Partial Presentation of an Extinction Cue Enhances Renewal in an ABA Paradigm

It was investigated in humans whether the incorporation of an extinction cue attenuates renewal of extinguished conditioned performance using a computerized task. All participants received an acquisition phase against a specific background, context A. In this context they learned that two conditioned stimuli, CS1 and CS2, predicted the occurrence of an aversive unconditioned stimulus (US) and that a third stimulus, CS3, predicted the absence of the US. Next, half of the participants received an extinction treatment in a different context (B), whereas the other half did not (context A). During extinction both CS1 and CS3 were repeatedly presented in absence of the US. For all participants, a so-called extinction cue was presented partially during this extinction phase. Finally, a renewal test was conducted in which CS1, CS2, and CS3 were presented against the acquisition background (A). Half of the participants received the extinction cue along the renewal test. Participants demonstrated renewal, but only when they had received the extinction treatment in a different context. Contrary to the hypothesis, the extinction cue at test did not attenuate but appeared to augment this renewal. Different explanations for this result are discussed.