Anxiety and feedback processing in a gambling task: Contributions of time-frequency theta and delta

• Published in: Biological psychology Vol. 136; pp. 1 - 12
• Main Authors: Ellis, Jessica S., Watts, Adreanna T.M., Schmidt, Norman, Bernat, Edward M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.07.2018
• Subjects: Anxiety; Delta; Feedback negativity; Theta; Time frequency; Anxiety; Feedback negativity; Time frequency; Delta; Theta
• ISSN: 0301-0511; 1873-6246
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2018.05.001

•Clinical anxiety is related to enhanced feedback-related delta and theta activity.•Delta and theta are differentially sensitive to worry vs. physiological arousal.•Feedback-related delta activity predicts general worry above and beyond theta.•Enhanced delta explains blunted time domain FN effects for high worriers. The feedback negativity (FN) event-related potential (ERP) is widely studied during gambling feedback tasks. However, research on FN and anxiety is minimal and the findings are mixed. To clarify these discrepancies, the current study (N = 238) used time-frequency analysis to disentangle overlapping contributions of delta (0–3 Hz) and theta (3–7 Hz) to feedback processing in a clinically anxious sample, with severity assessed through general worry and physiological arousal scales. Greater general worry showed enhanced delta- and theta-FN broadly across both gain and loss conditions, with theta-FN stronger for losses. Regressions indicated delta-FN maintained unique effects, accounted for theta, and explained the blunted time domain FN for general worry. Increased delta was also associated with physiological arousal, but the effects were accounted for by general worry. Broadly, anxiety-related alterations in feedback processing can be explained by an overall heightened sensitivity to feedback as represented by enhanced delta-FN in relation to the general worry facet of anxiety.