1
|
Mărcuș O, Rusu R, Mueller SC, Visu-Petra L. To be or not to be flexible: A hierarchical model of affective flexibility in typical development and internalizing problems. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2024; 246:104275. [PMID: 38703655 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2023] [Revised: 04/07/2024] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Affective flexibility is defined as a complex executive function which enables individuals to successfully alternate between distinct emotional and non-emotional features of a given situation in order to attain a specific goal. A large body of research has focused exclusively on flexibility in a non-emotional context, although most of our interactions with our environment are emotionally satiated. Our main aim was to propose a hierarchical framework to describe this construct from a macro-level perspective to a more nuanced and micro-level perspective, including three different levels of affective flexibility: elementary, shifting, and generative. Next, we employed this hierarchical framework to examine the role played by affective flexibility in typical development and different forms of developmental psychopathology. Lastly, we discuss how this knowledge could inform future prevention and intervention programs aimed at reducing cognitive vulnerability to developmental psychopathology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Oana Mărcuș
- Human Behaviour and Development Research Lab, Department of Psychology, "Lucian Blaga" University of Sibiu, Sibiu, Romania; Research in Individual Differences and Legal Psychology (RIDDLE) Lab, Department of Psychology, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
| | - Rebeca Rusu
- Research in Individual Differences and Legal Psychology (RIDDLE) Lab, Department of Psychology, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
| | - Sven C Mueller
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium.
| | - Laura Visu-Petra
- Research in Individual Differences and Legal Psychology (RIDDLE) Lab, Department of Psychology, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; Department of Social & Human Research, Romanian Academy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Minihan S, Kumle L, Maston K, Bal D, Werner‐Seidler A, Christensen H, Schweizer S. The relationship between cognitive and affective control and adolescent mental health. JCPP ADVANCES 2024; 4:e12204. [PMID: 38486950 PMCID: PMC10933673 DOI: 10.1002/jcv2.12204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/08/2023] [Indexed: 03/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Cognitive control problems have been implicated in the etiology and maintenance of mental health problems, including depression, in adults. Studies in adolescents have been more equivocal, with some showing changes in cognitive control in adolescents with mental health problems, whereas others fail to show an association. This study examines whether adolescent mental health is associated with affective control, the application of cognitive control in affective contexts, which shows more protracted development than cognitive control. Methods The present study investigated the association of cognitive and affective control with depressive symptomatology and self-reported diagnostic history of mental health problems in adolescents. The study included 1929 participants (M age = 13.89) from the Future Proofing Study (N = 6,388, 11-16 years), who completed affective (incl., affective stimuli) and/or cognitive (incl., neutral stimuli) versions of a working memory (backward digit-span) and/or shifting (card-sorting) task at least once within 3 weeks of assessing mental health. Results Poorer working memory was associated with greater depressive symptomatology in adolescents (β = -0.06, p = .004), similarly across cognitive and affective control conditions (β = -0.02, p = .269). Adolescents with self-reported diagnostic history of mental health problems had significantly poorer shifting ability in affective compared to cognitive control conditions (b = 0.05, p = .010), whereas for adolescents with no self-reported diagnoses, shifting ability did not differ between conditions (b = -0.00, p = .649). Conclusions The present analyses suggest that working memory difficulties, in particular, may be associated with the experience of current depressed mood in adolescents. Problems with affective shifting may be implicated in a range of mental health problems in adolescents. Given the ubiquitous need for efficient cognitive functioning in daily life, enhancing cognitive and affective control in adolescents may be a promising means of improving functioning across a range of domains, including affective functioning, and by extension, adolescent mental health.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Savannah Minihan
- School of PsychologyUniversity of New South WalesSydneyNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Levi Kumle
- Department of Experimental PsychologyUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
| | - Kate Maston
- Black Dog InstituteUniversity of New South WalesSydneyNew South WalesAustralia
- Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental HealthUniversity of New South WalesSydneyNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Debopriyo Bal
- Black Dog InstituteUniversity of New South WalesSydneyNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Aliza Werner‐Seidler
