Relapse of anxiety:Views from basic research and theories of Pavlovian conditioning

Abstract

This article reviews recent literature on basic animal research and theories of reemergence phenomena of formerly established and then extinguished Pavlovian conditioned responses. Four types of response reemergence phenomena are discussed; renewal of responses by changing contexts, spontaneous recovery of responses after the passage of time, reinstatement of responses after re-exposure to the biologically significant stimulus (i.e., unconditioned stimulus, US), and reacquisition of responses by re-pairing of the cue (i.e., conditioned stimulus, CS) and the US. Preventive measures against these reemergence phenomena and their clinical implications for relapse of anxiety symptoms (i.e., return of fear) are also discussed to bridge basic and applied disciplines of psychology.