes National Primate Center and the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
    Dialogues Clin Neurosci 13:463-74. 2011
  3. ncbi The amygdala: vigilance and emotion
    M Davis
    Department of Psychiatry, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
    Mol Psychiatry 6:13-34. 2001
  4. ncbi Role of NMDA receptors and MAP kinase in the amygdala in extinction of fear: clinical implications for exposure therapy
    Michael Davis
    Department of Psychiatry, Emory University, 1639 Pierce Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
    Eur J Neurosci 16:395-8. 2002
  5. ncbi Neural systems involved in fear and anxiety measured with fear-potentiated startle
    Michael Davis
    Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
    Am Psychol 61:741-56. 2006
  6. ncbi Pharmacological treatments that facilitate extinction of fear: relevance to psychotherapy
    Michael Davis
    Emory University School of Medicine, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, and the Yerkes National Primate Center, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
    NeuroRx 3:82-96. 2006
  7. ncbi Combining pharmacotherapy with cognitive behavioral therapy: traditional and new approaches
    Michael Davis
    Department of Psychiatry, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
    J Trauma Stress 19:571-81. 2006
  8. ncbi The extended amygdala: are the central nucleus of the amygdala and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis differentially involved in fear versus anxiety?
    M Davis
    Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
    Ann N Y Acad Sci 877:281-91. 1999
  9. ncbi Effects of D-cycloserine on extinction: translation from preclinical to clinical work
    Michael Davis
    Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
    Biol Psychiatry 60:369-75. 2006
  10. ncbi Phasic vs sustained fear in rats and humans: role of the extended amygdala in fear vs anxiety
    Michael Davis
    Department of Psychiatry, Yerkes National Primate Center, Emory University, and The Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA
    Neuropsychopharmacology 35:105-35. 2010

Research Grants

  1. ANATOMY AND PHARMACOLOGY OF FEAR-POTENTIATED STARTLE
    Michael Davis; Fiscal Year: 2006
  2. DOPAMINERGIC MODULATION OF THE STARTLE REFLEX
    Michael Davis; Fiscal Year: 2004
  3. ROLE OF BED NUCLEUS OF STRIA TERMINALIS IN FEAR/ANXIETY
    Michael Davis; Fiscal Year: 2001

Detail Information

Publications104 found, 100 shown here

  1. ncbi Acoustic startle reflex in rhesus monkeys: a review
    Michael Davis
    Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
    Rev Neurosci 19:171-85. 2008
    ..The opportunity now emerges to link concepts developed in rodents to the more complex neuroanatomical and cognitive processes common to monkeys and humans...
  2. ncbi NMDA receptors and fear extinction: implications for cognitive behavioral therapy
    Michael Davis
    Emory University, Yerkes National Primate Center and the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
    Dialogues Clin Neurosci 13:463-74. 2011
    ..Data in support of these conclusions are reviewed, along with some of the possible limitations of D-cycloserine as an adjunct to psychotherapy...
  3. ncbi The amygdala: vigilance and emotion
    M Davis
    Department of Psychiatry, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
    Mol Psychiatry 6:13-34. 2001
    ..Where appropriate, we attempt to integrate basic information on normal amygdala function with our current understanding of psychiatric disorders, including pathological anxiety...
  4. ncbi Role of NMDA receptors and MAP kinase in the amygdala in extinction of fear: clinical implications for exposure therapy
    Michael Davis
    Department of Psychiatry, Emory University, 1639 Pierce Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
    Eur J Neurosci 16:395-8. 2002
    ....
  5. ncbi Neural systems involved in fear and anxiety measured with fear-potentiated startle
    Michael Davis
    Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
    Am Psychol 61:741-56. 2006
    ..c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)...
  6. ncbi Pharmacological treatments that facilitate extinction of fear: relevance to psychotherapy
    Michael Davis
    Emory University School of Medicine, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, and the Yerkes National Primate Center, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
    NeuroRx 3:82-96. 2006
    ..It is concluded that extinction is an excellent model system for the study of fear inhibition and an indispensable tool for the screening of putative pharmacotherapies for clinical use...
  7. ncbi Combining pharmacotherapy with cognitive behavioral therapy: traditional and new approaches
    Michael Davis
    Department of Psychiatry, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
    J Trauma Stress 19:571-81. 2006
    ....
  8. ncbi The extended amygdala: are the central nucleus of the amygdala and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis differentially involved in fear versus anxiety?
    M Davis
    Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
    Ann N Y Acad Sci 877:281-91. 1999
    ..Because this information may be less specific and of long duration, activation of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis may mediate anxiety, whereas activation of the central nucleus of the amygdala may mediate stimulus-specific fear...
