Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-19T01:56:09.226Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Delineating physiologic defensive reactivity in the domain of self-report: phenotypic and etiologic structure of dispositional fear

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 October 2011

M. D. Kramer ,
C. J. Patrick ,
R. F. Krueger  and
M. Gasperi
M. D. Kramer
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN USA
C. J. Patrick*
Affiliation:
Florida State University, Department of Psychology, Tallahassee, FL, USA
R. F. Krueger
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN USA
M. Gasperi
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN USA
*
*Address for correspondence: Dr C. J. Patrick, Florida State University, Department of Psychology, 1107 West Call Street, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4301, USA. (Email: [email protected])
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background

Individual differences in fear and fearlessness have been investigated at their extremes in relation to markedly different forms of psychopathology – anxiety disorders and psychopathy, respectively. A documented neural substrate of fear-related traits and disorders is defensive reactivity as reflected in aversive startle potentiation (ASP).

Method

The current study extended prior work by characterizing, in a sample of adult twins from the community (n=2511), the phenotypic and etiologic structure of self-report measures of fear and fearlessness known to be associated with ASP.

Results

Analyses revealed a hierarchical structure to the trait fear domain, with an overarching, bipolar fear/fearlessness dimension saturating each measure in this domain, and subfactors labeled ‘distress,’ ‘stimulation seeking’ and ‘sociability’ accounting for additional variance in particular measures. The structure of genetic and non-shared environmental associations among the measures closely mirrored the phenotypic structure of the domain.

Conclusions

The findings have implications for proposals to reconceptualize psychopathology in neurobiological terms.