- School of PsychologyUniversity of New South WalesSydneyNew South WalesAustralia
- Black Dog InstituteUniversity of New South WalesSydneyNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Helen Christensen
- Black Dog InstituteUniversity of New South WalesSydneyNew South WalesAustralia
- Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental HealthUniversity of New South WalesSydneyNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Susanne Schweizer
- School of PsychologyUniversity of New South WalesSydneyNew South WalesAustralia
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of CambridgeCambridgeUK
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
McGuire R, Halligan SL, Schweizer S, Leung JT, Hiller RM. Cognitive and affective control for adolescents in care versus their peers: implications for mental health. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health 2023; 17:128. [PMID: 37946284 PMCID: PMC10636895 DOI: 10.1186/s13034-023-00668-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Many adolescents who have been removed from the care of their biological parent(s) and placed in State or Local Authority care have experienced significant adversity, including high rates of maltreatment and other trauma(s). As a group, these young people experience far higher rates of mental health difficulties compared to their peers. While their mental health outcomes are well-documented, little is known about mechanisms that may drive this. One potential mechanism, linked to both trauma and adversity exposure and mental health, is affective control (the application of cognitive control in affective contexts). METHODS We compared cognitive and affective control in 71 adolescents (65% girls) in care aged 11-18 (M = 14.82, SD = 2.10) and 71 age and gender-matched peers aged 11-19 years (M = 14.75, SD = 1.95). We measured cognitive and affective control using standard experimental tasks, and for those in care, we also examined associations with self-reported emotion regulation, mental health, and school well-being. RESULTS After controlling for IQ, there was a significant group difference in affective control performance, with those in care on average performing worse across all tasks. However, further analyses showed this was driven by deficits in overall cognitive control ability, and was not specific to, or worsened by, affective stimuli. Further, we found no evidence that either cognitive or affective control was associated with emotion regulation abilities or the mental health and well-being of young people in care. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that cognitive and affective control may not underlie mental health for young people in care, though limitations should be considered. We discuss implications for theory and intervention development, and avenues for further research. TRIAL REGISTRATION https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/QJVDA.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rosie McGuire
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, 26 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AP, United Kingdom
| | - Sarah L Halligan
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom.
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
| | - Susanne Schweizer
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Jovita T Leung
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Rachel M Hiller
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, 26 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AP, United Kingdom
- Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, London, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Schweizer S, Parker J, Leung JT, Griffin C, Blakemore SJ. Age-related differences in affective control and its association with mental health difficulties. Dev Psychopathol 2020; 32:329-341. [PMID: 30907719 PMCID: PMC6982534 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579419000099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2018] [Revised: 12/05/2018] [Accepted: 12/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Difficulties in regulating affect are core characteristics of a wide range of mental health conditions and are associated with deficits in cognitive control, particularly in affective contexts, affective control. The current study explored how affective control relates to mental health over the course of adolescence. We developed an Affective Control Task, which was administered to young adolescents (11-14 years; n = 29); mid-adolescents (15-18 years; n = 31), and adults (22-30 years; n = 31). The task required individuals to sort cards according to continuously changing rules: color, number, or item type. There was a neutral condition in which items were shapes, and an affective condition, in which items were emotional facial expressions. Better affective control was associated with fewer mental health difficulties (p < .001, R2 = .15). Affective control partially accounted for the association between age group and mental health problems, z = 2.61, p = .009, Akaike information criterion = 484, with the association being strongest in young adolescents, r (27) = -.44, p = .018. Affective control further accounted for variance in the association between self-reported (but not experimental) emotion regulation and mental health (z = -3.44, p < .001, Akaike information criterion = 440). Poor affective control, especially in young adolescents, is associated with more mental health problems and higher levels of emotion regulation difficulties. Improving affective control therefore may constitute a promising target for prevention.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Susanne Schweizer
