Brain Response to Unexpected Novel Noises in Children with Low and High Trait Anxiety

2007 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra M. Hogan ◽  
Elinor L. Butterfield ◽  
Luke Phillips ◽  
Julie A. Hadwin
Keyword(s):  
Trait Anxiety ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Behavioral Inhibition System ◽  
Brain Response ◽  
Oxford University ◽  
Novelty P3 ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
High Trait Anxiety ◽  
Anxious Group

The behavioral inhibition system [Gray, J. A. The neuropsychology of anxiety: An enquiry into the functions of the septo-hippocampal system. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1982] proposes that anxiety is associated with the processing of novel stimuli. We aimed to explore this relationship by recording auditory event-related potentials associated with unexpected novel noises in typically developing children. Children aged 10–14 years with low (n = 12) and high (n = 11) self-report trait anxiety were assessed using a novelty oddball task. The N1 associated with novel stimuli, specifically the “N1c” component maximal at temporal lobe sites, was of significantly longer latency (p = .014) and greater amplitude (p = .004) in the high compared with the low anxious group. This group difference was supported by linear correlations between N1c amplitude and trait anxiety scores. There was no effect of anxiety on the later novelty P3. These data suggest a subtle moderating role of trait anxiety on brain response to novelty, and further research with clinically anxious children is indicated.

A Confirmatory Factor Analytic Study of Anxiety, Fear, and Behavioral Inhibition System Measures

2007 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 179-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Cooper ◽  
Adam M. Perkins ◽  
Philip J. Corr
Keyword(s):  
Trait Anxiety ◽  
Behavioral Inhibition ◽  
Discriminant Validity ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Behavioral Inhibition System ◽  
Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory ◽  
Factor Analytic ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Structural Invariance ◽  
Fear And Anxiety

Abstract. Recent revisions to the reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST) of personality have highlighted the distinction between the emotions of fear and anxiety. These revisions have substantial implications for self-report measurement; in particular, they raise the question of whether separate traits of fear and anxiety exist and, if so, their interrelationship. To address this question, the current study used confirmatory factor analytic procedures to examine the convergent and discriminant validity of measures of trait anxiety, fear, and the behavioral inhibition system (BIS). We also examined measurement and structural invariance across gender in 167 males and 173 females who completed the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Carver and White BIS Scale, and the Fear Survey Schedule (FSS). The findings suggested that trait anxiety and the BIS scale are relatively distinct from Tissue Damage Fear (FSS). Further, the final model showed measurement and structural invariance across gender. The implications of the results for future self-report assessment in RST research are discussed.

scholarly journals A machine learning approach to identifying objective biomarkers of anxiety and stress

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arjun Ramakrishnan ◽  
Adam Pardes ◽  
William Lynch ◽  
Christopher Molaro ◽  
Michael Louis Platt
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Trait Anxiety ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Internal State ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
High Trait ◽  
High Trait Anxiety

AbstractAnxiety and stress-related disorders are highly prevalent and debilitating conditions that impose an enormous burden on society. Sensitive measurements that can enable early diagnosis could mitigate suffering and potentially prevent onset of these conditions. Self-reports, however, are intrusive and vulnerable to biases that can conceal the true internal state. Physiological responses, on the other hand, manifest spontaneously and can be monitored continuously, providing potential objective biomarkers for anxiety and stress. Recent studies have shown that algorithms trained on physiological measurements can predict stress states with high accuracy. Whether these predictive algorithms generalize to untested situations and participants, however, remains unclear. Further, whether biomarkers of momentary stress indicate trait anxiety – a vulnerability foreshadowing development of anxiety and mood disorders – remains unknown. To address these gaps, we monitored skin conductance, heart rate, heart rate variability and EEG in 39 participants experiencing physical and social stress and compared these measures to non-stressful periods of talking, rest, and playing a simple video game. Self-report measures were obtained periodically throughout the experiment. A support vector machine trained on physiological measurements identified stress conditions with ~96% accuracy. A decision tree that optimally combined physiological and self-report measures identified individuals with high trait anxiety with ~84% accuracy. Individuals with high trait anxiety also displayed high baseline state anxiety but a muted physiological response to acute stressors. Overall, these results demonstrate the potential for using machine learning tools to identify objective biomarkers useful for diagnosing and monitoring mental health conditions like anxiety and depression.