  9. ncbi Effects of D-cycloserine on extinction: translation from preclinical to clinical work
    Michael Davis
    Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
    Biol Psychiatry 60:369-75. 2006
    ....
  10. ncbi Phasic vs sustained fear in rats and humans: role of the extended amygdala in fear vs anxiety
    Michael Davis
    Department of Psychiatry, Yerkes National Primate Center, Emory University, and The Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA
    Neuropsychopharmacology 35:105-35. 2010
    ..In rats, sustained fear is more sensitive to anxiolytic drugs. In humans, symptoms of clinical anxiety are better detected in sustained rather than phasic fear paradigms...
  11. ncbi Role of the amygdala in fear extinction measured with potentiated startle
    Michael Davis
    Department of Psychiatry, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
    Ann N Y Acad Sci 985:218-32. 2003
    ....
  12. ncbi Functional interactions between endocannabinoid and CCK neurotransmitter systems may be critical for extinction learning
    Jasmeer P Chhatwal
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA
    Neuropsychopharmacology 34:509-21. 2009
    ..Together, these data suggest that interactions between the endocannabinoid and CCKergic transmitter systems may underlie the process of extinction of conditioned fear...
  13. ncbi Fear potentiation is associated with hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function in PTSD
    Tanja Jovanovic
    Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Atlanta, GA 30303, United States
    Psychoneuroendocrinology 35:846-57. 2010
    ..These results suggest that impaired fear inhibition and associated alterations in HPA feedback may reflect amygdala hyperactivity in subjects with PTSD...
  14. ncbi The effect of gonadal hormones and gender on anxiety and emotional learning
    Donna J Toufexis
    Emory University, Department of Psychiatry, Yerkes National Primate Center, 954 Gatewood Drive NE, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA
    Horm Behav 50:539-49. 2006
    ....
  15. ncbi Learning-dependent structural plasticity in the adult olfactory pathway
    Seth V Jones
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
    J Neurosci 28:13106-11. 2008
    ..These data indicate that the primary sensory neuron population and its projections may remain plastic in adults, providing a structural mechanism for learning-enhanced olfactory sensitivity and discrimination...
  16. ncbi Timing of extinction relative to acquisition: a parametric analysis of fear extinction in humans
    Seth D Norrholm
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
    Behav Neurosci 122:1016-30. 2008
    ..Thus, the results remain inconclusive regarding spontaneous recovery and the timing of extinction and are discussed in terms of performing translational studies of fear in humans...
  17. ncbi The nonhuman primate amygdala is necessary for the acquisition but not the retention of fear-potentiated startle
    Elena A Antoniadis
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA
    Biol Psychiatry 65:241-8. 2009
    ..However, a second group of monkeys, which received the lesion after training, successfully demonstrated fear-potentiated startle learned prior to the lesion...
  18. ncbi Effects of substance P in the amygdala, ventromedial hypothalamus, and periaqueductal gray on fear-potentiated startle
    Zuowei Zhao
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA
    Neuropsychopharmacology 34:331-40. 2009
    ....
  19. ncbi Partial reversal of phencyclidine-induced impairment of prepulse inhibition by secretin
    Karyn M Myers
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
    Biol Psychiatry 58:67-73. 2005
    ....
  20. ncbi Facilitation of conditioned fear extinction by systemic administration or intra-amygdala infusions of D-cycloserine as assessed with fear-potentiated startle in rats
    David L Walker
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
    J Neurosci 22:2343-51. 2002
    ..These results indicate that treatments that promote NMDA receptor activity after either systemic or intra-amygdala administration promote the extinction of conditioned fear...
  21. ncbi Calcitonin gene-related peptide in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis produces an anxiety-like pattern of behavior and increases neural activation in anxiety-related structures
    Kelly S Sink
    Department of Psychiatry, Yerkes National Primate Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
    J Neurosci 31:1802-10. 2011
    ..If so, inhibition of CGRP receptors may be a clinically useful strategy for anxiety reduction...
  22. ncbi Role of the extended amygdala in short-duration versus sustained fear: a tribute to Dr. Lennart Heimer
    David L Walker
    Yerkes National Primate Center and the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Emory University, 954 Gatewood Drive, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA
    Brain Struct Funct 213:29-42. 2008
    ..The generality of this idea is illustrated by selective studies looking at context conditioning, social defeat, drug withdrawal and stress induced reinstatement...
  23. ncbi Differential regional expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor following olfactory fear learning
    Seth V Jones
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Yerkes Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
    Learn Mem 14:816-20. 2007
    ..We propose that odor exposure increases expression of BDNF in the OB and APC while the PPC and BLA increase BDNF mRNA only when associative learning occurs...