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
| | - Jenna Parker
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Jovita T. Leung
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
| | - Cait Griffin
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
| | | |
Collapse
|
5
|
Popa AM, Cruz JR, Wong LM, Harvey DJ, Angkustsiri K, Leckliter IN, Perez-Edgar K, Simon TJ. Seeing Eye to Eye With Threat: Atypical Threat Bias in Children With 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome. AMERICAN JOURNAL ON INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES 2019; 124:549-567. [PMID: 31756146 PMCID: PMC6927396 DOI: 10.1352/1944-7558-124.6.549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Individuals with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) show high rates of anxiety associated with their increased risk of developing schizophrenia. Biased attention is associated with anxiety and is important to investigate in those with 22q11DS given this association. We analyzed attention bias to emotional faces in 7- to 17-year olds with 22q11DS and typically developing controls (TD) using a dot probe threat bias paradigm. We measured response time, eye tracking, and pupilometry. Those with 22q11DS showed no significant changes in early versus late trials, whereas those who were TD showed differing patterns in both gaze and pupilometry over time. The patterns in those who are TD may indicate adaptation that is lacking or slower in individuals with 22q11DS.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Abbie M Popa
- Abbie M. Popa, Joshua R. Cruz, Ling M. Wong, Danielle J. Harvey, Kathleen Angkustsiri, and Ingrid N. Leckliter, UC Davis, MIND Institute, Sacramento, CA; Koraly Perez-Edgar, Penn State University, University Park; and Tony J. Simon, UC Davis, MIND Institute, Sacramento, CA
| | - Joshua R Cruz
- Abbie M. Popa, Joshua R. Cruz, Ling M. Wong, Danielle J. Harvey, Kathleen Angkustsiri, and Ingrid N. Leckliter, UC Davis, MIND Institute, Sacramento, CA; Koraly Perez-Edgar, Penn State University, University Park; and Tony J. Simon, UC Davis, MIND Institute, Sacramento, CA
| | - Ling M Wong
- Abbie M. Popa, Joshua R. Cruz, Ling M. Wong, Danielle J. Harvey, Kathleen Angkustsiri, and Ingrid N. Leckliter, UC Davis, MIND Institute, Sacramento, CA; Koraly Perez-Edgar, Penn State University, University Park; and Tony J. Simon, UC Davis, MIND Institute, Sacramento, CA
| | - Danielle J Harvey
- Abbie M. Popa, Joshua R. Cruz, Ling M. Wong, Danielle J. Harvey, Kathleen Angkustsiri, and Ingrid N. Leckliter, UC Davis, MIND Institute, Sacramento, CA; Koraly Perez-Edgar, Penn State University, University Park; and Tony J. Simon, UC Davis, MIND Institute, Sacramento, CA
| | - Kathleen Angkustsiri
- Abbie M. Popa, Joshua R. Cruz, Ling M. Wong, Danielle J. Harvey, Kathleen Angkustsiri, and Ingrid N. Leckliter, UC Davis, MIND Institute, Sacramento, CA; Koraly Perez-Edgar, Penn State University, University Park; and Tony J. Simon, UC Davis, MIND Institute, Sacramento, CA
| | - Ingrid N Leckliter
- Abbie M. Popa, Joshua R. Cruz, Ling M. Wong, Danielle J. Harvey, Kathleen Angkustsiri, and Ingrid N. Leckliter, UC Davis, MIND Institute, Sacramento, CA; Koraly Perez-Edgar, Penn State University, University Park; and Tony J. Simon, UC Davis, MIND Institute, Sacramento, CA
| | - Koraly Perez-Edgar
- Abbie M. Popa, Joshua R. Cruz, Ling M. Wong, Danielle J. Harvey, Kathleen Angkustsiri, and Ingrid N. Leckliter, UC Davis, MIND Institute, Sacramento, CA; Koraly Perez-Edgar, Penn State University, University Park; and Tony J. Simon, UC Davis, MIND Institute, Sacramento, CA
| | - Tony J Simon
- Abbie M. Popa, Joshua R. Cruz, Ling M. Wong, Danielle J. Harvey, Kathleen Angkustsiri, and Ingrid N. Leckliter, UC Davis, MIND Institute, Sacramento, CA; Koraly Perez-Edgar, Penn State University, University Park; and Tony J. Simon, UC Davis, MIND Institute, Sacramento, CA
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Zainal NH, Newman MG. Executive function and other cognitive deficits are distal risk factors of generalized anxiety disorder 9 years later. Psychol Med 2018; 48:2045-2053. [PMID: 29224581 PMCID: PMC6707521 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291717003579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The cognitive model (Hirsch & Mathews, 2012) and attentional control theory (Eysenck & Derakshan, 2011) postulate that compromised executive function (EF) and other cognitive constructs are negatively linked to increased excessive and uncontrollable worry, the core symptom of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). However, the prospective link between neuropsychological constructs and GAD are not well understood. METHODS A nationally representative sample of 2605 community-dwelling adults whose average age was 55.20 (s.d. = 11.41, range 33-84; 56.31% females) participated at baseline and 9-year follow-up. Baseline neuropsychological function and symptoms were measured using the Brief Test of Adult Cognition by Telephone and Composite International Diagnostic Interview - Short Form. Multivariate Poisson and negative binomial regression analyses were conducted with 11 baseline covariates entered simultaneously: age, gender, years of formal education, perceived control, hypertension/diabetes, body mass index, exercise status, as well as GAD severity, panic disorder severity, and depression severity. Those with baseline GAD were also removed. RESULTS Lower Time 1 composite global cognition z-score independently predicted higher Time 2 GAD severity and diagnosis [odds ratio (OR) 0.60, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.40-0.89, p = 0.01]. Poor inhibition, set-shifting, working memory (WM) updating, inductive reasoning, and global cognition sequentially forecasted heightened GAD. However, processing speed, verbal WM, verbal fluency, and episodic memory did not predict future GAD. CONCLUSION Global cognition, inductive reasoning, inhibition, set-shifting, and WM updating EF impairments may be distal risk factors for elevated GAD nearly a decade later.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nur Hani Zainal
