Background: Cognitive reappraisal ability (CRA) is an adaptive emotion regulation strategy that involves altering the meaning of emotional stimuli to reduce overtly expressed emotional responses....Show moreBackground: Cognitive reappraisal ability (CRA) is an adaptive emotion regulation strategy that involves altering the meaning of emotional stimuli to reduce overtly expressed emotional responses. This study explored whether CRA can be predicted by the electroencephalography (EEG) theta/beta ratio (TBR), a biomarker that typically reflects attentional and inhibitory control. It was further investigated if trait anxiety can predict CRA and moderate the association between TBR and CRA. Methods: EEG, ECG and self-report data were collected in a sample of 30 healthy students.The trait anxiety subscale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-t) was used to assess trait anxiety. A resting-state EEG recording was taken to assess TBR. Using an experimental emotion induction task, participants were exposed to threatening pictures while heart rate measurements were taken to provide an index for CRA (reduction in fear bradycardia). Results: A significant negative correlation between TBR and CRA indicated that individuals with higher TBR showed less effective cognitive reappraisal. Unexpectedly, trait anxiety neither predicted CRA nor moderated the association between TBR and CRA. Discussion: The finding that TBR was negatively associated with CRA aligns with previous research and supports the idea that TBR reflects prefrontal cortical control over subcortical emotional processes. Theta/beta neurofeedback training should be explored as an intervention for emotion dysregulation. Future research should test the association between trait anxiety and CRA in a clinically anxious sample, incorporating additional measures of CRA and self-relevant emotional stimuli.Show less
This paper looks at the effects that trait anxiety and intolerance to uncertainty have on decision making behaviours. Both intolerance to uncertainty and trait anxiety are factors that are...Show moreThis paper looks at the effects that trait anxiety and intolerance to uncertainty have on decision making behaviours. Both intolerance to uncertainty and trait anxiety are factors that are associated with information gathering behaviours in order to decrease feelings of anxiety. Intolerance to uncertainty can be split into two subscales, prospective and inhibitory intolerance to uncertainty. Prospective intolerance to uncertainty is more associated with information gathering behaviours, while inhibitory intolerance to uncertainty is more associated with impaired functioning. An online decision making task was used to look at the information gathering task. The task consisted of several trials where participants received a grid with 25 grey squares, all of which were one of two colours. There were three different ratios of these two colours, which lead to three different uncertainty conditions (low, middle and high uncertainty). The participants could chose to turn around tiles to reveal the colour and were free to turn as many tiles as they deemed necessary before making a decision. They then decided which colour was present on the majority of the squares. After each trial the participants reported their level of certainty about being correct on the task. A relationship was found between prospective intolerance to uncertainty and the high uncertainty condition. Showing that people with a larger prospective intolerance to uncertainty sample more in a highly uncertain situation. This would likely impact people’s behaviour on a daily basis and could provide more insight into individuals’ habits and problems. This paper also show that it might be beneficial to separate the two intolerance to uncertainty subscales, rather than treating them as a single variable.Show less
The placebo effect is a learning phenomenon strongly associated with cognitive mechanisms. Placebo conditioning, particularly, combines threat learning with verbal instructions and expectations....Show moreThe placebo effect is a learning phenomenon strongly associated with cognitive mechanisms. Placebo conditioning, particularly, combines threat learning with verbal instructions and expectations. These processes are central in shaping subjective pain experience and threat-related episodic memory. However, the specific influence of placebo conditioning on episodic memory accuracy and generalization is not yet known. It is hypothesized that threat associations enhance memory recognition and generalization by increasing arousal; thus, introducing a placebo manipulation in a threat conditioning paradigm might impair memory recognition by decreasing arousal. This can offer insights into the broader clinical implications of placebo, as threat-related responses and memory bias are hallmarks of anxiety disorders. This study used a within subjects experimental design with 72 healthy participants undergoing a pain calibration/placebo conditioning procedure, a Pavlovian threat conditioning paradigm with a placebo manipulation using pictures, and a memory test. Participants completed pain, mnemonic, and confidence ratings. We predicted that the placebo condition would correlate with lower subjective pain experience, and the CS+ condition with increased recognition memory and generalization compared to the CS+ placebo and CS- conditions. Although the placebo manipulation was successful, it did not significantly affect memory recognition, generalization or discrimination. There were indications that the CS+ condition correlated with higher recognition compared to the CS- condition, but these should be interpreted with caution. We conclude that the placebo manipulation’s subtle effects may not have reached the necessary threshold of arousal and motivational engagement required to alter memory processes. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.Show less
