Event-related brain potentials and affective responses to threat in spider/snake-phobic and non-phobic subjects

Miltner, Wolfgang H. R.; Trippe, Ralf H.; Krieschel, Silke; Gutberlet, Ingmar; Hecht, Holger; Weiß, Thomas

doi:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2005.01.012

Cited by 115 publications

(96 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Correspondingly, by measuring skin conductance responses, Merckelbach et al (1989) found no evidence that social phobics are particularly sensitive to negative facial cues. Thus, angry faces are not feared stimuli for social phobic persons in the same way as spiders are feared stimuli for spider phobic individuals (Kolassa et al, 2005;Miltner et al, 2005). Yet, heart rates were modulated by facial emotion, replicating findings by Codispoti et al (2001): in all groups, neutral pictures elicited the weakest and unpleasant pictures the strongest orienting response, with pleasant pictures in between.…”

Section: Effect Of Emotionality On Heart Ratesmentioning

confidence: 56%

Psychophysiological correlates of face processing in social phobia

2006

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Social phobia has been associated with abnormal processing of angry faces, which directly signal disapproval a situation that social phobics fear. This study investigated the electrophysiological correlates of emotional face processing in socially phobic and non phobic individuals. Subjects identified either the gender (modified emotional Stroop task) or the expression of angry, happy, or neutral faces. Social phobics showed no deviations from controls in reaction times, heart rates, P1, or P2 amplitudes in response to angry faces, although elevated FSS scores were associated with higher P1 amplitudes in social phobic persons. In addition, social phobic persons showed enhanced right temporo parietal N170 amplitudes in response to angry faces in the emotion identification task. Furthermore, higher scores on the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI) were associated as a trend with larger N170 amplitudes in response to angry faces in the emotion identification task.Thus, the present results suggest that social phobics show abnormalities in the early visual processing of angry faces, as reflected by the enhanced right hemispheric N170 when the emotion of the angry face was the focus of attention, while behavioral responses and heart rates showed no evidence for preferred processing of angry facial expressions.

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Section: Effect Of Emotionality On Heart Ratesmentioning

confidence: 56%

Psychophysiological correlates of face processing in social phobia

2006

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“…In contrast, in a similar study with spider phobic individuals, spider fearful subjects showed enlarged LPPs in response to their feared stimulus (Kolassa et al, 2005). Thus, it seems that angry faces do not activate the fear network in individuals with social phobia in the same way as spiders do in spider phobic persons (compare Kolassa et al, 2005;Miltner et al, 2005).…”

Section: Event Related Potentialsmentioning

confidence: 79%

Event-related potentials to schematic faces in social phobia

Kolassa

Musial

et al. 2007

Cognition & Emotion

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Social phobia has been associated with an attentional bias for angry faces. This study aimed at further characterising this attentional bias by investigating reaction times, heart rates, and ERPs while social phobics, spider phobics, and controls identified either the colour or the emotional quality of angry, happy, or neutral schematic faces. The emotional expression of angry faces did not interfere with the processing of their colour in social phobics, and heart rate, N170 amplitude and parietal late positive potentials (LPPs) of these subjects were also no different from those of non phobic subjects. However, social phobics showed generally larger P1 amplitudes than non phobic controls with spider phobic subjects in between. No general threat advantage for angry faces was found. All groups identified neutral schematic faces faster and showed larger late positive amplitudes to neutral than to emotional faces. Furthermore, in all groups the N170 was modulated by the emotional quality of faces. This effect was most pronounced in the emotion identification task.With a life-time prevalence rate of about 13% (see Furmark, 2002;Westenberg, & Liebowitz, 2004, for reviews), social phobia is one of the most frequent phobic disorders. Individuals with social phobia fear embarrassment, humiliation, or negative evaluation in social interaction and performance situations. Approval or disapproval is most directly signalled by facial expressions. For example, during dyadic interaction the display of anger in the face of one of the interaction partners is a common Correspondence should be addressed to: Iris Tatjana

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“…We analyzed data from nine electrodes that represent a standard selection of sites for topographical analyses: F3, Fz, F4, C3, Cz, C4, P3, Pz, and P4 (Luck, 2005; see also e.g., Miltner et al, 2005;Schienle, Schäfer, & Naumann, 2008). Mean amplitude values of the LPP then were submitted to a repeated measures ANOVA using intervention condition (RI, CI, NI) and level of dysphoric symptoms (dysphoric, nondysphoric) as between-subject factors and three within-subject factors: instruction ("reframe," "attend"), caudality (frontal, central, parietal) and hemisphere (left, mid, right).…”

Section: Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%