ArticleNature communications2025
Neural correlates of human fear conditioning and sources of variability in 2199 individuals.
Abstract read
In one paragraph
Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
11 citing papers in PubMed.
- Dopamine D2/3 receptors and functional connectivity during fear extinction: A PET-fMRI study.Neuroimage. Reports · 2026Article
- Dynamic changes in amygdala and insula responses to the onset and offset of conditioned stimuli during threat learning.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Dissociable Thalamocortical Circuit Disruptions During Contextual Fear Renewal in PTSD.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Fear learning in unmedicated patients with anxiety disorders: a comparison of delay conditioning, fear reversal, and trace conditioning.Translational psychiatry · 2026Article
- The human amygdala in threat learning and extinction.Science advances · 2026Article
- Amygdala transcranial ultrasound stimulation disrupts threat acquisition and extinction learning.Science advances · 2026Review
- Fear, anxiety, and the extended amygdala-absence of evidence for strict functional segregation.Social cognitive and affective neuroscience · 2026Article
- Ventromedial prefrontal cortex activity during extinction recall suggests successful extinction learning via mental imagery.Social cognitive and affective neuroscience · 2026Article
- Investigating the functional neural network dynamics of cognitive-affective action planning during threat processing.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Generalized environmental fear hypothesis and the effects of schematic restructuring in autism.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Fear, anxiety, and the extended amygdala-bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
93 authors.
Joaquim Radua *Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1240-5438
Hannah S Savage *Donders Institute of Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Enric VilajosanaInstitut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0007-6057-1795
Alec JamiesonDepartment of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5598-0240
Birgit AblerDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy III, Ulm University Clinic, Ulm, Germany.
Fredrik ÅhsDepartment of Psychology and Social Work, Mid Sweden University, Östersund, Sweden.
Tom BeckersFaculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9581-1505
Narcís CardonerSant Pau Mental Health Group, Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau (IBB-Sant Pau), Barcelona, Spain.
Josh M CislerDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
Juliana B DinizDepartment of Psychiatry, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Dominik R BachUniversity of Bonn, Transdisciplinary Research Area "Life and Health", Hertz Chair for Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience, Institute of Computer Science, Medical Faculty, Institute of Experimental Epileptology and Cognition Research, Bonn, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3717-2036
Sigrid ElsenbruchDepartment of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Medical Faculty, Ruhr University, Bochum, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6528-2665
Steven G GreeningBrain & Cognitive Sciences, Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4578-4139
Daphne J HoltDepartment of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.
Antonia N KaczkurkinDepartment of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0943-3094
Andreas KeilDepartment of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4064-1924
Merel KindtDepartment of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7989-3195
Kathrin KochSchool of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4664-8016
Kevin S LaBarCenter for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8253-5417
Charlene L LamLaboratory of Clinical Psychology & Affective Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Christine L LarsonUniversity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Department of Psychology, Milwaukee, WI, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1359-6080
Tina B LonsdorfBiological Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1501-4846
Christian J MerzDepartment of Cognitive Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5679-6595
Katie A McLaughlinDepartment of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1362-2410
Yuval NeriaDepartment of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
Daniel S PineSection on Development and Affective Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Carien M van ReekumSchool of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1516-1101
Alexander J ShackmanDepartment of Psychology, Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3629-4704
Carles Soriano-MasCentro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Madrid, Spain.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4574-6597
Victor I SpoormakerMax Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany.
Daniel M StoutUniversity of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
Benjamin StraubeDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9837-0944
Thomas StraubeInstitute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany.