Habituation, the process of decreasing responsiveness to repeated stimuli, is a fundamental aspect of emotional processing. This study delves into the habituation of arousal ratings to diverse...Show moreHabituation, the process of decreasing responsiveness to repeated stimuli, is a fundamental aspect of emotional processing. This study delves into the habituation of arousal ratings to diverse negative stimuli and investigates the role of trait anxiety. The primary aim is to examine whether habituation occurs during exposure to multiple negative stimuli and assess how trait anxiety impacts this habituation process of arousal ratings over time. The study also explores post hoc potential gender differences in arousal and anxiety. Participants (N = 54) aged 18 to 27 were exposed to 120 negative and neutral images while self-assessing arousal using the Self-Assessment Manikin. Trait anxiety was measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). A main effect of valence revealed higher arousal for negative images (p < .001). Contrary to expectations, no significant habituation effect was observed in subjective arousal ratings over time (p = .426). Trait anxiety did not interact significantly with time and valence in influencing arousal ratings (p = .468). However, participants with higher trait anxiety reported overall higher arousal (p = .005). Post hoc analysis did not show any significant difference between gender in arousal or anxiety ratings (p = 0.124 & p = 0.740). The study did not find a significant habituation in subjective arousal to novel images contrasting with prior physiological habituation research. This emphasizes the importance of comparing physiological and subjective arousal and considering social desirability in self-report. The impact of trait anxiety on arousal ratings suggests a generalization effect, contributing to heightened overall emotional responses to threat and safe stimuli. These findings indicate an impact of trait anxiety on emotional processing which should be investigated to enhance (exposure) therapeutic interventions.Show less
Landmarks, opvallende objecten in omgevingen, kunnen ten behoeve van het onthouden van een route worden onthouden. Een van de manieren om dit geheugenproces in te delen, is door onderscheid te...Show moreLandmarks, opvallende objecten in omgevingen, kunnen ten behoeve van het onthouden van een route worden onthouden. Een van de manieren om dit geheugenproces in te delen, is door onderscheid te maken tussen herkenning, het hebben onthouden zonder context, waarbij ook de context is onthouden. Eerder onderzoek heeft aangetoond dat stress en trait anxiety invloed hebben op herkenning en herinnering, echter is deze invloed nog niet getest bij landmarks. In de huidige studie werd dit onderzocht door 37 participanten een exploratietaak uit te laten voeren in een virtuele omgeving waarin landmarks waren geplaatst. De helft van de participanten kreeg van tevoren stress opgewekt door een zingtaak uit te voeren in de Sing-a-Song Stress Test. Na de exploratietaak werd middels de Remember / Know paradigm getest in hoeverre landmarks herkend en herinnerd waren en werd de Stait-Trait Anxiety Inventory afgenomen. De Sing-a-Song Stress Test bleek een effectieve manipulatie voor het induceren van verhoogde stressniveaus. Er werd geen verschil gevonden tussen de hoge- en lage-stressconditie in herkenning en herinnering van landmarks, als ook geen verschil in herkenning en herinnering tussen lage en hoge trait anxiety. Vervolgonderzoek wordt aanbevolen via fMRI hippocampusactiviteit te meten gedurende het Remember / Know paradigm, om meer grip te krijgen op het al dan niet onafhankelijk optreden van herkenning en herinnering onder invloed van stress en trait anxiety. Daarnaast wordt aangeraden te onderzoeken of meer opvallende landmarks, door bijvoorbeeld emotionele waarde, beter worden herkend en/of herinnerd onder stress dan wel trait anxiety.Show less
Landmarks, opvallende objecten in omgevingen, kunnen ten behoeve van het onthouden van een route worden onthouden. Een van de manieren om dit geheugenproces in te delen, is door onderscheid te...Show moreLandmarks, opvallende objecten in omgevingen, kunnen ten behoeve van het onthouden van een route worden onthouden. Een van de manieren om dit geheugenproces in te delen, is door onderscheid te maken tussen herkenning, het hebben onthouden zonder context, waarbij ook de context is onthouden. Eerder onderzoek heeft aangetoond dat stress en trait anxiety invloed hebben op herkenning en herinnering, echter is deze invloed nog niet getest bij landmarks. In de huidige studie werd dit onderzocht door 37 participanten een exploratietaak uit te laten voeren in een virtuele omgeving waarin landmarks waren geplaatst. De helft van de participanten kreeg van tevoren stress opgewekt door een zingtaak uit te voeren in de Sing-a-Song Stress Test. Na de exploratietaak werd middels de Remember / Know paradigm getest in hoeverre landmarks herkend en herinnerd waren en werd de Stait-Trait Anxiety Inventory afgenomen. De Sing-a-Song Stress Test bleek een effectieve manipulatie voor het induceren van verhoogde stressniveaus. Er werd geen verschil gevonden tussen de hoge- en lage-stressconditie in herkenning en herinnering van landmarks, als ook geen verschil in herkenning en herinnering tussen lage en hoge trait anxiety. Vervolgonderzoek wordt aanbevolen via fMRI hippocampusactiviteit te meten gedurende het Remember / Know paradigm, om meer grip te krijgen op het al dan niet onafhankelijk optreden van herkenning en herinnering onder invloed van stress en trait anxiety. Daarnaast wordt aangeraden te onderzoeken of meer opvallende landmarks, door bijvoorbeeld emotionele waarde, beter worden herkend en/of herinnerd onder stress dan wel trait anxiety.Show less
