1
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Positive valence systems in youth anxiety development: A scoping review. J Anxiety Disord 2022; 89:102588. [PMID: 35691120 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2022.102588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2021] [Revised: 05/23/2022] [Accepted: 05/27/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Research on pathophysiological mechanisms supporting anxiety development in youth has traditionally focused on the role of threat systems. However, emerging research suggests that the positive valence system (PVS) may also play a strong and unique role in the development and maintenance of anxiety during childhood and adolescence. To better understand the connection between the PVS and anxiety, this scoping review describes current research spanning multiple units of analysis (i.e., self-report, behavior, neural circuits) linking child and adolescent anxiety and risk for anxiety to various PVS constructs (i.e., positive affect, reward responsiveness, reward learning and decision-making). After screening, 78 peer-reviewed articles and dissertations published between 1998 and May 2021 were included in a qualitative review. Though some consistencies in the literature were found, such as high neural reactivity to incentive anticipation in youth at temperamental risk for social anxiety and blunted positive affect in youth with social anxiety disorder, the literature is largely inconsistent. Inconsistencies could be related to the small number of similar studies, small and homogenous study samples, and variability in methodologies employed in this research. It cannot be confirmed whether findings linking PVS constructs to anxiety are unique to anxiety symptoms or better accounted for by co-occurring depressive symptoms. This review concludes with recommendations for robust future research in this area.
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2
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Jenness JL, Lambert HK, Bitrán D, Blossom JB, Nook EC, Sasse SF, Somerville LH, McLaughlin KA. Developmental Variation in the Associations of Attention Bias to Emotion with Internalizing and Externalizing Psychopathology. Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol 2021; 49:711-726. [PMID: 33534093 PMCID: PMC8102336 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-020-00751-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Attention biases to emotion are associated with symptoms of internalizing and externalizing psychopathology in children and adolescents. It is unknown whether attention biases to emotion and their associations with different symptoms of psychopathology vary across development from early childhood through young adulthood. We examine this age-related variation in the current study. Participants (N = 190; ages: 4-25) completed survey-based psychopathology symptom measures and a dot-probe task to assess attention bias to happy, sad, and angry relative to neutral faces. We tested whether linear or non-linear (e.g., spline-based models) associations best characterized age-related variation in attention to emotion. We additionally examined whether attention biases were associated with depression, anxiety, and externalizing symptoms and whether these associations varied by age. No age-related differences in attention biases were found for any of the emotional faces. Attention biases were associated with psychopathology symptoms, but only when examining moderation by age. Biased attention to angry faces was associated with greater symptoms of anxiety and depression in adolescents and young adults, but not children. Similarly, biased attention to happy faces was associated with externalizing symptoms in adolescents and young adults, but not in children. In contrast, biased attention to happy faces was associated with greater anxiety symptoms in children, but not in adolescents or young adults. Biased attention toward social threat and reward becomes more strongly coupled with internalizing and externalizing symptoms, respectively, during the transition to adolescence. These findings could inform when interventions such as attention bias modification training may be most effective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica L Jenness
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, US.