  24. ncbi Quantifying fear potentiated startle using absolute versus proportional increase scoring methods: implications for the neurocircuitry of fear and anxiety
    David L Walker
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and The Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Emory University School of Medicine, 1639 Pierce Dr, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
    Psychopharmacology (Berl) 164:318-28. 2002
    ..However, when the tested compounds also influence baseline startle, it is unclear how comparisons with control groups can best be made...
  25. ncbi Glutamate receptor antagonist infusions into the basolateral and medial amygdala reveal differential contributions to olfactory vs. context fear conditioning and expression
    David L Walker
    Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
    Learn Mem 12:120-9. 2005
    ....
  26. ncbi Amygdala BDNF signaling is required for consolidation but not encoding of extinction
    Jasmeer P Chhatwal
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, 1639 Pierce Drive, Suite 4000, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
    Nat Neurosci 9:870-2. 2006
    ..Whereas TrkB.t1-infected rats showed normal within-session extinction, their retention of extinction was impaired, suggesting that amygdala TrkB activation is required for the consolidation of stable extinction memories...
  27. ncbi Cognitive enhancers as adjuncts to psychotherapy: use of D-cycloserine in phobic individuals to facilitate extinction of fear
    Kerry J Ressler
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
    Arch Gen Psychiatry 61:1136-44. 2004
    ..CONCLUSION: These pilot data provide initial support for the use of acute dosing of DCS as an adjunct to exposure-based psychotherapy to accelerate the associative learning processes that contribute to correcting psychopathology...
  28. ncbi A metaplasticity-like mechanism supports the selection of fear memories: role of protein kinase a in the amygdala
    Ryan G Parsons
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
    J Neurosci 32:7843-51. 2012
    ..These findings may provide insight into how memories are selected for long-term storage...
  29. ncbi Tools for translational neuroscience: PTSD is associated with heightened fear responses using acoustic startle but not skin conductance measures
    EBONY M GLOVER
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30303, USA
    Depress Anxiety 28:1058-66. 2011
    ..However, many PTSD studies using the skin conductance response (SCR) report no group differences in fear acquisition...
  30. ncbi The role of neuropeptide Y in the expression and extinction of fear-potentiated startle
    Alisa R Gutman
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine and Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
    J Neurosci 28:12682-90. 2008
    ..We believe that the role of NPY in the extinction of conditioned fear may, at least in part, explain the mechanism underlying the association between NPY and psychobiological resilience in humans...
  31. ncbi Estrogen disrupts the inhibition of fear in female rats, possibly through the antagonistic effects of estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) and ERbeta
    Donna J Toufexis
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, and The Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
    J Neurosci 27:9729-35. 2007
    ..In contrast, neither E nor ERalpha and ERbeta agonists affected single-cue fear conditioning in either sex. These data suggest that E does not enhance fear in emotional learning but acts to disrupt the inhibition of fear in females only...
  32. ncbi Differing effects of systemically administered rapamycin on consolidation and reconsolidation of context vs. cued fear memories
    EBONY M GLOVER
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30302, USA
    Learn Mem 17:577-81. 2010
    ..p.). Thus, while rapamycin may prove useful in retarding the development of some PTSD-associated memories, its relative ineffectiveness against cued fear memories may limit its clinical usefulness...
  33. ncbi Brain-derived neurotrophic factor in amygdala-dependent learning
    Lisa M Rattiner
    Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
    Neuroscientist 11:323-33. 2005
    ..The focus is primarily on the use of Pavlovian fear conditioning as a learning model that allows for the examination of the role of BDNF in the amygdala, following a single learning session and within a well-understood neural circuit...
  34. ncbi Brain-derived neurotrophic factor and tyrosine kinase receptor B involvement in amygdala-dependent fear conditioning
    Lisa M Rattiner
    Emory University School of Medicine, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Yerkes Research Center, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
    J Neurosci 24:4796-806. 2004
    ..T1 lentivirus blocked fear acquisition without disrupting baseline startle or expression of fear. These data suggest that BDNF signaling through TrkB receptors in the amygdala is required for the acquisition of conditioned fear...
  35. ncbi Anxiolytic-like effects of the neurokinin 1 receptor antagonist GR-205171 in the elevated plus maze and contextual fear-potentiated startle model of anxiety in gerbils
    Scott A Heldt
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
    Behav Pharmacol 20:584-95. 2009
    ....
  36. ncbi Memory of social defeat is facilitated by cAMP response element-binding protein overexpression in the amygdala
    Aaron M Jasnow
    Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Atlanta, GA, USA
    Behav Neurosci 119:1125-30. 2005
    ..These data demonstrate that CREB is important for regulating learning not only to explicit cues but also for mediating behavioral plasticity in ethologically relevant social contexts...
