Preference between onset predictable and unpredictable administrations of 20% carbon-dioxide-enriched air: Implications for better understanding the etiology and treatment of panic disorder

Predictability of aversive events impacts the development and maintenance o f anxiety, particularly panic disorder. Although animal studies typically h ave found a preference for signaled (predictable) over unsignaled (unpredic table) aversive events, results of research with human participants have be en less clear. Using a panic-relevant paradigm, the authors examined predic tability preference with humans as a function of anxiety sensitivity and ge nder during repeated administrations of 20% carbon-dioxide-enriched air. Pa rticipants preferred predictable administrations, with high-anxiety individ uals showing greater preference than low-anxiety individuals and women show ing greater preference than men. In addition to providing information to be tter understand human predictability preference for panic-related events, r esults also may aid in determining the applicability of predictability to t he cognitive-behavioral treatment of panic disorder.