Lauri TuominenUniversity of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research at the Royal, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Renée M VisserDepartment of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0376-8165
Laura AhumadaDepartment of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9353-2457
Volker AroltInstitute for Translational Psychiatry, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2445-9778
Marcelo C BatistuzzoDepartment of Psychiatry, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1347-8241
Paulo R BazánRadiology Institute, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2202-0494
Emma E BiggsFaculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Marta CanoSant Pau Mental Health Group, Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau (IBB-Sant Pau), Barcelona, Spain.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0675-9483
Pamela Chavarría-ElizondoPsychiatry and Mental Health Group, Neuroscience Program, Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge - IDIBELL, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8177-3771
Samuel E CooperDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9563-1750
Udo DannlowskiInstitute for Translational Psychiatry, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
Víctor de la Peña-ArteagaSant Pau Mental Health Group, Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau (IBB-Sant Pau), Barcelona, Spain.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8627-2653
Stephanie N DeCrossDepartment of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8993-4413
Katharina DomschkeDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2550-9132
Mana R EhlersBiological Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.
John L GranerCenter for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5465-7193
Alfons O HammDepartment of Psychology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
Martin J HerrmannDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9970-2122
Ashley A HugginsDepartment of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7936-2116
Adriane IcenhourDepartment of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Medical Faculty, Ruhr University, Bochum, Germany.
Asier Juaneda-SeguíPsychiatry and Mental Health Group, Neuroscience Program, Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge - IDIBELL, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain.
Markus JunghoeferOtto-Creutzfeld-Center of Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8532-2986
Tilo KircherDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2514-2625
Katja KoelkebeckBielefeld University, Medical School and University Medical Center OWL, Protestant Hospital of the Bethel Foundation, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Bielefeld, Germany.
Manuel KuhnInstitute for Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Franziska LabrenzDepartment of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, Medical Faculty, Ruhr University, Bochum, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7284-3451
Shmuel M LissekDepartment of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Martin LotzeDiagnostic Radiology, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4519-4956
Ulrike LuekenGerman Center of Mental Health (DZPG), partner site Berlin/Potsdam, Berlin, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1564-4012
Jürgen MargrafMental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr-University Bochum (FBZ) and German Center for Mental Health (DZPG), partner site Bochum/Marburg, Bochum, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5207-7016
Ignacio Martínez-ZalacaínPsychiatry and Mental Health Group, Neuroscience Program, Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge - IDIBELL, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4036-0284
Robert MoeckInstitute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany.
Jayne MorrissSchool of Psychology, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
María OrtuñoInstitut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7730-6054
Andre PittigTranslational Psychotherapy, Institute for Psychology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3787-9576
Daniel Porta-CasterasSant Pau Mental Health Group, Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau (IBB-Sant Pau), Barcelona, Spain.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3921-3607
Jan RichterDepartment of Experimental Psychopathology, University of Hildesheim, Hildesheim, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7127-6990
Isabelle C RidderbuschDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
Winfried RiefDivision of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
Kati RoesmannInstitute for Biomagnetism and Biosignal analysis, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6940-3551
Jörgen RosénDepartment of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Alena N RußmannInstitute for Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0003-2155-6833
Rachel SjouwermanInstitute for Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Jennifer SpohrsDepartment of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ulm University Medical Centre, Ulm, Germany.
Andreas StröhleDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Benjamin Suarez-JimenezDepartment of Neuroscience, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA.
