Trial reportNeuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology2012
Stimulation of the noradrenergic system during memory formation impairs extinction learning but not the disruption of reconsolidation.
Trial report in Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 68 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
68 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Modulation of naturalistic maladaptive memories using behavioural and pharmacological reconsolidation-interfering strategies: a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical and 'sub-clinical' studies.Psychopharmacology · 2018Pooled it
- Hippocampal connectivity changes after traumatic memory reactivation with propranolol for posttraumatic stress disorder: a randomized fMRI study.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2025Trial
- Re-encountering the phobic cue within days after a reconsolidation intervention is crucial to observe a lasting fear reduction in spider phobia.Molecular psychiatry · 2025Trial
- Alpha-2 Adrenoreceptor Antagonist Yohimbine Potentiates Consolidation of Conditioned Fear.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2022Trial
- Trial
- Neural substrates of propranolol-induced impairments in the reconsolidation of nicotine-associated memories in smokers.Translational psychiatry · 2021Trial
- Acute stress leaves fear generalization in healthy individuals intact.Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience · 2021Trial
- L-DOPA improves extinction memory retrieval after successful fear extinction.Psychopharmacology · 2019Trial
- Fear expression is suppressed by tyrosine administration.Scientific reports · 2019Trial
- Prazosin during threat discrimination boosts memory of the safe stimulus.Learning & memory (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.) · 2017Trial
- Effect of a Brief Memory Updating Intervention on Smoking Behavior: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA psychiatry · 2017Trial
- Modification of Fear Memory by Pharmacological and Behavioural Interventions during Reconsolidation.PloS one · 2016Trial
- Disrupting reconsolidation of fear memory in humans by a noradrenergic β-blocker.Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE · 2014Trial
- Young and old Pavlovian fear memories can be modified with extinction training during reconsolidation in humans.Learning & memory (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.) · 2014Trial
- No evidence for enhanced extinction memory consolidation through noradrenergic reuptake inhibition-delayed memory test and reinstatement in human fMRI.Psychopharmacology · 2014Trial
- A double blind, placebo-controlled study of the effects of post-retrieval propranolol on reconsolidation of memory for craving and cue reactivity in cocaine dependent humans.Psychopharmacology · 2013Trial
- Trial
- Effects of Prereactivation Propranolol on Cocaine Craving Elicited by Imagery Script/Cue Sets in Opioid-dependent Polydrug Users: A Randomized Study.Journal of addiction medicineTrial
- Therapeutic potential of propranolol in central nervous system disorders.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Review
- Neuropharmacological Modulation of N-methyl-D-aspartate, Noradrenaline and Endocannabinoid Receptors in Fear Extinction Learning: Synaptic Transmission and Plasticity.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
8 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The noradrenergic system plays a critical role in the 'consolidation' of emotional memory. If we are to target 'reconsolidation' in patients with anxiety disorders, the noradrenergic strengthening of fear memory should not impair the disruption of reconsolidation. In Experiment I, we addressed this issue using a differential fear conditioning procedure allowing selective reactivation of one of two fear associations. First, we strengthened fear memory by administering an α(2)-adrenergic receptor antagonist (ie, yohimbine HCl; double-blind placebo-controlled study) 30 min before acquisition (time for peak value yohimbine HCl <1 h). Next, the reconsolidation of one of the fear associations was manipulated by administering a β-adrenergic receptor antagonist (ie, propranolol HCl) 90 min before its selective reactivation (time for peak value propranolol HCl <2 h). In Experiment II, we administered propranolol HCl after reactivation of the memory to rule out a possible effect of the pharmacological manipulation on the memory retrieval itself. The excessive release of noradrenaline during memory formation not only delayed the process of extinction 48 h later, but also triggered broader fear generalization. Yet, the β-adrenergic receptor blocker during reconsolidation selectively 'neutralized' the fear-arousing aspects of the noradrenergic-strengthened memory and undermined the generalization of fear. We observed a similar reduction in fear responding when propranolol HCl was administered after reactivation of the memory. The present findings demonstrate the involvement of noradrenergic modulation in the formation as well as generalization of human fear memory. Given that the noradrenergic strengthening of fear memory impaired extinction learning but not the disruption of reconsolidation, our findings may have implications for the treatment of anxiety disorders.
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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 OpenQuestion graph.