Anxiety is known to affect cognitive processes and learning. Studies have shown that people with anxiety tend to be biased towards negative feedback and learn better from it. This phenomenon has...Show moreAnxiety is known to affect cognitive processes and learning. Studies have shown that people with anxiety tend to be biased towards negative feedback and learn better from it. This phenomenon has been studied in reinforcement learning, but its effect on less known structure learning has not yet been studied. Structure learning refers to inferring the structure of an ambiguous environment to which reinforcement learning adds reward values on. This research paper aims to investigate if bias towards negative feedback caused by high level of trait anxiety found in reinforcement learning is also present in structure learning. We measured reinforcement learning and structure learning capacities with three well-known and validated tasks and trait anxiety with the STAI-T questionnaire in 48 students. Negative feedback bias was quantified via the win-stay-lose-shift behaviour. Using simple linear regression analyses, we found no significant effects of trait anxiety on negative feedback bias in reinforcement and structure learning tasks. Using moderation analysis in exploratory data analysis we found no significant results of the level of trait anxiety moderating the relationship between performance in the tasks and various independent variables. This could be due to the limitations of this study, for example using a behavioural instead of a neural measure to measure negative feedback bias, which raises a question of whether behavioural measures are sensitive enough to measure negative feedback bias in trait anxiety.Show less
Background: Habitually attending to threat may contribute to anxiety. This threat-oriented attentional bias (AB) may occur in state anxiety (SA) and/or trait anxiety (TA). Current evidence is mixed...Show moreBackground: Habitually attending to threat may contribute to anxiety. This threat-oriented attentional bias (AB) may occur in state anxiety (SA) and/or trait anxiety (TA). Current evidence is mixed, possibly due to the low reliability/internal validity of a popular AB measurement tool, the Dot Probe. This study aims to clarify previous findings with a novel tool, the Dual Probe. Hypothesis: We predict those high in TA and SA will exhibit the highest threat-orientation levels, followed by those with solely high SA, then those with solely high TA. We predict low TA/SA to correlate with threat-avoidance or neutrality. Methods: Female Leiden University students (n = 58) completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The Dual Probe task involved two on-screen pictures (mildly-threatening, neutral). After image offset, two letters appeared (50ms) in their respective locations, with participants instructed to press whichever key they saw. Threat-orientation was scored as proportion of threat-associated versus neutral-associated keypresses. Results: Analysis indicated re-test reliability of the Dual Probe (Spearman-Brown of .88). Bivariate Pearson’s r found no correlations between TA/SA and threat-orientation (TA revealed r = .03, p = .817; SA revealed r = -.05, p = .689). A multiple regression found no evidence of interaction effects (F (3, 54) = 0.986, p = .406, R2 = -.001). Discussion: Results suggest either a limited role of threat-oriented AB in the occurrence/maintenance of anxiety, or limitations in the study methods and sample. Possible theoretical connections to existing literature and practical implications for treatment are discussed, alongside future directions for the Dual Probe.Show less
Worry and anxiety are associated with an increase in absolute heart rate, while heart rate variability decreases. Low heart rate variability is associated with an active anterior insula. A...Show moreWorry and anxiety are associated with an increase in absolute heart rate, while heart rate variability decreases. Low heart rate variability is associated with an active anterior insula. A hyperactive anterior insula is observed in individuals with anxiety disorders. However, it is not yet known whether a hyperactive anterior insula makes a person vulnerable to developing anxiety disorders or whether the anterior insula becomes hyperactive as a result of the disorder. Therefore, this study aims to investigate these associations in healthy participants. The following research questions were asked, "Is there a correlation between absolute heart rate and trait worry?" and "Is trait worry associated with low heart rate variability?" the same questions are posed in the context of anxiety. Finally, the question "Is trait anxiety associated with a hyperactive insula?" is asked. To examine this, data from the HADS, PSWQ, vectorcardiogram measures of heart rate and the heart rate variability, and the functional connectivity of the salience network from the 30 female participants were used. Results show no significant relationship between absolute heart rate, heart rate variability, and trait worry and anxiety in healthy participants. A significant relationship between the functional connectivity in the anterior insula and trait anxiety was found in our sample (r = .42, p = <.05). The effects of worry and anxiety on cardiac activity are mainly seen in clinically diagnosed individuals under an unpredictable and uncontrollable stressful environment. Our sample were healthy individuals, so symptoms were apparently not severe enough. The effects of trait anxiety are directly reflected in brain connectivity in the anterior insula observed in our analysis. The results can be applied to treatments reducing anxiety and worry.Show less