  37. ncbi Regulation of gephyrin and GABAA receptor binding within the amygdala after fear acquisition and extinction
    Jasmeer P Chhatwal
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
    J Neurosci 25:502-6. 2005
    ....
  38. ncbi Conditioned fear extinction and reinstatement in a human fear-potentiated startle paradigm
    Seth D Norrholm
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
    Learn Mem 13:681-5. 2006
    ..This is the first demonstration of fear extinction and reinstatement in humans using startle measures...
  39. ncbi Regulation of synaptic plasticity genes during consolidation of fear conditioning
    Kerry J Ressler
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
    J Neurosci 22:7892-902. 2002
    ....
  40. ncbi Role of the primate amygdala in fear-potentiated startle: effects of chronic lesions in the rhesus monkey
    Elena A Antoniadis
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, California 95616, USA
    J Neurosci 27:7386-96. 2007
    ..These findings are discussed in relation to the role of the amygdala in emotional learning and in cross-species comparisons of emotional behavior...
  41. ncbi Effects of cocaine self-administration history under limited and extended access conditions on in vivo striatal dopamine neurochemistry and acoustic startle in rhesus monkeys
    Porche Kirkland Henry
    Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
    Psychopharmacology (Berl) 205:237-47. 2009
    ..The transition from infrequent and controlled cocaine use to dependence may involve enduring changes in neurobiology as a consequence of persistent drug use...
  42. ncbi Second-order olfactory-mediated fear-potentiated startle
    Gayla Y Paschall
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
    Learn Mem 9:395-401. 2002
    ....
  43. ncbi Effects of neonatal amygdala lesions on fear learning, conditioned inhibition, and extinction in adult macaques
    Andy M Kazama
    Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30029, USA
    Behav Neurosci 126:392-403. 2012
    ..This parallel processing of fear responses within these alternate pathways was also sufficient to support the ability to flexibly modulate the magnitude of the fear responses...
  44. ncbi Phasic and sustained fear are pharmacologically dissociable in rats
    Leigh Miles
    Department of Molecular and Systems Pharmacology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA
    Neuropsychopharmacology 36:1563-74. 2011
    ....
  45. ncbi Olfactory-mediated fear conditioning in mice: simultaneous measurements of fear-potentiated startle and freezing
    Seth V Jones
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA
    Behav Neurosci 119:329-35. 2005
    ..Furthermore, mice were able to discriminate between an odor paired with shock and a nonreinforced odor (Experiment 4)...
  46. ncbi Impaired fear inhibition is a biomarker of PTSD but not depression
    Tanja Jovanovic
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, 49 Jesse Hill Jr Drive, Atlanta, GA 30303
    Depress Anxiety 27:244-51. 2010
    ..Given the high comorbidity between PTSD and depression, our goal was to see whether this impairment is specific to PTSD, or a non-specific symptom associated with both disorders...
  47. ncbi Progesterone attenuates corticotropin-releasing factor-enhanced but not fear-potentiated startle via the activity of its neuroactive metabolite, allopregnanolone
    Donna J Toufexis
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and The Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
    J Neurosci 24:10280-7. 2004
    ....
  48. ncbi The role of glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid in fear extinction: clinical implications for exposure therapy
    Michael Davis
    Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
    Biol Psychiatry 52:998-1007. 2002
    ..These insights have significant implications for the conduct of extinction-based clinical interventions for fear disorders...
  49. ncbi Differential effects of the CRF-R1 antagonist GSK876008 on fear-potentiated, light- and CRF-enhanced startle suggest preferential involvement in sustained vs phasic threat responses
    David Walker
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, 954 Gatewood Road, Yerkes Neuroscience Bldg, Rm 5214, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA
    Neuropsychopharmacology 34:1533-42. 2009
    ..Overall, these results suggest that short-duration CeA-dependent threat responses can be pharmacologically dissociated from longer duration BNST-dependent responses in terms of their sensitivity to CRF1 receptor antagonists...
  50. ncbi Sex differences in hormonal modulation of anxiety measured with light-enhanced startle: possible role for arginine vasopressin in the male
    Donna Toufexis
    Department of Psychiatry, Yerkes National Primate Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
    J Neurosci 25:9010-6. 2005
    ..These data suggest that T attenuates LES, but not fear-potentiated startle, through a mechanism that may involve AVP...
  51. ncbi Amygdala infusions of an NR2B-selective or an NR2A-preferring NMDA receptor antagonist differentially influence fear conditioning and expression in the fear-potentiated startle test
    David L Walker
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
    Learn Mem 15:67-74. 2008
    ..The results suggest that amygdala NR1/NR2B receptors play a special role in fear memory formation, whereas NR1/NR2A receptors participate more generally in synaptic transmission...
