Electrocortical evidence for vigilance‐avoidance in Generalized Anxiety Disorder

• DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2010.01149.x
• Publication Date: 2010-11-12T15:49:23Z
• Authors: Anna Weinberg; Greg Hajcak
• Keywords: Hypervigilance; Vigilance (psychology)

Both exaggerated and attenuated responses to emotional stimuli have been documented in Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Event-related potentials are well-suited for examining the time-course of neural activity during processing; early components (e.g., P1) appear index relatively automatic attention stimuli, whereas later positivities late positive potential or LPP) dynamic allocation stimuli. Twenty-one individuals with GAD 25 healthy controls (HC) passively viewed neutral images while ERPs were recorded. An enhanced P1 unpleasant compared was larger GAD. In addition, increased LPP diminished group. These data provide evidence hypervigilance followed by failure engage elaborative processing,