Keywords

Aversive startle potentiationfearpersonality
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 42 , Issue 6 , June 2012 , pp. 1305 - 1320
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Arrindell, WA, Emmelkamp, PMG, van der Ende, J (1984). Phobic dimensions: I. Reliability and generalizability across samples, gender, and nations. Advances in Behavior Research and Therapy 6, 207–254.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benning, SD, Patrick, CJ, Blonigen, DM, Hicks, BM, Iacono, WG (2005 a). Estimating facets of psychopathy from normal personality traits: a step toward community-epidemiological investigations. Assessment 12, 3–18.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Benning, SD, Patrick, CJ, Hicks, BM, Blonigen, DM, Krueger, RF (2003). Factor structure of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory: validity and implications for clinical assessment. Psychological Assessment 15, 340–350.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Benning, SD, Patrick, CJ, Iacono, WG (2005 b). Psychopathy, startle blink modulation, and electrodermal reactivity in twin men. Psychophysiology 42, 753–762.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bernat, EM, Patrick, CJ, Benning, SD, Tellegen, A (2006). Effects of picture content and intensity on affective physiological response. Psychophysiology 43, 93–103.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bradley, MM, Codispoti, M, Cuthbert, BN, Lang, PJ (2001). Emotion and motivation I: defensive and appetitive reactions in picture processing. Emotion 1, 276–298.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Buss, AH, Plomin, R (1984). Temperament: Early Developing Personality Traits. Erlbaum: Hillsdale, NJ.Google Scholar
Cloninger, C (1987). A systematic method for clinical description and classification of personality variants: a proposal. Archives of General Psychiatry 44, 573–588.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cook, EW, Davis, TL, Hawk, LW, Spence, EL, Gautier, CH (1992). Fearfulness and startle potentiation during aversive visual stimuli. Psychophysiology 29, 633–645.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Corr, PJ, Kumari, V, Wilson, GD, Checkley, S, Gray, JA (1997). Harm avoidance and affective modulation of the startle reflex: a replication. Personality and Individual Differences 22, 591–593.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Corr, PJ, Wilson, GD, Fotiadou, M, Kumari, V, Gray, NS, Checkley, S, Gray, JA (1995). Personality and affective modulation of the startle reflex. Personality and Individual Differences 19, 543–553.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Costa, P Jr., Terracciano, A, McCrae, RR (2001). Gender differences in personality traits across cultures: robust and surprising findings. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology 81, 322–331.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cuthbert, BN, Lang, PJ, Strauss, C, Drobes, D, Patrick, CJ, Bradley, MM (2003). The psychophysiology of anxiety disorder: fear memory imagery. Psychophysiology 40, 407–422.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Davis, M (1979). Diazepam and flurazepam: effects on conditioned fear as measured with the potentiated startle paradigm. Psychopharmacology 62, 1–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Davis, M (1989). Neural systems involved in fear-potentiated startle. In Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 563: Modulation of Defined Neural Vertebrate Circuits (eds. Davis, M., Jacobs, B. L. and Schoenfeld, R. I.), pp. 165–183. New York Academy of Sciences: New York.Google Scholar
Davis, M (1992). The role of the amygdala in fear-potentiated startle: implications for animal models of anxiety. Trends in Pharmacological Science 13, 35–41.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Davis, M, Falls, WA, Campeau, S, Kim, M (1993). Fear-potentiated startle: a neural and pharmacological analysis. Behavioral and Brain Research 58, 175–198.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Davis, M, Walker, DL, Lee, Y (1997). Roles of the amygdala and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis in fear and anxiety measured with the acoustic startle reflex: possible relevance to PTSD. In Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 831: Psychobiology of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (eds. Yehuda, R. and McFarlane, A. C.), pp. 305–331. New York Academy of Sciences: New York.Google Scholar
Depue, RA, Iacono, WG (1989). Neurobehavioral aspects of affective disorders. Annual Review of Psychology 40, 457–492.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fanselow, MS (1994). Neural organization of the defensive behavior system responsible for fear. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 1, 429–438.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grillon, C, Morgan, CA III (1999). Fear-potentiated startle conditioning to explicit and contextual cues in Gulf War veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 108, 134–142.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hamm, AO, Cuthbert, BN, Globisch, J, Vaitl, D (1997). Fear and the startle reflex: blink modulation and autonomic response patterns in animal and mutilation fearful subjects. Psychophysiology 34, 97–107.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Holdcraft, LC, Iacono, WG, McGue, M (1998). Antisocial personality disorder and depression in relation to alcoholism: a community-based sample. Journal of Studies on Alcohol 59, 222–226.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hyman, SM (2007). Can neuroscience be integrated into the DSM? Nature Reviews Neuroscience 8, 725–732.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Iacono, WG, Carlson, SR, Taylor, J, Elkins, IJ, McGue, M (1999). Behavioral disinhibition and the development of substance-use disorders: findings from the Minnesota Twin Family Study. Development and Psychopathology 11, 869–900.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Iacono, WG, Malone, SM, McGue, M (2003). Substance use disorders, externalizing psychopathology, and P300 event-related potential amplitude. International Journal of Psychophysiology 48, 147–178.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Insel, T, Cuthbert, BN, Garvey, M, Heinssen, R, Pine, DS, Quinn, K, Sanislow, C, Wang, P (2010). Research domain criteria (RDoC): toward a new classification framework for research on mental disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry 167, 748–751.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kendler, KS, Walters, EE, Neale, MC, Kessler, RC, Heath, AC, Eaves, LJ (1995). The structure of the genetic and environmental risk factors for six major psychiatric disorders in women: phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, bulimia, major depression, and alcoholism. Archives of General Psychiatry 52, 374–383.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Krueger, RF, Johnson, W (2008). Behavioral genetics and personality: a new look at the integration of nature and nurture. In Handbook of Personality Psychology: Theory and Research (eds. John, O. P., Robins, R. W. and Pervin, L. A.), pp. 287–310. Guilford Press: New York.Google Scholar