  52. ncbi Differential regulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor transcripts during the consolidation of fear learning
    Lisa M Rattiner
    Emory University School of Medicine, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Yerkes Research Center, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
    Learn Mem 11:727-31. 2004
    ..These results provide the first evidence of differential splicing and/or differential BDNF promoter usage in response to a behaviorally relevant learning paradigm...
  53. ncbi Involvement of the dorsal periaqueductal gray in the loss of fear-potentiated startle accompanying high footshock training
    D L Walker
    Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06508, USA
    Behav Neurosci 111:692-702. 1997
    ..Dorsal PAG lesions prevented the disruptive effects of high footshock training. Together, these results suggest that dorsal PAG activation mediates the loss of potentiated startle accompanying high footshock training...
  54. ncbi Fear potentiation and fear inhibition in a human fear-potentiated startle paradigm
    Tanja Jovanovic
    Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
    Biol Psychiatry 57:1559-64. 2005
    ..For this reason, we sought to develop a behavioral procedure in humans that would render a stimulus primarily inhibitory...
  55. ncbi Group II metabotropic glutamate receptors within the amygdala regulate fear as assessed with potentiated startle in rats
    David L Walker
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
    Behav Neurosci 116:1075-83. 2002
    ..Thus, Group II metabotropic receptors within or very near the amygdala regulate fear and fear learning and are a potential target for anxiolytic compounds...
  56. ncbi Role of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis versus the amygdala in fear, stress, and anxiety
    David L Walker
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and The Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Emory University School of Medicine, 1639 Pierce Drive, Suite 4000, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
    Eur J Pharmacol 463:199-216. 2003
    ....
  57. ncbi Modulation of fear-potentiated startle and vocalizations in juvenile rhesus monkeys by morphine, diazepam, and buspirone
    James T Winslow
    Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
    Biol Psychiatry 61:389-95. 2007
    ....
  58. ncbi Alterations in diurnal cortisol rhythm and acoustic startle response in nonhuman primates with adverse rearing
    Mar M Sanchez
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
    Biol Psychiatry 57:373-81. 2005
    ..This study attempts to model more subtle developmental perturbations that may increase the vulnerability for anxiety/mood disorders but lack the severe deficits associated with motherless rearing...
  59. ncbi AX+, BX- discrimination learning in the fear-potentiated startle paradigm: possible relevance to inhibitory fear learning in extinction
    Karyn M Myers
    Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
    Learn Mem 11:464-75. 2004
    ..We believe this method is a viable alternative to the traditional conditioned inhibition training procedure and will be useful for studying the neural mechanisms of fear inhibition...
  60. ncbi Anxiolytic-like effects of morphine and buprenorphine in the rat model of fear-potentiated startle: tolerance, cross-tolerance, and blockade by naloxone
    EBONY M GLOVER
    Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
    Psychopharmacology (Berl) 198:167-80. 2008
    ..Morphine and buprenorphine have analgesic and anxiolytic-like properties. While their analgesic effects have been well characterized, their anxiolytic-like properties have not...
  61. ncbi Normal conditioned inhibition and extinction of freezing and fear-potentiated startle following electrolytic lesions of medical prefrontal cortex in rats
    J C Gewirtz
    Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
    Behav Neurosci 111:712-26. 1997
    ..In both Experiments 2 and 3, extinction of fear to contextual cues was also unaffected by the lesions. These results indicate that ventral mPFC is not essential for the inhibition of fear under a variety of circumstances...
  62. ncbi Mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade in the basolateral nucleus of amygdala is involved in extinction of fear-potentiated startle
    K T Lu
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
    J Neurosci 21:RC162. 2001
    ..These results suggest that a MAPK-dependent signaling cascade within or very near the basolateral amygdala plays an important role in the extinction of conditioned fear...
  63. ncbi Fear-potentiated startle in rats
    M Davis
    Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
    Curr Protoc Neurosci . 2001
    ..Drugs that interfere with learning, memory, or fear and anxiety can alter fear-potentiated startle depending on when they are given with respect to training and testing...
  64. ncbi The role of amygdala glutamate receptors in fear learning, fear-potentiated startle, and extinction
    David L Walker
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Woodruff Memorial Building, 1639 Pierce Drive, Suite 4000, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
    Pharmacol Biochem Behav 71:379-92. 2002
    ..A fuller understanding of the role of amygdala glutamate systems in fear and fear learning may suggest novel pharmacological approaches to the treatment of clinical anxiety disorders...
