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Updated: Jul 15, 2025

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Emotion Regulation
Published on: August 26, 2011
Social anxiety modulates emotion processing for social threat words: Evidence from ERP
Jianqin Cao1, Feng Si2, Yanru Zhan3
1Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, No. 23 Baiduizijia, Fuwaidajie St, Haidian District, Beijing 100048, China; Department of Nursing, Harbin Medical University, Xinyang Road No. 39, Daqing 163319, China.
Abstract:
The present study investigated whether the processing of social threat words was modulated by social anxiety used by recording electroencephalogram signals during the Stroop task. Behavioral results indicated that the High Social Anxiety (HSA) group exhibited slower RT than the Low Social Anxiety (LSA) group, and both groups had faster RTs when responding to threat words compared to neutral words. ERP data showed that threat words elicited more positive P2, compared with neutral words, in both groups. Neutral words elicited larger early posterior negativity (EPN) and social threat words elicited more positive LPP in the LSA group only. The HSA group did not exhibit the emotional effects of EPN and LPP. These data indicate that social anxiety can modulate the processing of social threat words.
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