Latent-cause ideas behind fear in anxiety
Official title: Project 3: Latent-cause inference in anxiety
Funded at Princeton University · NIH-11373047 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A research team at Princeton is studying why some people relapse into fear after exposure therapy and how brain signals relate to these differences.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Princeton University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Princeton, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | August 12, 2024 |
| Project end | July 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $507,774 |
| NIH project number | 5P50MH136296-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11373047 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Individuals with anxiety disorders who have undergone exposure therapy or who exhibit fear relapse after treatment.
✕Less likely to help
People without anxiety disorders or those not considering exposure-based treatment are unlikely to benefit.
What this research studies
This project looks at why exposure therapy sometimes fails long-term by examining how people remember fear versus safety after extinction. Researchers will use computational models to analyze individuals’ behavior during fear learning and extinction to identify differences in how latent causes of fear are inferred. They will relate these differences to anxiety symptoms and neural activity in brain regions like the amygdala and related circuits. The study aims to connect computational findings with brain data to understand why relapse happens in some patients. The ultimate goal is to improve personalized approaches to exposure therapy and reduce relapse risk.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could lead to more tailored exposure therapies and strategies to prevent relapse for people with anxiety disorders.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies show that extinction and memory reconsolidation can differ across individuals, supporting the potential for personalized insights.
Where this research is happening
-
Princeton University
Princeton, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Norman, Kenneth a — Princeton University
- Study coordinator: Norman, Kenneth a
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.