  65. ncbi Different mechanisms of fear extinction dependent on length of time since fear acquisition
    Karyn M Myers
    Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Emory University Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
    Learn Mem 13:216-23. 2006
    ..These data support a model in which different neural mechanisms are recruited depending on the temporal delay of fear extinction...
  66. ncbi Light-enhanced startle: further pharmacological and behavioral characterization
    David L Walker
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Center for Behavioral Neurosciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Woodruff Memorial Building, Suite 4000, 1639 Pierce Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
    Psychopharmacology (Berl) 159:304-10. 2002
    ..To characterize this phenomenon further, we evaluate here the sensitivity of light-enhanced startle to the anxiolytic compound chlordiazepoxide, to the noradrenergic beta-receptor antagonist propranolol, and to pre-test handling...
  67. ncbi Acoustic startle, prepulse inhibition, and fear-potentiated startle measured in rhesus monkeys
    James T Winslow
    Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
    Biol Psychiatry 51:859-66. 2002
    ..The opportunity now emerges to link concepts developed in rodents to the more complex neuroanatomical and cognitive processes common to monkeys and humans...
  68. ncbi Genetics of childhood disorders: L. Learning and memory, part 3: fear conditioning
    Kerry Ressler
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
    J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 42:612-5. 2003
  69. ncbi Fear-potentiated startle in rats is mediated by neurons in the deep layers of the superior colliculus/deep mesencephalic nucleus of the rostral midbrain through the glutamate non-NMDA receptors
    Zuowei Zhao
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
    J Neurosci 24:10326-34. 2004
    ..These findings suggest that the deep SC/DpMe is the site that serves as a critical output relay between the amygdala and the PnC in mediating fear-potentiated startle and that glutamatergic transmission is required for this action...
  70. ncbi The nucleus accumbens is not critically involved in mediating the effects of a safety signal on behavior
    Sheena A Josselyn
    Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine and Connecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven, CT, USA
    Neuropsychopharmacology 30:17-26. 2005
    ....
  71. ncbi Olfactory-mediated fear-potentiated startle
    Gayla Y Paschall
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science and Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
    Behav Neurosci 116:4-12. 2002
    ..The magnitude of potentiated startle decreased with decreasing concentrations of amyl acetate (5%-5 x 10-9%). The anxiolytic compound buspirone (10 mg/kg) significantly attenuated olfactory-mediated fear-potentiated startle...
  72. ncbi Continuous expression of corticotropin-releasing factor in the central nucleus of the amygdala emulates the dysregulation of the stress and reproductive axes
    E Keen-Rhinehart
    Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA
    Mol Psychiatry 14:37-50. 2009
    ..Molecular Psychiatry (2009) 14, 37-50; doi:10.1038/mp.2008.91; published online 12 August 2008...
  73. ncbi Central oxytocin, vasopressin, and corticotropin-releasing factor receptor densities in the basal forebrain predict isolation potentiated startle in rats
    Hemanth P Nair
    Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
    J Neurosci 25:11479-88. 2005
    ..This result directly supported the predictions made by the combined PLS/regression approach. These results suggest that the integrated activity of neuropeptide systems mediating both social behavior and anxiety underlie IPS...
  74. ncbi Behavioral and neural analysis of extinction
    Karyn M Myers
    Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
    Neuron 36:567-84. 2002
    ..This review considers the behavioral, cellular, and molecular literatures on extinction and presents the most recent advances in our understanding while identifying issues that require considerable further research...
  75. ncbi Applying learning principles to the treatment of post-trauma reactions
    Barbara Olasov Rothbaum
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, 1365 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
    Ann N Y Acad Sci 1008:112-21. 2003
    ..Thus, there appears to be an interaction between timing of the intervention, number of intervention sessions, and either arousal level and/or risk status in determining whether the intervention will be helpful, harmful, or neutral...
  76. ncbi Contingency awareness and fear inhibition in a human fear-potentiated startle paradigm
    Tanja Jovanovic
    Mental Health Service 116A, Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Decatur, GA 30033, USA
    Behav Neurosci 120:995-1004. 2006
    ..A response keypad was used to assess contingency awareness on a trial-by-trial basis. Both aware and unaware subjects showed fear-potentiated startle. However, awareness was related to stimulus discrimination and fear inhibition...
  77. ncbi Posttraumatic stress disorder may be associated with impaired fear inhibition: relation to symptom severity
    Tanja Jovanovic
    Mental Health Service, Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Decatur, GA 30033, USA
    Psychiatry Res 167:151-60. 2009
    ..However, the high-symptom PTSD group did not show fear inhibition: these subjects had significantly greater fear potentiation on the AB trials than both the controls and the low-symptom PTSD patients...