| | - Hilary K Lambert
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, US
| | - Debbie Bitrán
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, US
| | - Jennifer B Blossom
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, US
- Department of Psychology, University of Maine at Farmington, Farmington, ME, US
| | - Erik C Nook
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, US
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3
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Gori M, Schiatti L, Amadeo MB. Masking Emotions: Face Masks Impair How We Read Emotions. Front Psychol 2021; 12:669432. [PMID: 34113297 PMCID: PMC8185341 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.669432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2021] [Accepted: 04/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
To date, COVID-19 has spread across the world, changing our way of life and forcing us to wear face masks. This report demonstrates that face masks influence the human ability to infer emotions by observing facial configurations. Specifically, a mask obstructing a face limits the ability of people of all ages to infer emotions expressed by facial features, but the difficulties associated with the mask’s use are significantly pronounced in children aged between 3 and 5 years old. These findings are of essential importance, as they suggest that we live in a time that may potentially affect the development of social and emotion reasoning, and young children’s future social abilities should be monitored to assess the true impact of the use of masks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica Gori
- Unit for Visually Impaired People (U-VIP), Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Lucia Schiatti
- Unit for Visually Impaired People (U-VIP), Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Maria Bianca Amadeo
- Unit for Visually Impaired People (U-VIP), Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
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4
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Chong LJ, Meyer A. Psychometric properties of threat-related attentional bias in young children using eye-tracking. Dev Psychobiol 2020; 63:1120-1131. [PMID: 33146915 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2020] [Revised: 10/02/2020] [Accepted: 10/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Anxiety is one of the most common forms of child psychopathology associated with persistent impairment across the lifespan. Therefore, investigating mechanisms that underlie anxiety in early childhood may improve prevention and intervention efforts. Researchers have linked selective attention toward threat (i.e., attentional bias to threat) with the development of anxiety. However, previous work on attentional bias has used less reliable, reaction time (RT)-based measures of attention. Additionally, few studies have used eye-tracking to measure attentional bias in young children. In the present study, we investigated the psychometric properties of an eye-tracking measure of attentional bias in a sample of young children between 6- and 9-years-old and explored if trait and clinical anxiety were related to attentional biases to threat. Results showed good psychometric properties for threat and neutral attentional biases, comparable to those found in adult eye-tracking studies. Temperamental and clinical anxiety did not significantly relate to threat/neutral dwell time and attentional biases. The significance of these null findings was discussed in relation to existing developmental theories of attentional biases. Future studies should explore if temperamental or clinical anxiety prospectively predict threat attentional bias and the onset of anxiety in older children using a longitudinal design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lyndsey J Chong
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
| | - Alexandria Meyer
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
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5
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Smith AR, Haller SP, Haas SA, Pagliaccio D, Behrens B, Swetlitz C, Bezek JL, Brotman MA, Leibenluft E, Fox NA, Pine DS. Emotional distractors and attentional control in anxious youth: eye tracking and fMRI data. Cogn Emot 2020; 35:110-128. [PMID: 32954946 DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2020.1816911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Attentional control theory suggests that high cognitive demands impair the flexible deployment of attention control in anxious adults, particularly when paired with external threats. Extending this work to pediatric anxiety, we report two studies utilising eye tracking (Study 1) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (Study 2). Both studies use a visual search paradigm to examine anxiety-related differences in the impact of threat on attentional control at varying levels of task difficulty. In Study 1, youth ages 8-18 years (N = 109), completed the paradigm during eye tracking. Results indicated that youth with more severe anxiety took longer to fixate on and identify the target, specifically on difficult trials, compared to youth with less anxiety. However, no anxiety-related effects of emotional distraction (faces) emerged. In Study 2, a separate cohort of 8-18-year-olds (N = 72) completed a similar paradigm during fMRI. Behaviourally, youth with more severe anxiety were slower to respond on searches following non-threatening, compared to threatening, distractors, but this effect did not vary by task difficulty. The same interaction emerged in the neuroimaging analysis in the superior parietal lobule and precentral gyrus-more severe anxiety was associated with greater brain response following non-threatening distractors. Theoretical implications of these inconsistent findings are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley R Smith
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Research Program, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Simone P Haller
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Research Program, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Sara A Haas
- Uppsala Child and Baby Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - David Pagliaccio
- Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Brigid Behrens
- Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
| | - Caroline Swetlitz
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jessica L Bezek
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Research Program, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Melissa A Brotman
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Research Program, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Ellen Leibenluft
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Research Program, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Nathan A Fox
- College of Education, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Daniel S Pine
- Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Research Program, Bethesda, MD, USA
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6
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A Situational Context Training for Socially Anxious Children. COGNITIVE THERAPY AND RESEARCH 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s10608-019-10060-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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7
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Luxford S, Hadwin JA, Kovshoff H. Evaluating the Effectiveness of a School-Based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Intervention for Anxiety in Adolescents Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 2018; 47:3896-3908. [PMID: 27440250 PMCID: PMC5676836 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-016-2857-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
This study evaluated the effectiveness of a school-based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) on symptoms of anxiety, social worry and social responsiveness, and indices of attentional control and attentional biases to threat in adolescents diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Thirty-five young people (11–14 years; IQ > 70) with ASD and elevated teacher or parent reported anxiety were randomly assigned to 6 sessions of the Exploring Feelings CBT intervention (Attwood in Exploring feelings (anxiety). Future Horizons, Arlington, 2004) (n = 18) or a wait-list control group (n = 17). The intervention (compared to the wait-list control) group showed positive change for parent, teacher and self-reported anxiety symptoms, and more marginal effects of increased teacher-reported social responsiveness. The discussion highlights the potential value and limitations of school-based CBT for young people with ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Luxford
- Developmental Brain-Behaviour Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, S017 1BJ, UK.,Oxfordshire Educational Psychology Service, Samuelson House, Tramway Road, Banbury, Oxford, OX16 5AU, UK
| | - Julie A Hadwin
- Developmental Brain-Behaviour Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, S017 1BJ, UK
| | - Hanna Kovshoff
- Developmental Brain-Behaviour Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, S017 1BJ, UK.
