Fig. 4.

Glucocorticoids enhance extinction-based psychotherapy. a VR exposure to fear of heights. b Adding cortisol to VR exposure results in reductions of self-reported fear of heights (measured with Acrophobia Questionnaire, range 0–120) at posttreatment and at follow-up. VR exposure took place on 3 treatment sessions between pretreatment and posttreatment assessment. Cortisol (20 mg) was administered 1 h before each VR exposure session. Values are depicted as mean and SEM. Asterisks (*, P < 0.05) indicate significant differences between the placebo- and cortisol group at a certain time point. Adapted from (de Quervain et al. 2011)