  78. ncbi Temporary disruption of fear-potentiated startle following PKMĪ¶ inhibition in the amygdala
    Ryan G Parsons
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
    Nat Neurosci 14:295-6. 2011
    ..These results suggest that PKMĪ¶ inhibition does not erase memory, but temporarily disrupts expression of memory...
  79. ncbi Involvement of central amygdalar and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis corticotropin-releasing factor in behavioral responses to social defeat
    Aaron M Jasnow
    Center for Behavioral Neuroscience and Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA
    Behav Neurosci 118:1052-61. 2004
    ..These data suggest that CRF acts within a neural circuit that includes the amygdala and the BNST to modulate agonistic behavior following social defeat...
  80. ncbi Involvement of NMDA receptors within the amygdala in short- versus long-term memory for fear conditioning as assessed with fear-potentiated startle
    D L Walker
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
    Behav Neurosci 114:1019-33. 2000
    ..e., by training rats with a lower, 0.3 mA footshock), AP5 abolished fear-potentiated startle at each timepoint. Thus, amygdala NMDA receptors appear to participate in the initial acquisition of fear memories...
  81. ncbi Enhancement of the acoustic startle response by dopamine agonists after 6-hydroxydopamine lesions of the substantia nigra pars compacta: corresponding changes in c-Fos expression in the caudate-putamen
    E G Meloni
    The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
    Brain Res 879:93-104. 2000
    ....
  82. ncbi Muscimol in the deep layers of the superior colliculus/mesencephalic reticular formation blocks expression but not acquisition of fear-potentiated startle in rats
    E G Meloni
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
    Behav Neurosci 113:1152-60. 1999
    ..These results indicate that a synapse in the midbrain is critical for the expression of fear-potentiated startle...
  83. ncbi Enhancement of the acoustic startle response in rats by the dopamine D1 receptor agonist SKF 82958
    E G Meloni
    Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06508, USA
    Psychopharmacology (Berl) 144:373-80. 1999
    ..The present series of experiments was conducted in order to assess the nature of dopaminergic modulation of the acoustic startle response using agonists and antagonists specific for dopamine D1 and D2 receptors...
  84. ncbi Selective participation of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and CRF in sustained anxiety-like versus phasic fear-like responses
    D L Walker
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA
    Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 33:1291-308. 2009
    ....
  85. ncbi Rearing experience differentially affects somatic and cardiac startle responses in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta)
    L A Parr
    Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Emory University and Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
    Behav Neurosci 116:378-86. 2002
    ..The MR monkeys, however, showed faster heart rate acceleration of greater overall magnitude than that of the PR group. The results are discussed with regard to a monkey model for neuropsychiatric disease...
  86. ncbi Mechanisms of fear extinction
    K M Myers
    Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
    Mol Psychiatry 12:120-50. 2007
    ..The present paper will cover behavioral, theoretical and neurobiological work, and will conclude with a discussion of clinical implications...
  87. ncbi Visual pathways involved in fear conditioning measured with fear-potentiated startle: behavioral and anatomic studies
    C Shi
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavior Science and Center for Behavior Neuroscience, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
    J Neurosci 21:9844-55. 2001
    ..e., LG --> V1, V2 --> TE2/PR) or non-lemniscal (i.e., LP --> V2, TE2/PR) thalamo-cortico-amygdala pathways, or direct thalamo-amygdala (i.e., LP --> L) projections...
  88. ncbi Relationship of enhanced norepinephrine activity during memory consolidation to enhanced long-term memory in humans
    Steven M Southwick
    Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, CT, USA
    Am J Psychiatry 159:1420-2. 2002
    ..The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of enhanced noradrenergic activity on memory consolidation in humans...
  89. ncbi 5-hydroxytryptamine1A-like receptor activation in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis: electrophysiological and behavioral studies
    L Levita
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, Emory University, Yerkes Neuroscience Building, 954 Gatewood Drive, Room 5220, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
    Neuroscience 128:583-96. 2004
    ..Hence, we propose that in response to stressful stimuli, enhanced levels of 5-HT in the BNST AL plays a critical homeostatic role in feedback inhibition of the anxiogenic response to these stimuli...
  90. ncbi Long-term memory is facilitated by cAMP response element-binding protein overexpression in the amygdala
    S A Josselyn
    Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine and Connecticut Mental Health Center, New Haven, Connecticut 06508, USA
    J Neurosci 21:2404-12. 2001
    ..These results suggest that CREB activity in the amygdala serves as a molecular switch for the formation of LTM in fear conditioning...
  91. ncbi Is the hippocampus necessary for contextual fear conditioning?