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8
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Chronaki G, Broyd SJ, Garner M, Benikos N, Thompson MJJ, Sonuga-Barke EJS, Hadwin JA. The Moderating Effect of Self-Reported State and Trait Anxiety on the Late Positive Potential to Emotional Faces in 6-11-Year-Old Children. Front Psychol 2018. [PMID: 29515476 PMCID: PMC5826320 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction: The emergence of anxiety during childhood is accompanied by the development of attentional biases to threat. However, the neural mechanisms underlying these biases are poorly understood. In addition, previous research has not examined whether state and trait anxiety are independently associated with threat-related biases. Methods: We compared ERP waveforms during the processing of emotional faces in a population sample of 58 6-11-year-olds who completed self-reported measures of trait and state anxiety and depression. Results: The results showed that the P1 was larger to angry than neutral faces in the left hemisphere, though early components (P1, N170) were not strongly associated with child anxiety or depression. In contrast, Late Positive Potential (LPP) amplitudes to angry (vs. neutral) faces were significantly and positively associated with symptoms of anxiety/depression. In addition, the difference between LPPs for angry (vs. neutral) faces was independently associated with state and trait anxiety symptoms. Discussion: The results showed that neural responses to facial emotion in children with elevated symptoms of anxiety and depression were most evident at later processing stages characterized as evaluative and effortful. The findings support cognitive models of threat perception in anxiety and indicate that trait elements of anxiety and more transitory fluctuations in anxious affect are important in understanding individual variation in the neural response to threat in late childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgia Chronaki
- Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience (DCN) Laboratory, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, United Kingdom.,Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.,School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Samantha J Broyd
- School of Psychology, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
| | - Matthew Garner
- School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Nicholas Benikos
- Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | | | | | - Julie A Hadwin
- School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
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9
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Ciumas C, Laurent A, Saignavongs M, Ilski F, de Bellescize J, Panagiotakaki E, Ostrowsky-Coste K, Arzimanoglou A, Herbillon V, Ibarrola D, Ryvlin P. Behavioral and fMRI responses to fearful faces are altered in benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BCECTS). Epilepsia 2017; 58:1716-1727. [DOI: 10.1111/epi.13858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Ciumas
- Translational and Integrative Group in Epilepsy Research (TIGER); INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292; Lyon Neuroscience Research Center; University Lyon 1; Lyon France
- Institute of Epilepsies (IDEE); Lyon France
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences; CHUV; Lausanne Switzerland
| | - Agathe Laurent
- Department of Neurosurgery; Sainte-Anne Hospital; Paris France
- Department of Clinical Epileptology, Sleep Disorders and Functional Neurology in Children; University Hospitals of Lyon (HCL); Lyon France
| | - Mani Saignavongs
- Translational and Integrative Group in Epilepsy Research (TIGER); INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292; Lyon Neuroscience Research Center; University Lyon 1; Lyon France
| | - Faustine Ilski
- Translational and Integrative Group in Epilepsy Research (TIGER); INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292; Lyon Neuroscience Research Center; University Lyon 1; Lyon France
- Department of Clinical Epileptology, Sleep Disorders and Functional Neurology in Children; University Hospitals of Lyon (HCL); Lyon France
| | - Julitta de Bellescize
- Department of Clinical Epileptology, Sleep Disorders and Functional Neurology in Children; University Hospitals of Lyon (HCL); Lyon France
| | - Eleni Panagiotakaki
- Department of Clinical Epileptology, Sleep Disorders and Functional Neurology in Children; University Hospitals of Lyon (HCL); Lyon France
| | - Karine Ostrowsky-Coste
- Department of Clinical Epileptology, Sleep Disorders and Functional Neurology in Children; University Hospitals of Lyon (HCL); Lyon France
| | - Alexis Arzimanoglou
- Department of Clinical Epileptology, Sleep Disorders and Functional Neurology in Children; University Hospitals of Lyon (HCL); Lyon France
- Brain Dynamics and Cognition Team (DYCOG); INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292; Lyon Neuroscience Research Center; University Lyon 1; Lyon France
| | - Vania Herbillon
- Department of Clinical Epileptology, Sleep Disorders and Functional Neurology in Children; University Hospitals of Lyon (HCL); Lyon France
- Brain Dynamics and Cognition Team (DYCOG); INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292; Lyon Neuroscience Research Center; University Lyon 1; Lyon France
| | | | - Philippe Ryvlin
- Institute of Epilepsies (IDEE); Lyon France
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences; CHUV; Lausanne Switzerland
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10