scholarly journals Gaming enhances learning-induced plastic changes in the brain

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katja Junttila ◽  
Anna-Riikka Smolander ◽  
Reima Karhila ◽  
Anastasia Giannakopoulou ◽  
Maria Uther ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Speech Sounds ◽  
Digital Game ◽  
Game Based Learning ◽  
Brain Response ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Plastic Changes ◽  
Game Condition ◽  
The Brain

Learning is increasingly assisted by technology. Digital games may be useful for learning, especially in children. However, more research is needed to understand the factors that induce gaming benefits to cognition. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of digital game-based learning approach in children by comparing the learning of foreign speech sounds and words in a digital game or a non-game digital application with equal amount of exposure and practice. To evaluate gaming-induced plastic changes in the brain function, we used the mismatch negativity (MMN) brain response that reflects the activation of long-term memory representations for speech sounds and words. We recorded auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) from 37 school-aged Finnish-speaking children before and after playing the “Say it again, kid!” (SIAK) language-learning game where they explored game boards, produced English words aloud, and got stars as feedback from an automatic speech recognizer to proceed in the game. The learning of foreign speech sounds and words was compared in two conditions embedded in the game: a game condition and a non-game condition with the same speech production task but lacking visual game elements and feedback. The MMN amplitude increased between the pre-measurement and the post-measurement for the word trained with the game but not for the word trained with the non-game condition, suggesting that the gaming intervention enhanced learning more than the non-game intervention. The results indicate that digital game-based learning can be beneficial for children’s language learning and that gaming elements per se, not just practise time, support learning.

Neural Biases to Covert and Overt Signals of Fear: Dissociation by Trait Anxiety and Depression

2007 ◽  
Vol 19 (10) ◽  
pp. 1595-1608 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leanne M. Williams ◽  
Andrew H. Kemp ◽  
Kim Felmingham ◽  
Belinda J. Liddell ◽  
Donna M. Palmer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trait Anxiety ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Controlled Processing ◽  
Parallel Networks ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Conscious Attention ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Emotion Encoding

Although biases toward signals of fear may be an evolutionary adaptation necessary for survival, heightened biases may be maladaptive and associated with anxiety or depression. In this study, event-related potentials (ERPs) were used to examine the time course of neural responses to facial fear stimuli (versus neutral) presented overtly (for 500 msec with conscious attention) and covertly (for 10 msec with immediate masking to preclude conscious awareness) in 257 nonclinical subjects. We also examined the impact of trait anxiety and depression, assessed using psychometric ratings, on the time course of ERPs. In the total subject group, controlled biases to overtly processed fear were reflected in an enhancement of ERPs associated with structural encoding (120–220 msec) and sustained evaluation persisting from 250 msec and beyond, following a temporo-occipital to frontal topography. By contrast, covert fear processing elicited automatic biases, reflected in an enhancement of ERPs prior to structural encoding (80–180 msec) and again in the period associated with automatic orienting and emotion encoding (230–330 msec), which followed the reverse frontal to temporo-occipital topography. Higher levels of trait anxiety (in the clinical range) were distinguished by a heightened bias to covert fear (speeding of early ERPs), compared to higher depression which was associated with an opposing bias to overt fear (slowing of later ERPs). Anxiety also heightened early responses to covert fear, and depression to overt fear, with subsequent deficits in emotion encoding in each case. These findings are consistent with neural biases to signals of fear which operate automatically and during controlled processing, feasibly supported by parallel networks. Heightened automatic biases in anxiety may contribute to a cycle of hypervigilance and anxious thoughts, whereas depression may represent a “burnt out” emotional state in which evaluation of fear stimuli is prolonged only when conscious attention is allocated.