Background: Threat-related attentional biases (ABs) in anxiety show considerable heterogeneity; there is evidence for hypervigilance to, and avoidance of threat. Taking the stimulus threat level...Show moreBackground: Threat-related attentional biases (ABs) in anxiety show considerable heterogeneity; there is evidence for hypervigilance to, and avoidance of threat. Taking the stimulus threat level and attentional control (AC) into account is thought to aid in explaining this heterogeneity. Prior work on the relations between these variables showed inconclusive results. Hypotheses: Trait anxiety levels, AC levels, and their interaction are associated with different patterns of AB scores, depending on the stimulus’s threat level. Methods: Fifty-two participants completed self-report measures of trait anxiety and AC and participated in a dot-probe task with neutral, mild threat, and high threat pictorial stimuli. Hypotheses were tested with rm ANOVAs and post-hoc correlation tests. Results: High trait anxiety was associated with hypervigilant AB to mild threat, but no association with AB to high threat was found. Low AC was related to more avoidance of high threat, but not to AB to mild threat. AC did not moderate the relationship between trait anxiety and threat-level dependent AB. Discussion and Conclusions: These findings confirm that threat level influences threat-related ABs in anxiety. While this relationship was not further influenced by individual differences in AC, the role AC on its own plays in threat-level dependent ABs is supported.Show less
It is hypothesized that anxiety disorders can be caused and maintained by defective, biased, or negative manners of attentional processing of threatening information. In much previous research the...Show moreIt is hypothesized that anxiety disorders can be caused and maintained by defective, biased, or negative manners of attentional processing of threatening information. In much previous research the role of attentional control and stimulus threat level in this process have been much neglected. The current study aimed to partly replicate two previous studies that did study these factors. Fifty-two female participants between the ages 18 and 30 completed the questionnaires for both trait anxiety and attentional control. Afterwards the participants performed a dot-probe task with neutral, mild and high threat pictures. Results showed that trait anxiety is related to on attentional bias towards mild threat but does not matter for high threat. Results also showed that lower attentional control resulted in more vigilance towards mild than high threat. Unexpectedly, we did not find significant results for the three-way interaction between threat level, trait anxiety and attentional control. We conclude that trait anxiety, stimulus threat level and attentional control are related to attentional bias, consequently it is very important to take individual differences for anxiety, attentional control and stimulus threat level into account.Show less
BACKGROUND: Exposure therapy, which is based on extinction learning, is the therapy of choice for several anxiety disorders. However, the remission rate is not optimal for adults with an anxiety...Show moreBACKGROUND: Exposure therapy, which is based on extinction learning, is the therapy of choice for several anxiety disorders. However, the remission rate is not optimal for adults with an anxiety disorder, which could be due to non-response or to the return of the original fear after exposure therapy. Persons with high levels of anxiety have more difficulties constructing and consolidating extinction memories. Stimulating the vagus nerve (tVNS) is a promising method of enhancing the process of extinction learning as shown in previous animal and human studies. AIM: The aim of this study was to assess whether participants with high levels of anxiety would benefit more from the addition of tVNS measured in US expectancy ratings and skin conductance response. METHOD: This paper is a reanalysis of the data from the study of Burger et al. (2018). In this study healthy humans participated in a prepared fear learning paradigm, spider pictures were used as conditioned stimulus. After the acquisition phase participants were randomly allocated to the tVNS condition (N=42) and to the sham condition (N=43) for the extinction phase. High- and low-scoring groups were created based on the state and trait subscales of the STAI. RESULTS: There were no differences found between the high- and low-scoring groups in the effectiveness of tVNS, although the low state group in the tVNS condition showed lower US expectancy ratings for the CS- trials. CONCLUSION: This distinct study does not provide conclusive evidence to support the direction of studying tVNS in a clinical sample.Show less