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Zhang P, Ni W, Xie R, Xu J, Liu X. Gender Differences in the Difficulty in Disengaging from Threat among Children and Adolescents With Social Anxiety. Front Psychol 2017; 8:419. [PMID: 28392773 PMCID: PMC5364171 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2016] [Accepted: 03/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
There is some research showing that social anxiety is related with attentional bias to threat. However, others fail to find this relationship and propose that gender differences may play a role. The aim of this study was to investigate the gender differences in the subcomponents of attentional bias to threat (hypervigilance and difficulty in disengaging) among children and adolescents with social anxiety. Overall, 181 youngsters aged between 10 and 14 participated in the current study. Images of disgusted faces were used as threat stimuli in an Exogenous Cueing Task was used to measure the subcomponents of attentional bias. Additionally, the Social Anxiety Scale for Children was used to measure social anxiety. The repeated measures ANOVA showed that male participants with high social anxiety showed difficulty in disengaging from threat, but this was not the case for female participants. Our results indicated that social anxiety is more related with attentional bias to threat among male children and adolescents than females. These findings suggested that developing gender-specific treatments for social anxiety may improve treatment effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Zhang
- School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing China
| | - Wenjin Ni
- Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing China
| | - Ruibo Xie
- School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing China
| | - Jiahua Xu
- School of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing China
| | - Xiangping Liu
- School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing China
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11
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Godinez DA, McRae K, Andrews-Hanna JR, Smolker H, Banich MT. Differences in frontal and limbic brain activation in a small sample of monozygotic twin pairs discordant for severe stressful life events. Neurobiol Stress 2016; 5:26-36. [PMID: 27981194 PMCID: PMC5145909 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2016.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2016] [Revised: 09/24/2016] [Accepted: 10/26/2016] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Monozygotic twin pairs provide a valuable opportunity to control for genetic and shared environmental influences while studying the effects of nonshared environmental influences. The question we address with this design is whether monozygotic twins selected for discordance in exposure to severe stressful life events during development (before age 18) demonstrate differences in brain activation during performance of an emotional word-face Stroop task. In this study, functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to assess brain activation in eighteen young adult twins who were discordant in exposure to severe stress such that one twin had two or more severe events compared to their control co-twin who had no severe events. Twins who experienced higher levels of stress during development, compared to their control co-twins with lower stress, exhibited significant clusters of greater activation in the ventrolateral and medial prefrontal cortex, basal ganglia, and limbic regions. The control co-twins showed only the more typical recruitment of frontoparietal regions thought to be important for executive control of attention and maintenance of task goals. Behavioral performance was not significantly different between twins within pairs, suggesting the twins with stress recruited additional neural resources associated with affective processing and updating working memory when performing at the same level. This study provides a powerful glimpse at the potential effects of stress during development while accounting for shared genetic and environmental influences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Detre A. Godinez
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, CO, USA
- Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Kateri McRae
- Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, CO, USA
| | | | - Harry Smolker
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
- Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Marie T. Banich
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
- Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
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12
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Hadwin JA, Richards HJ. Working Memory Training and CBT Reduces Anxiety Symptoms and Attentional Biases to Threat: A Preliminary Study. Front Psychol 2016; 7:47. [PMID: 26869956 PMCID: PMC4735443 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2015] [Accepted: 01/11/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Research indicates that cognitive processes linked to the detection of threat stimuli are associated with poor attentional control, placing children and adolescents at increased risk for the development of anxious affect. The current study aimed to provide preliminary data to assess whether an intervention designed to improve attentional control (via working memory; WM) would lead to better performance in tests of WM and would be associated with positive changes in symptoms of trait and test anxiety, increased inhibitory control and reduced attention to threat. Forty