Krueger, RF, Markon, KE, Patrick, CJ, Benning, SD, Kramer, MD (2007). Linking antisocial behavior, substance use, and personality: an integrative quantitative model of the adult externalizing spectrum. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 116, 645–666.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lader, MH, Wing, I (1964). Habituation of the psychogalvanic reflex in patients with anxiety states and in normal subjects. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry 27, 210–218.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lang, PJ (1995). The emotion probe: studies of motivation and attention. American Psychologist 50, 372–385.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lang, PJ, Bradley, MM, Cuthbert, BN (1990). Emotion, attention, and the startle reflex. Psychological Review 97, 377–395.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lang, PJ, McTeague, LM, Cuthbert, BN (2007). Fear, anxiety, depression and the anxiety disorder spectrum: a psychophysiological analysis. In Psychological Clinical Science: Papers in Honor of Richard M. McFall (eds. Treat, T., Bootzin, R. and Baker, T.), pp. 167–195. Psychology Press: New York.Google Scholar
LeDoux, JE (1995). Emotion: clues from the brain. Annual Review of Psychology 46, 209–235.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Levenston, GK, Patrick, CJ, Bradley, MM, Lang, PJ (2000). The psychopath as observer: emotion and attention in picture processing. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 109, 373–385.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lilienfeld, SO (1990). Development and preliminary validation of a self-report measure of psychopathic personality. Doctoral Dissertation. University of Minnesota.Google Scholar
Lilienfeld, SO, Andrews, BP (1996). Development and preliminary validation of a self-report measure of psychopathic personality traits in noncriminal populations. Journal of Personality Assessment 66, 488–524.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lilienfeld, SO, Widows, M (2005). Professional Manual for the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R). Psychological Assessment Resources: Lutz, FL.Google Scholar
Lissek, S, Powers, AS (2003). Sensation seeking and startle modulation by physically threatening images. Biological Psychology 63, 179–197.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Muthén, LK, Muthén, BO (1998–2007). Mplus User's Guide, fifth edition. Muthén and Muthén: Los Angeles, CA.Google Scholar
Neale, MC, Boker, SM, Xie, G, Maes, HH (2002). Mx: Statistical Modeling, sixth edition. Department of Psychiatry: Richmond, VA.Google Scholar
Neale, MC, Cardon, LR (1992). Methodology for Genetic Studies of Twins and Families. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers: New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nelson, LD, Patrick, CJ, Bernat, EM (2011). Operationalizing proneness to externalizing psychopathology as a multivariate psychophysiological phenotype. Psychophysiology 48, 64–72.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Patrick, CJ, Bernat, EM (2009). Neurobiology of psychopathy: a two-process theory. In Handbook of Neuroscience for the Behavioral Sciences (eds. Berntson, G. G. and Cacioppo, J. T.), pp. 1110–1131. John Wiley & Sons: New York.Google Scholar
Patrick, CJ, Bernat, EM (2010). Neuroscientific foundations of psychopathology. In Contemporary Directions in Psychopathology: Toward the DSM-V (eds. Millon, T., Krueger, R. F. and Simonsen, E.), pp. 419–452. Guilford Press: New York.Google Scholar
Patrick, CJ, Berthot, BD, Moore, JD (1996). Diazepam blocks fear-potentiated startle in humans. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 105, 89–96.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Patrick, CJ, Curtin, JJ, Tellegen, A (2002). Development and validation of a brief form of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire. Psychological Assessment 14, 150–163.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rosen, JB, Schulkin, J (1998). From normal fear to pathological anxiety. Psychological Review 105, 325–350.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sanislow, CA, Pine, DS, Quinn, KJ, Kozak, MJ, Garvey, MA, Heinssen, RK, Wang, PS, Cuthbert, BN (2010). Developing constructs for psychopathology research: research domain criteria. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 119, 631–639.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schmid, J, Leiman, JN (1957). The development of hierarchical factor solutions. Psychometrika 22, 53–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sher, KJ, Trull, TJ (1994). Personality and disinhibitory psychopathology: alcoholism and antisocial personality. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 103, 92–102.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sherman, SLWaldman, ID (1999). Identifying the molecular genetic basis of behavioral traits. In Behavioral Genetics and Society: The Clash of Culture and Society (eds. Carson, R. A. and Rothstein, M. A.), pp. 35–60. Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore, MD.Google Scholar
Sylvers, P, Lilienfeld, SO, LaPrairie, JL (2011). Differences between trait fear and trait anxiety: implications for psychopathology. Clinical Psychology Review 31, 122–137.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Taylor-Clift, A, Morris, BH, Rottenberg, J, Kovacs, M (2011). Emotion-modulated startle in anxiety disorders is blunted by co-morbid depressive episodes. Psychological Medicine 41, 129–139.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tellegen, A (1982). Manual for the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire. University of Minnesota Press: Minneapolis.Google Scholar
Vaidyanathan, U, Patrick, CJ, Bernat, EM (2009 a). Startle reflex potentiation during aversive picture viewing as an indicator of trait fear. Psychophysiology 46, 75–85.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vaidyanathan, U, Patrick, CJ, Cuthbert, BN (2009 b). Linking dimensional models of internalizing psychopathology to neurobiological systems: affect-modulated startle as an indicator of fear and distress disorders and affiliated traits. Psychological Bulletin 135, 909–942.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vrana, SR, Constantine, JA, Westman, JS (1992). Startle reflex modification as an outcome measure in the treatment of phobia: two case studies. Behavioral Assessment 14, 279–291.Google Scholar
Waldman, ID (2005). Statistical approaches to complex phenotypes: evaluating neuropsychological endophenotypes for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Biological Psychiatry 57, 1347–1356.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wolff, H-G, Preising, K (2005). Exploring item and higher-order factor structure with the Schmid-Leiman solution: syntax codes for SPSS and SAS. Behavior Research Methods 37, 48–58.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yung, Y-F, Thissen, D, McLeod, LD (1999). On the relationship between the higher-order factor model and the hierarchical factor model. Psychometrika 64, 113–128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zuckerman, M (1979). Sensation Seeking: Beyond the Optimal Level of Arousal. Erlbaum: Hillsdale, NJ.Google Scholar
Zuckerman, M (1994). Behavioral Expressions and Biosocial Bases of Sensation Seeking. Cambridge University Press: New York.Google Scholar
Zuckerman, M (2007). Sensation Seeking and Risky Behavior. American Psychological Association: Washington, DC.CrossRefGoogle Scholar