{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,17]],"date-time":"2026-08-17T20:44:24Z","timestamp":1786999464935,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"Cambridge University Press (CUP)","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,12]],"date-time":"2025-09-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1757635200000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":254,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["cambridge.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Psychol. Med."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0033291725101475_sec1\">\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Return of fear after successful exposure therapy for a phobia is a common clinical challenge. A previous study on mice demonstrated that the persistent attenuation of remote fear memories can be achieved by combining histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis) with fear-memory retrieval prior to extinction training.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0033291725101475_sec2\" sec-type=\"methods\">\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To evaluate the translational potential of this approach, we conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Forty-eight individuals with DSM-IV spider phobia received either HDACi valproic acid (VPA, 500\u00a0mg) or a placebo prior to the retrieval of fear memory, followed by exposure therapy in virtual reality.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0033291725101475_sec3\" sec-type=\"results\">\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>No significant group difference was found in terms of behavioral change on the behavioral approach test at 3\u00a0months follow-up and baseline (primary outcome). However, the VPA group displayed significantly reduced fear in two self-report questionnaires related to spider phobia (Fear of Spiders Questionnaire; Spider Phobia Beliefs Questionnaire) as compared to the placebo group. No group differences were observed for psychophysiological indicators of fear.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0033291725101475_sec4\" sec-type=\"conclusions\">\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The favorable impact of a single administration of VPA in combination with fear-memory retrieval prior to exposure therapy suggests that it might be an effective way to enhance symptom improvement at the subjective level in the treatment of phobias. Further studies need to investigate the conditions under which an improvement on the psychophysiological and behavioral levels can be achieved as well.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1017\/s0033291725101475","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,12]],"date-time":"2025-09-12T07:00:06Z","timestamp":1757660406000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/policypage","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Effects of the histone deacetylase inhibitor valproic acid in combination with fear-memory retrieval before exposure therapy for spider phobia: A randomized controlled trial"],"prefix":"10.1017","volume":"55","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6049-6306","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nathalie","family":"Schicktanz","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02s6k3f65","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of Basel"},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05fw3jg78","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University Psychiatric Clinics Basel"},{"name":"University of Basel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7183-0210","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Frieder","family":"Dechent","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05fw3jg78","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University Psychiatric Clinics Basel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Carlo Andreas","family":"Huber","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05fw3jg78","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University Psychiatric Clinics Basel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0875-3405","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anja","family":"Zimmer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02s6k3f65","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of Basel"},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05fw3jg78","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University Psychiatric Clinics Basel"},{"name":"University of Basel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2038-7906","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Galya Clara","family":"Iseli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02s6k3f65","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of Basel"},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05fw3jg78","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University Psychiatric Clinics Basel"},{"name":"University of Basel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jeanne","family":"Howald","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02s6k3f65","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of Basel"},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05fw3jg78","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University Psychiatric Clinics Basel"},{"name":"University of Basel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3811-2940","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maya Thalia","family":"Schenker","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02s6k3f65","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of Basel"},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05fw3jg78","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University Psychiatric Clinics Basel"},{"name":"University of Basel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3219-3578","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Johannes","family":"Gr\u00e4ff","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences"},{"name":"School of Life Sciences"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3585-6533","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Undine","family":"Lang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02s6k3f65","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of Basel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7131-2464","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dominique J. 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