- Department of Psychology,The Pennsylvania State University,University Park,PA 16802,USA
| | - Michelle G Newman
- Department of Psychology,The Pennsylvania State University,University Park,PA 16802,USA
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Abstract
Addiction is marked by repeating a certain behavior while ignoring the potential physical or mental consequences. Non-substance addiction provides an ideal model for researching the emergence and development of addiction's basic mechanism. Comparative studies of substance and non-substance addiction are helpful to reveal the common basis of addiction development. This article explores this topic from a psychological angle, touching upon sensation seeking, inhibitory control, attentional bias, intertemporal choice and environment. A review of previous literature urges future research to propose a biopsychosocial model of addiction and consider addiction's effect on basic cognitive function alongside cognitive neuroscience technology.
Collapse
|
8
|
Invitto S, Calcagnì A, Mignozzi A, Scardino R, Piraino G, Turchi D, De Feudis I, Brunetti A, Bevilacqua V, de Tommaso M. Face Recognition, Musical Appraisal, and Emotional Crossmodal Bias. Front Behav Neurosci 2017; 11:144. [PMID: 28824392 PMCID: PMC5539234 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2017] [Accepted: 07/19/2017] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent research on the crossmodal integration of visual and auditory perception suggests that evaluations of emotional information in one sensory modality may tend toward the emotional value generated in another sensory modality. This implies that the emotions elicited by musical stimuli can influence the perception of emotional stimuli presented in other sensory modalities, through a top-down process. The aim of this work was to investigate how crossmodal perceptual processing influences emotional face recognition and how potential modulation of this processing induced by music could be influenced by the subject's musical competence. We investigated how emotional face recognition processing could be modulated by listening to music and how this modulation varies according to the subjective emotional salience of the music and the listener's musical competence. The sample consisted of 24 participants: 12 professional musicians and 12 university students (non-musicians). Participants performed an emotional go/no-go task whilst listening to music by Albeniz, Chopin, or Mozart. The target stimuli were emotionally neutral facial expressions. We examined the N170 Event-Related Potential (ERP) and behavioral responses (i.e., motor reaction time to target recognition and musical emotional judgment). A linear mixed-effects model and a decision-tree learning technique were applied to N170 amplitudes and latencies. The main findings of the study were that musicians' behavioral responses and N170 is more affected by the emotional value of music administered in the emotional go/no-go task and this bias is also apparent in responses to the non-target emotional face. This suggests that emotional information, coming from multiple sensory channels, activates a crossmodal integration process that depends upon the stimuli emotional salience and the listener's appraisal.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sara Invitto
- Human Anatomy and Neuroscience Lab, Department of Environmental Science and Technology, University of SalentoLecce, Italy
| | - Antonio Calcagnì
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of TrentoTrento, Italy
| | - Arianna Mignozzi
- Human Anatomy and Neuroscience Lab, Department of Environmental Science and Technology, University of SalentoLecce, Italy
| | - Rosanna Scardino
- Human Anatomy and Neuroscience Lab, Department of Environmental Science and Technology, University of SalentoLecce, Italy
| | | | - Daniele Turchi
- Human Anatomy and Neuroscience Lab, Department of Environmental Science and Technology, University of SalentoLecce, Italy
| | - Irio De Feudis
- Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, Polytechnic University of BariBari, Italy
| | - Antonio Brunetti
- Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, Polytechnic University of BariBari, Italy
| | - Vitoantonio Bevilacqua
- Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, Polytechnic University of BariBari, Italy
| | - Marina de Tommaso
