25 March 2026, by Anke Ellegast

We are excited to present our newly published study by Kim Sobania on transdiagnostic differences in fear and safety learning in anxiety and obsessive–compulsive disorders! In a sample of 156 participants with obsessive–compulsive disorder, social anxiety disorder, specific phobia, and healthy controls, we investigated multiple outcome measures within a differential fear conditioning paradigm.

While only few group differences emerged on a categorical level (i.e., reduced safety learning reflected in US-expectancy in social anxiety disorder), several findings were observed on a dimensional level: Higher anxious arousal was associated with increased fear responses during acquisition and generalization, whereas depressive symptoms were linked to elevated US-expectancy during extinction.

Our findings suggest that individual differences in core symptom dimensions influence fear and safety learning processes across diagnostic boundaries. This highlights the importance of transdiagnostic approaches for understanding and treating anxiety and obsessive–compulsive disorders.

Sobania, K. M., Härpfer, K., Carsten, H. P., Lincoln, T. M., Kausche, F. M., & Riesel, A. (2026). Are Fear Learning Processes Altered in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Social Anxiety, and Specific Phobia? Insights From the Late Positive Potential, Fear-Potentiated Startle, and Ratings. Psychophysiology, 63:e70277. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.70277