adolescents aged 11-14 years who reported elevated anxiety and low attentional control were randomly allocated to a WM training or an active cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) control group. Post intervention, WM training was associated with greater improvements (versus. CBT) in trained WM tasks. Both groups, however, reported fewer anxiety symptoms, demonstrated increased inhibitory control and a reduction in attentional biases to threat post intervention and these results were maintained at follow up. The study provides indicative evidence which suggests that WM training has similar benefits to a more traditional CBT intervention on reduced anxiety and attentional biases for threat. Future research should aim to replicate the findings in a large sample size and explore the broader impact of training on day-to-day functioning. In addition, further research is needed to identify which participants benefit most from different interventions (using baseline characteristics) on treatment compliance and outcome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie A Hadwin
- Developmental Brain-Behaviour Laboratory, School of Psychology, University of Southampton Southampton, UK
| | - Helen J Richards
- Developmental Brain-Behaviour Laboratory, School of Psychology, University of Southampton Southampton, UK
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13
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Dudeney J, Sharpe L, Hunt C. Attentional bias towards threatening stimuli in children with anxiety: A meta-analysis. Clin Psychol Rev 2015; 40:66-75. [PMID: 26071667 DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2015.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 169] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2014] [Revised: 05/08/2015] [Accepted: 05/30/2015] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Joanne Dudeney
- School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, NSW Australia
| | - Louise Sharpe
- School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, NSW Australia.
| | - Caroline Hunt
- School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, NSW Australia
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14
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Susa G, Benga O, Pitica I, Miclea M. Child temperamental reactivity and self-regulation effects on attentional biases. Front Psychol 2014; 5:922. [PMID: 25202291 PMCID: PMC4142332 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2014] [Accepted: 08/02/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
This study examined the effects of individual differences in temperamental reactivity (fear) and self-regulation (attentional control) on attentional biases toward threat in a sample of school-aged children (age range was between 9 years 1 month and 13 years 10 months). Attentional biases were assessed with pictorial Dot-probe task, comparing attention allocation toward angry (threat-related) vs. neutral and happy faces. Children also completed self-report temperamental measures of fear and attentional control. We compared attentional bias scores in 4 groups of children: high/low fear and high/low attentional control. Results indicated that, in the case of children with high fear and low attentional control, attention was significantly biased toward angry faces compared with children who had low fear and low attentional control. Findings are discussed in terms of the moderating role of individual differences in attentional control in the context of threat, anxiety-related attentional biases in children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgiana Susa
- Developmental Psychology Lab, Department of Psychology, Babes-Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Oana Benga
- Developmental Psychology Lab, Department of Psychology, Babes-Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Irina Pitica
- Developmental Psychology Lab, Department of Psychology, Babes-Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Mircea Miclea
- Department of Psychology, Babes-Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca, Romania
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15
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O'Toole LJ, DeCicco JM, Berthod S, Dennis TA. The N170 to angry faces predicts anxiety in typically developing children over a two-year period. Dev Neuropsychol 2014; 38:352-63. [PMID: 23862637 DOI: 10.1080/87565641.2013.802321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Enhanced threat processing has been associated with elevated anxiety in adults, but less is known about how threat processing influences the developmental trajectory of anxiety in children. We used the N170 to measure threat (angry faces) processing in relation to child anxiety over a 2-year period. Participants were 27 typically developing 5-to-7-year-olds (13 females). Higher anxiety when children were aged 5 to 7 was associated with higher anxiety 2 years later, but only for children showing larger N170 amplitudes to angry versus happy faces. The N170 captures individual differences in threat processing that may characterize children at enhanced risk for anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura J O'Toole
- Psychology Department, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, New York 10065, USA
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16