Intramodal and crossmodal refractory effects: Evidence from oscillatory brain activity

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (0) ◽  
pp. 192
Author(s):  
Davide Bottari ◽  
Sophie Rohlf ◽  
Marlene Hense ◽  
Boukje Habets ◽  
Brigitte Roeder
Keyword(s):  
Brain Activity ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Random Order ◽  
Oddball Paradigm ◽  
Brain Response ◽  
Time Frequency ◽  
Tactile Stimuli ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Oscillatory Brain Activity ◽  
Auditory Cortices

Event-related potentials (ERP) to the second stimulus of a pair are known to be reduced in amplitude. The magnitude of this ‘refractoriness’ is modulated by both the interstimulus interval and the similarity between the two stimuli. Intramodal refractoriness is interpreted as an index of a temporary decrement in neural responsiveness. So, cross-modal refractoriness might be an indicator of shared neural generators between modalities. We analysed oscillatory neuronal activity while participants were engaged in an oddball paradigm with auditory (4000 Hz, 50 ms-long, 90 db, bilateral) and tactile stimuli (50 ms-long, 125 Hz-vibrations, index fingers) presented in a random order with an ISI of either 1000 or 2000 ms. Participants were required to detect rare tactile (middle fingers) and auditory deviants (600 Hz). A time–frequency analysis of the brain response to the second stimulus of each pair (T-T, A-A, T-A and A-T) contrasting Short and Long ISIs revealed a reduced refractory effect after Long ISI with respect to Short ISI, in all pairs (both intramodal and cross-modal). This emerged as a broadly distributed increase of evoked theta activity (3–7 Hz, 100–500 ms). Only in intramodal tactile pairs and cross-modal tactile-auditory pairs we also observed that Long ISI with respect to Short ISI determined a decrease of induced alpha (8–12 Hz, 200–700 ms), a typical sign of enhanced neural excitability and thus decreased refractoriness. These data suggest that somatosensory and auditory cortices display different neural markers of refractoriness and that the auditory cortex might have a stronger low level degree of influence on the tactile cortex than vice-versa.

scholarly journals Frontal and Parietal Components of a Cerebral Network Mediating Voluntary Attention to Novel Events

2003 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 294-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. R. Daffner ◽  
L. F. M. Scinto ◽  
A. M. Weitzman ◽  
R. Faust ◽  
D. M. Rentz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parietal Lobe ◽  
Substantial Reduction ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Button Press ◽  
Voluntary Attention ◽  
Parietal Lobes ◽  
Novelty P3 ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Posterior Parietal ◽  
P3 Amplitude

Despite the important role that attending to novel events plays in human behavior, there is limited information about the neuroanatomical underpinnings of this vital activity. This study investigated the relative contributions of the frontal and posterior parietal lobes to the differential processing of novel and target stimuli under an experimental condition in which subjects actively directed attention to novel events. Event-related potentials were recorded from well-matched frontal patients, parietal patients, and non-brain-injured subjects who controlled their viewing duration (by button press) of line drawings that included a frequent, repetitive background stimulus, an infrequent target stimulus, and infrequent, novel visual stimuli. Subjects also responded to target stimuli by pressing a foot pedal. Damage to the frontal cortex resulted in a much greater disruption of response to novel stimuli than to designated targets. Frontal patients exhibited a widely distributed, profound reduction of the novelty P3 response and a marked diminution of the viewing duration of novel events. In contrast, damage to posterior parietal lobes was associated with a substantial reduction of both target P3 and novelty P3 amplitude; however, there was less disruption of the processing of novel than of target stimuli. We conclude that two nodes of the neuroanatomical network for responding to and processing novelty are the prefrontal and posterior parietal regions, which participate in the voluntary allocation of attention to novel events. Injury to this network is indexed by reduced novelty P3 amplitude, which is tightly associated with diminished attention to novel stimuli. The prefrontal cortex may serve as the central node in determining the allocation of attentional resources to novel events, whereas the posterior parietal lobe may provide the neural substrate for the dynamic process of updating one's internal model of the environment to take into account a novel event.