Martin UlrichDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy III, Ulm University Clinic, Ulm, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1237-0426
Hans-Ulrich WittchenPsychiatric University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-University München, München, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6311-7711
Xi ZhuDepartment of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
Lea WallerDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3239-6957
Henrik WalterGerman Center of Mental Health (DZPG), partner site Berlin/Potsdam, Berlin, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9403-6121
Paul M ThompsonImaging Genetics Center, Stevens Neuroimaging & Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Janna Marie Bas-HoogendamDevelopmental and Educational Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8982-1670
Nynke A GroenewoldDepartment of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0865-8427
Dan J SteinSAMRC Unit on Risk & Resilience in Mental Disorders, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7218-7810
Nic J Van der WeeLeiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Joseph E DunsmoorDepartment of Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5448-6873
Andre F MarquandDonders Institute of Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5903-203X
Ben J HarrisonDepartment of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
Miquel A FullanaInstitut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain. mafullana@clinic.cat.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3863-5223
Funding
fMRI Studies Of Pediatric Mood And Anxiety DisordersZIAMH002781 · NIMH · NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH · PI PINE, DANIEL · 2009 to 2025
$41.5MVISUAL SCIENCE RESEARCH CTR SUPPORTP30EY001319 · NEI · UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER · PI Susana Marcos · 1985 to 2026
$17.5MTraining U54EB020403 · NIBIB · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI THOMPSON, PAUL M · 2014 to 2018
$10.1MRoybal Center for Fearless Behavior Change - renewal Behavioral Intervention Development (BID) CoreP30AG064198 · NIA · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · PI Ian Matthew Kronish · 2019 to 2026
$7.4MUsing Theory- and Data-Driven Neurocomputational Approaches and Digital Phenotyping to Understand RDoC Acute and Potential ThreatR01MH131264 · NIMH · UNIV OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK · PI ALEXANDER JOSEPH SHACKMAN · 2022 to 2026
$3.9MChild Trauma and the Development of Neural Systems Underlying Emotion RegulationR01MH103291 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI MCLAUGHLIN, KATIE · 2014 to 2018
$3.8MAcute Neurocognitive-affective Predictors of Chronic Post-trauma OutcomesR01MH106574 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN MILWAUKEE · PI LARSON, CHRISTINE L · 2015 to 2019
$3.1MUsing novel virtual reality tasks to identify neural mechanisms of discrimination learning in PTSDR01MH131532 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER · PI Benjamin Suarez-Jimenez · 2023 to 2026
$2.7MLocalizing and modulating competing memories of fear and safety in the human brainR01MH122387 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN · PI DUNSMOOR, JOSEPH EDWARD · 2021 to 2025
$2.7MThe neural basis of deficits in acquisition and extinction of fear in schizophrenR01MH095904 · NIMH · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI HOLT, DAPHNE J · 2012 to 2016
$2.7MComputational Biases of Learning and Decision-Making in PTSDR01MH119132 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI CISLER, JOSHUA M · 2019 to 2023
$2.6MGlobal Deep Learning Initiative to Understand Outcomes in Major DepressionR01MH131806 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI Roberto Goya-Maldonado, PAUL M THOMPSON · 2023 to 2026
$2.6MCSRD VA I01 CX002760Departament d'Innovació, Universitats i Empresa, Generalitat de Catalunya (Department of Innovation, Education and Enterprise, Government of Catalonia) 2021 SGR 1128Intramural NIH HHS ZIA MH002781NEI NIH HHS P30 EY001319NIAAA NIH HHS R01 AA030042NIAAA NIH HHS R01 AA031261NIA NIH HHS P30 AG064198NIBIB NIH HHS U54 EB020403NIMH NIH HHS K01 MH122774NIMH NIH HHS K23 MH076054NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH095904NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH103291NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH106574NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH119132NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH122387NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH125615NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH131264NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH131532NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH131806NIMH NIH HHS R21 MH108753NIMH NIH HHS R33 MH108753NIMH NIH HHS R61 MH129559
Abstract
Pavlovian fear conditioning is a fundamental process in both health and disease. We investigate its neural correlates and sources of variability using harmonized functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 2199 individuals across nine countries, including 1888 healthy individuals and 311 with anxiety-related or depressive disorders. Using mega-analysis and normative modeling, we show that fear conditioning consistently engages brain regions within the "central autonomic-interoceptive" or "salience" network. Several task variables strongly modulate activity in these regions, contributing to variability in neural responses. Additionally, brain activation patterns differ between healthy individuals and those with anxiety-related or depressive disorders, with distinct profiles characterizing specific disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. While the neural correlates of fear conditioning are highly generalizable at the population level, variability arises from differences in task design and clinical status, highlighting the importance of methodological diversity in capturing fear learning mechanisms.
Indexed as
BrainConditioning, ClassicalFearAdolescentAdultAnxiety DisordersBrain MappingFemaleHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMiddle AgedObsessive-Compulsive DisorderStress Disorders, Post-TraumaticYoung Adult
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390
Registered trials
None linked
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.