- Department of Medical Science, Neuroscience, and Sense Organs, University Aldo MoroBari, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Grunewald M, Stadelmann S, Brandeis D, Jaeger S, Matuschek T, Weis S, Kalex V, Hiemisch A, von Klitzing K, Döhnert M. Early processing of emotional faces in a Go/NoGo task: lack of N170 right-hemispheric specialisation in children with major depression. J Neural Transm (Vienna) 2015; 122:1339-52. [PMID: 26093649 DOI: 10.1007/s00702-015-1411-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2015] [Accepted: 06/01/2015] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Emotionally biased information processing towards sad and away from happy information characterises individuals with major depression. To learn more about the nature of these dysfunctional modulations, developmental and neural aspects of emotional face processing have to be considered. By combining measures of performance (attention control, inhibition) in an emotional Go/NoGo task with an event-related potential (ERP) of early face processing (N170), we obtained a multifaceted picture of emotional face processing in a sample of children and adolescents (11-14 years) with major depression (MDD, n = 26) and healthy controls (CTRL, n = 26). Subjects had to respond to emotional faces (fearful, happy or sad) and withhold their response to calm faces or vice versa. Children of the MDD group displayed shorter N170 latencies than children of the CTRL group. Typical right lateralisation of the N170 was observed for all faces in the CTRL but not for happy and calm faces in the MDD group. However, the MDD group did not differ in their behavioural reaction to emotional faces, and effects of interference by emotional information on the reaction to calm faces in this group were notably mild. Although we could not find a typical pattern of emotional bias, the results suggest that alterations in face processing of children with major depression can be seen at early stages of face perception indexed by the N170. The findings call for longitudinal examinations considering effects of development in children with major depression as well as associations to later stages of processing.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Madlen Grunewald
- LIFE-Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases, Universität Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany,
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
10
|
LoBue V, Rakison DH. What we fear most: A developmental advantage for threat-relevant stimuli. DEVELOPMENTAL REVIEW 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/j.dr.2013.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
|
11
|
LoBue V, Pérez-Edgar K. Sensitivity to social and non-social threats in temperamentally shy children at-risk for anxiety. Dev Sci 2013; 17:239-47. [PMID: 24283271 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2012] [Accepted: 07/11/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
In the current brief report, we examined threat perception in a group of young children who may be at-risk for anxiety due to extreme temperamental shyness. Results demonstrate specific differences in the processing of social threats: 4- to 7-year-olds in the high-shy group demonstrated a greater bias for social threats (angry faces) than did a comparison group of low-shy children. This pattern did not hold for non-social threats like snakes: Both groups showed an equal bias for the detection of snakes over frogs. The results suggest that children who are tempermentally shy have a heightened sensitivity to social signs of threat early in development. These findings have implications for understanding mechanisms of early threat sensitivity that may predict later socioemotional maladjustment.
Collapse
|
12
|
Yerys BE, Kenworthy L, Jankowski KF, Strang J, Wallace GL. Separate components of emotional go/no-go performance relate to autism versus attention symptoms in children with autism. Neuropsychology 2013; 27:537-45. [PMID: 23937480 DOI: 10.1037/a0033615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The present investigation examined whether higher functioning children with autism would demonstrate impaired response inhibition performance in an emotional go/no-go task, and whether severity of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or autism symptoms correlated with performance. METHOD Forty-four children (21 meeting criteria for autism; 23 typically developing controls [TDCs]) completed an emotional go/no-go task in which an emotional facial expression (angry, fearful, happy, or sad) was the go stimulus and a neutral facial expression was the no-go stimulus, and vice versa. RESULTS The autism group was faster than the TDC group on all emotional go trials. Moreover, the children in the autism group who had the fastest reaction times on emotional go trials were rated as having the greatest number of symptoms (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule Social + Communication score), even after accounting for the association with ADHD symptoms. The autism group also made more impulsive responses (i.e., lower d', more false alarms) than the TDC group on all trials. As d' decreased or false alarms increased, so did ADHD symptoms. Hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms were significantly correlated with false alarms, but inattention symptoms were not. There was not a significant relationship between no-go false alarms and autism symptoms; even after partialing out associations with autism symptoms, the significant correlation between ADHD symptoms and no-go false alarms remained. CONCLUSION The present findings support a comorbidity model that argues for shared and independent risk factors, because ADHD and autism symptoms related to independent aspects of emotional go/no-go performance.
