In this project we tested the effects of Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation during fear learning. In a first study we applied online stimulation of bilateral human amygdala (vs posterior hippocampus and sham). Using a fear conditioning paradigm we observed that Amygdala-TUS delays fear learning but also speeds up fear unlearning (Meijer at al., science Advances in press). In a follow-up project we are now investigating the effects of offline TUS on reversal learning of approach-avoidance reactions to social stimuli (Kenneth van der Zee). In this ongoing work we target the amygdala and the dorsal ACC.
Selected publications
Meijer S, Carpino E , Kop B, Lam L, de Voogd LD, Roelofs K*, Verhagen L* (shared). The amygdala in human threat learning and extinction. In Press. Science Advances