Reactive Aggression Affects Response Inhibition to Angry Expressions in Adolescents: An Event-Related Potential Study Using the Emotional Go/No-Go Paradigm

Abstract

Although it is well established that response inhibition to angry expressions is impaired among reactively aggressive adolescents, the cognitive processes underlying this effect remain unclear. The main goal of our study was to investigate the time course of response inhibition to angry expressions in reactively aggressive adolescents compared to controls. In total, 23 reactively aggressive adolescents and 23 control adolescents were recruited to participate in an event-related potential (ERP) study measuring response inhibition to angry expressions with an emotional Go/No-go paradigm. The results showed that when presented angry or happy expressions, reactively aggressive adolescents showed a smaller No-go P3 effect than the control group. These results indicate that response inhibition to angry expressions in reactively aggressive adolescents is impaired at the later stage of the actual inhibitory control. The characteristics of response inhibition to happy expressions in reactively aggressive adolescents are similar to those in response to angry expressions.

The cognitive neural mechanism of response inhibition and error processing to fearful expressions in adolescents with high reactive aggression

“…Using the effect sizes of group differences between the aggressive and control groups in existing studies of emotional response inhibition (η p 2 = 0.29; Sun et al, 2020a ) and error processing (η p 2 = 0.35; Munro et al, 2007 ), we adopted G*Power 3.1 software (with power set to 95% and alpha level set to 0.05) and calculated the sample size in each group to be 14 and 15, respectively. We obtained the written informed consent of participants and permission of the local Ethics Committee.…”

“…Segments with incorrect responses (misses for Go trials or false alarms for No-Go trials) were eliminated from the analyses. The N2 and P3 were defined as the peak amplitude within the 210–420 ms and 350–750 ms range after the stimulus was present and were studied at F3, Fz, F4, FC3, FCz, and FC4 and FC3, FCz, FC4, C3, Cz, and C4, respectively ( Euser and Franken, 2012 ; Sun et al, 2020a ). The average number of available Go and No-Go trials for the N2 and P3 components was 100 and 40 for fearful pictures and 80 and 36 for angry pictures.…”

“…It is therefore necessary to study the response inhibition to threatening situations in adolescents with high levels of reactive aggression. Our previous research found that when facing angry expressions, compared to the control group, adolescents with high levels of reactive aggression had the same No-Go N2 effect and a smaller No-Go P3 effect, indicating that response inhibition to angry expressions in adolescents with high levels of reactive aggression is impaired at the later stage of the actual inhibitory control ( Sun et al, 2020a ). In further research, other threatening expressions (such as fear) should be used to further explore the characteristics and cognitive neural mechanisms of response inhibition to threatening situations in adolescents with high levels of reactive aggression.…”

Negative Urgency and Its Role in the Association between Image Distorting Defensive Style and Reactive Aggression

“…An abusive environment, including child abuse and difficult parenting, as well as temperamental traits, such as impulsiveness, hostility, anger reactivity, emotional dysregulation, and anxiety, can be strongly linked to RA (Vitaro and Brendgen [6] seen in Maneiro and Cutrín [7]). An important psychological mechanism contributing to RA is response inhibition [8]. Several studies on reactive aggressive adolescents have highlighted a deteriorated response inhibition in them (Zhang et al [9], Hecht and Latzman [10], seen in Sun et al [8]).…”

“…An important psychological mechanism contributing to RA is response inhibition [8]. Several studies on reactive aggressive adolescents have highlighted a deteriorated response inhibition in them (Zhang et al [9], Hecht and Latzman [10], seen in Sun et al [8]). Additionally, from a neurological perspective, RA appears to be correlated with amygdala size [11], a key region in the negative emotion processing [12].…”