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Attention to novelty in behaviorally inhibited adolescents moderates risk for anxiety

Bethany C Reeb-Sutherland1, Ross E Vanderwert, Kathryn A Degnan

  • 1Department of Human Development, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA. breeb@umd.edu

Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines
|October 1, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Children with behavioral inhibition (BI) who show heightened attention to novelty in adolescence have a greater risk for anxiety disorders. This neural response to novelty appears to moderate anxiety risk in those with a history of BI.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Clinical Psychology

Background:

  • Individual differences in attention influence behavioral regulation.
  • Behavioral inhibition (BI) is characterized by heightened attention to novelty.
  • This study examines BI, attention, and anxiety risk in adolescents.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if attention profiles moderate anxiety disorder risk in adolescents with a history of BI.
  • To explore the relationship between childhood BI, adolescent neural responses to novelty, and anxiety disorders.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal assessment of BI from childhood to adolescence.
  • Event-related potentials (ERPs), specifically P3 amplitude and mismatch negativity (MMN), recorded during a novelty oddball task.
  • Clinical diagnoses of anxiety disorders assessed using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL).

Main Results:

  • Adolescents with high childhood BI and increased P3 amplitude to novelty were more likely to have anxiety disorders.
  • No significant differences in mismatch negativity (MMN) were found between groups.
  • Childhood BI and adolescent neural responses to novelty are linked to anxiety disorder history.

Conclusions:

  • Heightened neural responses to novelty in adolescence are associated with increased risk for anxiety disorders.
  • This neural response profile moderates anxiety risk among individuals with a history of behavioral inhibition.
Abstract

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