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Brown HM, Eley TC, Broeren S, Macleod C, Rinck M, Hadwin JA, Lester KJ. Psychometric properties of reaction time based experimental paradigms measuring anxiety-related information-processing biases in children. J Anxiety Disord 2014; 28:97-107. [PMID: 24486916 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2013.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2013] [Revised: 10/29/2013] [Accepted: 11/16/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Theoretical frameworks highlight the importance of threat-related information-processing biases for understanding the emergence of anxiety in childhood. The psychometric properties of several tasks measuring these biases and their associations with anxiety were examined in an unselected sample of 9-year-old children (N=155). In each task, threat bias was assessed using bias scores reflecting task performance on threat versus non-threat conditions. Reliability was assessed using split-half and test-retest correlations of mean reaction times (RTs), accuracy and bias indices. Convergence between measures was also examined. Mean RTs showed substantial split-half and test-retest correlations. Bias score reliability coefficients were near zero and non-significant, suggesting poor reliability in children of this age. Additionally, associations between bias scores and anxiety were weak and inconsistent and performance between tasks showed little convergence. Bias scores from RT based paradigms in the current study lacked adequate psychometric properties for measuring individual differences in anxiety-related information-processing in children.
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Affiliation(s)
- H M Brown
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College, London, United Kingdom
| | - T C Eley
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College, London, United Kingdom
| | - S Broeren
- Department of Public Health, Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - C Macleod
- Centre for the Advancement of Research on Emotion, University of Western Australia, Australia
| | - M Rinck
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - J A Hadwin
- Department of Psychology, University of Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - K J Lester
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College, London, United Kingdom.
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17
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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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Y F Lau
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3UD, UK.
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18
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Her P, Dunsmore JC. Parental beliefs about emotions are associated with early adolescents’ independent and interdependent self-construals. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DEVELOPMENT 2011. [DOI: 10.1177/0165025410397644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
We assessed linkages between parents’ beliefs and their children’s self-construals with 60 7th and 8th graders. Early adolescents completed an open-ended, Self-Guide Questionnaire and an independent and interdependent reaction-time measure. The self-guide responses were coded for independent and interdependent traits. Parents reported beliefs about the danger of emotions and parental guidance of emotions. When parents were high in beliefs about danger of emotions, and about parental guidance, early adolescents more rapidly responded to traits, especially interdependent traits. When parents were low in beliefs about both danger of emotions and parental guidance, daughters, but not sons, included fewer independent and interdependent traits in their self-construals. Girls responded faster to interdependent traits and included more interdependent and fewer independent traits in their self-construals than boys.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pa Her
- New York City College of Technology, USA,
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19
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Dodd HF, Porter MA. I see happy people: Attention bias towards happy but not angry facial expressions in Williams syndrome. Cogn Neuropsychiatry 2010; 15:549-67. [PMID: 20407964 DOI: 10.1080/13546801003737157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Observations of behaviour and research using eyetracking technology have shown that individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) pay an unusual amount of attention to other people's faces. The present research examines whether this attention to faces is moderated by the valence of emotional expression. METHOD Sixteen participants with WS aged between 13 and 29 years (mean = 19 years 9 months) completed a dot-probe task in which pairs of faces displaying happy, angry, and neutral expressions were presented. The performance of the WS group was compared to two groups of typically developing control participants, individually matched to the participants in the WS group on either chronological age or mental age. General mental age was assessed in the WS group using the Woodcock-Johnson Test of Cognitive Ability-Revised (WJ-COG-R; Woodcock & Johnson, 1989/1990). RESULTS Compared to both control groups, the WS group exhibited a greater attention bias for happy faces. In contrast, no between-group differences in bias for angry faces were obtained. CONCLUSIONS The results are discussed in relation to recent neuroimaging findings and the hypersocial behaviour that is characteristic of the WS population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helen F Dodd
- Macquarie Centre for Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
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