Collapse
|
13
|
Abstract
BACKGROUND The present study was designed to examine the cortical processes that mediate cognitive regulation in response to emotion-eliciting stimuli in anxious children. METHODS Electroencephalographic (EEG) activity was recorded from clinically anxious children (n = 29) and typically developing children (n = 34). Event-related potential components were recorded while children performed a go/no-go task using facial stimuli depicting angry, calm, and happy expressions. RESULTS Anxious children had significantly greater posterior P1 and frontal N2 amplitudes, components associated with attention/arousal and cognitive control, respectively, than typically developing children. Anxious children also had significantly greater error-related negativities and correct-response negativities relative to typically developing children. For the anxious group only, there were no differences in neural activation between face (emotion) types or trial (Go vs. No-go) types. A regression analysis revealed that No-go N2 amplitudes for calm faces predicted self-reported anxiety levels. CONCLUSIONS Anxious children appeared to show increased cortical activation regardless of the emotional content of the stimuli. Anxious children also showed greater medial-frontal activity regardless of task demands and response accuracy. Taken together, these findings suggest indiscriminate cortical processes that may underlie the hypervigilant regulatory style seen in clinically anxious individuals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn M Hum
- Department of Human Development and Applied Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
14
|
Mueller SC, Hardin MG, Mogg K, Benson V, Bradley BP, Reinholdt-Dunne ML, Liversedge SP, Pine DS, Ernst M. The influence of emotional stimuli on attention orienting and inhibitory control in pediatric anxiety. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2012; 53:856-63. [PMID: 22409260 PMCID: PMC3427735 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2012.02541.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent in children and adolescents, and are associated with aberrant emotion-related attention orienting and inhibitory control. While recent studies conducted with high-trait anxious adults have employed novel emotion-modified antisaccade tasks to examine the influence of emotional information on orienting and inhibition, similar studies have yet to be conducted in youths. METHODS Participants were 22 children/adolescents diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, and 22 age-matched healthy comparison youths. Participants completed an emotion-modified antisaccade task that was similar to those used in studies of high-trait anxious adults. This task probed the influence of abruptly appearing neutral, happy, angry, or fear stimuli on orienting (prosaccade) or inhibitory (antisaccade) responses. RESULTS Anxious compared to healthy children showed facilitated orienting toward angry stimuli. With respect to inhibitory processes, threat-related information improved antisaccade accuracy in healthy but not anxious youth. These findings were not linked to individual levels of reported anxiety or specific anxiety disorders. CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest that anxious relative to healthy children manifest enhanced orienting toward threat-related stimuli. In addition, the current findings suggest that threat may modulate inhibitory control during adolescent development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sven C. Mueller
- Section of Developmental and Affective Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA,Department of Experimental-Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium
| | - Michael G. Hardin
- Section of Developmental and Affective Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Karin Mogg
- School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Valerie Benson
- School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | | | | | | | - Daniel S. Pine
- Section of Developmental and Affective Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Monique Ernst
- Section of Developmental and Affective Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Lau JYF, Hilbert K, Goodman R, Gregory AM, Pine DS, Viding EM, Eley TC. Investigating the genetic and environmental bases of biases in threat recognition and avoidance in children with anxiety problems. BIOLOGY OF MOOD & ANXIETY DISORDERS 2012; 2:12. [PMID: 22788754 PMCID: PMC3487968 DOI: 10.1186/2045-5380-2-12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2011] [Accepted: 05/21/2012] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Background Adults with anxiety show biased categorization and avoidance of threats. Such biases may emerge through complex interplay between genetics and environments, occurring early in life. Research on threat biases in children has focuses on a restricted range of biases, with insufficient focus on genetic and environmental origins. Here, we explore differences between children with and without anxiety problems in under-studied areas of threat bias. We focused both on associations with anxious phenotype and the underlying gene-environmental correlates for two specific processes: the categorisation of threat faces and avoidance learning. Method Two-hundred and fifty 10-year old MZ and DZ twin pairs (500 individuals) completed tasks assessing accuracy in the labelling of threatening facial expressions and in the acquisition of avoidant responses to a card associated with a masked threatening face. To assess whether participants met criteria for an anxiety disorder, parents of twins completed a self-guided computerized version of the Development and Well-being Assessment (DAWBA). Comparison of MZ and DZ twin correlations using model-fitting were used to compute estimates of genetic, shared and non-shared environmental effects. Results Of the 500 twins assessed, 25 (5%) met diagnostic criteria for a current anxiety disorder. Children with anxiety disorders were more accurate in their ability to recognize disgust faces than those without anxiety disorders, but were commensurate on identifying other threatening face emotions (angry, fearful, sad). Children with anxiety disorders but also more strongly avoided selecting a conditioned stimulus than non-anxious children. While recognition of socially threatening faces was moderately heritable, avoidant responses were heavily influenced by the non-shared environment. Conclusion These data add to other findings on threat biases in anxious children. Specifically, we found biases in the labelling of some negative-valence faces and in the acquisition of avoidant responses. While non-shared environmental effects explained all of the variance on threat avoidance, some of this may be due to measurement error.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Y F Lau