The Relationship Between Responsiveness to Social and Monetary Rewards and ADHD Symptoms

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S635-S635
Author(s):  
B. Sutcubasi Kaya ◽  
B. Metin ◽  
F.Z. Krzan ◽  
N. Tarhan ◽  
C. Tas
Keyword(s):  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Reward Processing ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Adhd Symptoms ◽  
Monetary Rewards ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Competing Interest ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Age Range ◽  
Social Rewards

IntroductionAlterations in reward processing are frequently reported in ADHD. One important factor that affects reward processing is the quality of reward, as social and monetary, rewards are processed by different neural networks. However, effect of reward type on reward processing in ADHD was not extensively studied.AimsWe aimed to explore the effect of reward type (i.e., social or monetary) on different phases of reward processing and also to test the hypothesis that ADHD symptoms may be associated with a problem in processing of social rewards.MethodsWe recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) during a spatial attention paradigm in which cues heralded availability and type of the upcoming reward and feedbacks informed about the reward earned. Thirty-nine (19 males and 20 females) healthy individuals (age range: 19–27) participated in the study. ADHD symptoms were measured using ADHD self-report scale (ASRS).ResultsThe feedback related potentials, namely feedback related negativity (FRN), P200 and P300 amplitudes, were larger for social rewards compared to monetary rewards (Fig. 1). There was a consistent negative correlation between the hyperactivity subscale of ASRS and almost all feedback related ERPs. ERP amplitudes after social rewards were smaller for individuals with more hyperactivity.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that hypo responsiveness to social rewards may be associated with hyperactivity. However, the results have to be confirmed with clinical populations.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

scholarly journals Electrophysiological responses to negative evaluative person-knowledge: Effects of individual differences

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Krasowski ◽  
Sebastian Schindler ◽  
Maximilian Bruchmann ◽  
Robert Moeck ◽  
Thomas Straube
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Trait Anxiety ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Attentional Focus ◽  
N170 Component ◽  
Electrophysiological Responses ◽  
Early Posterior Negativity ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Task Conditions ◽  
Study Participants

AbstractFaces transmit rich information about a unique personal identity. Recent studies examined how negative evaluative information affects event-related potentials (ERPs), the relevance of individual differences, such as trait anxiety, neuroticism, or agreeableness, for these effects is unclear. In this preregistered study, participants (N = 80) were presented with neutral faces, either associated with highly negative or neutral biographical information. Faces were shown under three different task conditions that varied the attentional focus on face-unrelated features, perceptual face information, or emotional information. Results showed a task-independent increase of the N170 component for faces associated with negative information, while interactions occurred for the Early Posterior Negativity (EPN) and the Late Positive Potential (LPP), showing ERP differences only when paying attention to the evaluative information. Trait anxiety and neuroticism did not influence ERP differences. Low agreeableness increased EPN differences during perceptual distraction. Thus, we observed that low agreeableness leads to early increased processing of potentially hostile faces, although participants were required to attend to a face-unrelated feature.

scholarly journals Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Affective and Semantic Valence Among Women

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luchun Wang ◽  
Xiying Li ◽  
Zhongling Pi ◽  
Shuoqi Xiang ◽  
Xuemei Yao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Test Scores ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Late Positive Potential ◽  
Spatiotemporal Dynamics ◽  
Repeated Exposure ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Precentral Gyrus ◽  
Affective Valence ◽  
Positive Potential ◽  
Related Potentials

As an important dimension of emotional assessment, valence can refer to affective valence reflecting an emotional response, or semantic valence reflecting knowledge about the nature of a stimulus. A previous study has used repeated exposure to separate these two similar cognitive processes. Here, for the first time, we compared the spatiotemporal dynamics of the affective and semantic modes of valence by combining event-related potentials with repeated exposure. Forty-seven female participants were assigned to the feeling-focused and semantic-focused groups and thereafter repeatedly viewed the pictures selected for the study. Self-report behavioral results showed that post-test scores were significantly lower than pre-test scores in the feeling-focused group, while the differences between the two tests were not significant in the semantic-focused group. At the neural level, N2 amplitudes decreased and early late positive potential amplitudes increased in both groups, suggesting that the participants perceived the repeated pictures more fluently and retrieved the traces of the stimulus spontaneously regardless of the valence they judged. However, the late positive potential amplitudes in anterior areas and the activity of the middle frontal gyrus were attenuated in the feeling-focused group; however, this component in posterior areas and the activity of the precentral gyrus were increased in the semantic-focused group. Therefore, the processes of affective and semantic valence are similar in the early stages of image perception and retrieval, while in the later stage of valence judgment, these processes show different brain activation patterns. The results provide electrophysiological evidence for the differences in psychological processes when judging the two modes of valence.

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