TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2024//
TI  - No harmful effect of propranolol administered prior to fear memory extinction in rats and humans
JO  - Journal of anxiety disorders
A1  - Luyten, Laura
A1  - Chalkia, Anastasia
A1  - Schnell, Anna Elisabeth
A1  - Özcan, Burcu
A1  - Leng, Lu
A1  - Schroyens, Natalie
A1  - Van Oudenhove, Lukas
A1  - Vanpaemel, Wolf
A1  - Beckers, Tom
SP  - e102870
EP  - e102870
VL  - 104
IS  - 
N2  - Exposure therapy is an evidence-based treatment option for anxiety-related disorders. Many patients also take medication that could, in principle, affect exposure therapy efficacy. Clinical and laboratory evidence indeed suggests that benzodiazepines may have detrimental effects. Large clinical trials with propranolol, a common beta-blocker, are currently lacking, but several preclinical studies do indicate impaired establishment of safety memories. Here, we investigated the effects of propranolol given prior to extinction training in 9 rat studies (N = 215) and one human study (N = 72). A Bayesian meta-analysis of our rat studies provided strong evidence against propranolol-induced extinction memory impairment during a drug-free test, and the human study found no significant difference with placebo. Two of the rat studies actually suggested a small beneficial effect of propranolol. Lastly, two rat studies with a benzodiazepine (midazolam) group provided some evidence for a harmful effect on extinction memory, i.e., impaired extinction retention. In conclusion, our midazolam findings are in line with prior literature (i.e., an extinction retention impairment), but this is not the case for the 10 studies with propranolol. Our data thus support caution regarding the use of benzodiazepines during exposure therapy, but argue against a harmful effect of propranolol on extinction learning.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0887-6185
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2024.102870
ID  - ref1
ER  -