    J C Gewirtz
    Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, Ribicoff Research Facilities of the Connecticut Mental Health Center, 34 Park Street, New Haven, CT 06508, USA
    Behav Brain Res 110:83-95. 2000
    ..Thus, it is concluded that the hippocampus may be involved in contextual learning under certain--as yet, unspecified--circumstances, but is not critical for contextual learning in general...
  92. ncbi Anatomically discrete functional effects of adenoviral clostridial light chain gene-based synaptic inhibition in the midbrain
    Z Zhao
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Center for Behavioral Neurosciences, Yerkes National Primate Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
    Gene Ther 13:942-52. 2006
    ..Thus, vector-driven LC expression inhibits the function of deep brain nuclei without altering the function of surrounding structures supporting its application to therapeutic neuromodulation...
  93. ncbi Application of Pavlovian higher-order conditioning to the analysis of the neural substrates of fear conditioning
    J C Gewirtz
    Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06508, USA
    Neuropharmacology 37:453-9. 1998
    ..Second, higher-order conditioning provides opportunities for analyzing where and how different types of events, or different aspects of the same events, are represented in the brain...
  94. ncbi AX+/BX- discrimination learning in the fear-potentiated startle paradigm in monkeys
    James T Winslow
    National Institute of Mental Health, Intramural Research Program, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA
    Learn Mem 15:63-6. 2008
    ..The present experiment adapted this procedure to the fear-potentiated startle paradigm in rhesus monkeys...
  95. ncbi Are fear memories made and maintained by the same NMDA receptor-dependent mechanisms?
    David L Walker
    Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and The Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, 1639 Pierce Drive, Suite 4000, Atlanta, GA 30322 USA
    Neuron 41:680-2. 2004
    ..One view is that posttraining NMDA receptor activation protects modified synapses from "synaptic drift." An alternative view is that NMDA receptors help maintain appropriate connectivity in memory-encoding networks...
  96. ncbi Effects of the beta-blocker propranolol on cued and contextual fear conditioning in humans
    Christian Grillon
    Mood and Anxiety Disorder Program, NIMH NIH DHHS National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD 20892 2670, USA
    Psychopharmacology (Berl) 175:342-52. 2004
    ..It is possible that fear inhibitory avoidance is more akin to contextual conditioning than to cued fear conditioning, suggesting that context conditioning may be disrupted by beta-adrenergic blockade...
  97. ncbi Inhibition of fear potentiated startle in rats following peripheral administration of secretin
    Karyn Myers
    Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
    Psychopharmacology (Berl) 172:94-9. 2004
    ..CONCLUSIONS: This investigation provides additional evidence that systemically administered secretin can influence a neural network implicated in the acquisition and expression of emotional behaviors, including fear and anxiety...
  98. ncbi Enhancing cannabinoid neurotransmission augments the extinction of conditioned fear
    Jasmeer P Chhatwal
    Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Yerkes Research Center, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA
    Neuropsychopharmacology 30:516-24. 2005
    ....
  99. ncbi Systems-level reconsolidation: reengagement of the hippocampus with memory reactivation
    Karyn M Myers
    Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
    Neuron 36:340-3. 2002
    ..Two studies in the current issue of Neuron make important advances in our understanding of reconsolidation but reach different conclusions about the modifiability of old memories...
  100. ncbi Daily living with distress and enrichment: the moral experience of families with ventilator-assisted children at home
    Franco A Carnevale
    Montreal Children s Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
    Pediatrics 117:e48-60. 2006
    ..This study involved an examination of moral phenomena inherent in (1) the individual experiences of the ventilator-assisted child, siblings, and parents and (2) everyday family life as a whole...
  101. ncbi Michael Davis: 2006 award for distinguished scientific contributions
    Michael Davis
    Am Psychol 61:738-41. 2006
    Presents the citation for Michael Davis, who received the Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions "for his major discoveries about the brain circuits underlying basic aspects of behavioral plasticity and learning...

Research Grants12

  1. ANATOMY AND PHARMACOLOGY OF FEAR-POTENTIATED STARTLE
    Michael Davis; Fiscal Year: 2006
    ..The work is relevant to human anxiety disorders and promises to elucidate critical events in the formation and elimination of fear and anxiety. ..
  2. DOPAMINERGIC MODULATION OF THE STARTLE REFLEX
    Michael Davis; Fiscal Year: 2004
    ..They also will evaluate whether conditioned fear uses some of the same circuitry to facilitate reflex behavior and how outputs from the amygdala intersect with this circuitry. ..
  3. ROLE OF BED NUCLEUS OF STRIA TERMINALIS IN FEAR/ANXIETY
    Michael Davis; Fiscal Year: 2001
    ..Other studies will evaluate whether the BNST can 'take over' for the amygdala in fear-potentiated startle using lesion, chemical inactivation and IC-fosI methodologies. ..