Open AccessNeural Correlates of Attentional Processing of Threat in Youth with and without Anxiety Disorders
Author(s) -
Michele Bechor,
Michelle L. Ramos,
Michael J. Crowley,
Wendy K. Silverman,
Jeremy W. Pettit,
Bethany C. ReebSutherland
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of abnormal child psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.706
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1573-2835
pISSN - 0091-0627
DOI - 10.1007/s10802-018-0424-8
Subject(s) - psychology , anxiety , neural correlates of consciousness , developmental psychology , poison control , public health , injury prevention , human factors and ergonomics , suicide prevention , cognitive psychology , clinical psychology , cognition , psychiatry , medical emergency , medicine , nursing
Late-stage attentional processing of threatening stimuli, quantified through event-related potentials (ERPs), differentiates youth with and without anxiety disorders. It is unknown whether early-stage attentional processing of threatening stimuli differentiates these groups. Examining both early and late stage attentional processes in youth may advance knowledge and enhance efforts to identify biomarkers for translational prevention and treatment research. Twenty-one youth with primary DSM-IV-TR anxiety disorders (10 males, ages 8-15 years) and 21 typically developing Controls (15 males, ages 8-16 years) completed a dot probe task while electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded, and ERPs were examined. Youth with anxiety disorders showed significantly larger (more positive) P1 amplitudes for threatening stimuli than for neutral stimuli, and Controls showed the opposite pattern. Youth with anxiety showed larger (more negative) N170 amplitudes compared with Controls. Controls showed significantly larger (more positive) P2 and P3 amplitudes, regardless of stimuli valence, compared with youth with anxiety disorders. ERPs observed during the dot probe task indicate youth with anxiety disorders display distinct neural processing during early stage attentional orienting and processing of faces; this was not the case for Controls. Such results suggest these ERP components may have potential as biomarkers of anxiety disorders in youth.