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3UD, UK.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
16
|
Simor P, Pajkossy P, Horváth K, Bódizs R. Impaired executive functions in subjects with frequent nightmares as reflected by performance in different neuropsychological tasks. Brain Cogn 2012; 78:274-83. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2012.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2011] [Revised: 12/06/2011] [Accepted: 01/09/2012] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
|
17
|
Gender difference of unconscious attentional bias in high trait anxiety individuals. PLoS One 2011; 6:e20305. [PMID: 21647221 PMCID: PMC3101250 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0020305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2010] [Accepted: 04/29/2011] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
By combining binocular suppression technique and a probe detection paradigm, we investigated attentional bias to invisible stimuli and its gender difference in both high trait anxiety (HTA) and low trait anxiety (LTA) individuals. As an attentional cue, happy or fearful face pictures were presented to HTAs and LTAs for 800 ms either consciously or unconsciously (through binocular suppression). Participants were asked to judge the orientation of a gabor patch following the face pictures. Their performance was used to measure attentional effect induced by the cue. We found gender differences of attentional effect only in the unconscious condition with HTAs. Female HTAs exhibited difficulty in disengaging attention from the location where fearful faces were presented, while male HTAs showed attentional avoidance of it. Our results suggested that the failure to find attentional avoidance of threatening stimuli in many previous studies might be attributed to consciously presented stimuli and data analysis regardless of participants' gender. These findings also contributed to our understanding of gender difference in anxiety disorder.
Collapse
|
18
|
Is there room for 'development' in developmental models of information processing biases to threat in children and adolescents? Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 2011; 13:315-32. [PMID: 20811944 DOI: 10.1007/s10567-010-0078-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Clinical and experimental theories assume that processing biases in attention and interpretation are a causal mechanism through which anxiety develops. Despite growing evidence that these processing biases are present in children and, therefore, develop long before adulthood, these theories ignore the potential role of child development. This review attempts to place information processing biases within a theoretical developmental framework. We consider whether child development has no impact on information processing biases to threat (integral bias model), or whether child development influences information processing biases and if so whether it does so by moderating the expression of an existing bias (moderation model) or by affecting the acquisition of a bias (acquisition model). We examine the extent to which these models fit with existing theory and research evidence and outline some methodological issues that need to be considered when drawing conclusions about the potential role of child development in the information processing of threat stimuli. Finally, we speculate about the developmental processes that might be important to consider in future research.
Collapse
|
19
|
Field AP, Lester KJ. Is there room for 'development' in developmental models of information processing biases to threat in children and adolescents? Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 2010. [PMID: 20811944 DOI: 10.1007/s10567‐010‐0078‐8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Clinical and experimental theories assume that processing biases in attention and interpretation are a causal mechanism through which anxiety develops. Despite growing evidence that these processing biases are present in children and, therefore, develop long before adulthood, these theories ignore the potential role of child development. This review attempts to place information processing biases within a theoretical developmental framework. We consider whether child development has no impact on information processing biases to threat (integral bias model), or whether child development influences information processing biases and if so whether it does so by moderating the expression of an existing bias (moderation model) or by affecting the acquisition of a bias (acquisition model). We examine the extent to which these models fit with existing theory and research evidence and outline some methodological issues that need to be considered when drawing conclusions about the potential role of child development in the information processing of threat stimuli. Finally, we speculate about the developmental processes that might be important to consider in future research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andy P Field
- School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.
| | | |
Collapse
|