Attention mechanisms during predictable and unpredictable threat - A steady-state visual evoked potential approach
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Attention mechanisms during predictable and unpredictable threat - A steady-state visual evoked potential approach. / Wieser, Matthias J; Reicherts, Philipp; Juravle, Georgiana; von Leupoldt, Andreas.
In: NEUROIMAGE, Vol. 139, 01.10.2016, p. 167-175.Research output: SCORING: Contribution to journal › SCORING: Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Attention mechanisms during predictable and unpredictable threat - A steady-state visual evoked potential approach
AU - Wieser, Matthias J
AU - Reicherts, Philipp
AU - Juravle, Georgiana
AU - von Leupoldt, Andreas
N1 - Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
PY - 2016/10/1
Y1 - 2016/10/1
N2 - Fear is elicited by imminent threat and leads to phasic fear responses with selective attention, whereas anxiety is characterized by a sustained state of heightened vigilance due to uncertain danger. In the present study, we investigated attention mechanisms in fear and anxiety by adapting the NPU-threat test to measure steady-state visual evoked potentials (ssVEPs). We investigated ssVEPs across no aversive events (N), predictable aversive events (P), and unpredictable aversive events (U), signaled by four-object arrays (30s). In addition, central cues were presented during all conditions but predictably signaled imminent threat only during the P condition. Importantly, cues and context events were flickered at different frequencies (15Hz vs. 20Hz) in order to disentangle respective electrocortical responses. The onset of the context elicited larger electrocortical responses for U compared to P context. Conversely, P cues elicited larger electrocortical responses compared to N cues. Interestingly, during the presence of the P cue, visuocortical processing of the concurrent context was also enhanced. The results support the notion of enhanced initial hypervigilance to unpredictable compared to predictable threat contexts, while predictable cues show electrocortical enhancement of the cues themselves but additionally a boost of context processing.
AB - Fear is elicited by imminent threat and leads to phasic fear responses with selective attention, whereas anxiety is characterized by a sustained state of heightened vigilance due to uncertain danger. In the present study, we investigated attention mechanisms in fear and anxiety by adapting the NPU-threat test to measure steady-state visual evoked potentials (ssVEPs). We investigated ssVEPs across no aversive events (N), predictable aversive events (P), and unpredictable aversive events (U), signaled by four-object arrays (30s). In addition, central cues were presented during all conditions but predictably signaled imminent threat only during the P condition. Importantly, cues and context events were flickered at different frequencies (15Hz vs. 20Hz) in order to disentangle respective electrocortical responses. The onset of the context elicited larger electrocortical responses for U compared to P context. Conversely, P cues elicited larger electrocortical responses compared to N cues. Interestingly, during the presence of the P cue, visuocortical processing of the concurrent context was also enhanced. The results support the notion of enhanced initial hypervigilance to unpredictable compared to predictable threat contexts, while predictable cues show electrocortical enhancement of the cues themselves but additionally a boost of context processing.
U2 - 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.06.026
DO - 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.06.026
M3 - SCORING: Journal article
C2 - 27318217
VL - 139
SP - 167
EP - 175
JO - NEUROIMAGE
JF - NEUROIMAGE
SN - 1053-8119
ER -