Attentional enhancement to NoGo stimuli in anxious children.
OBJECTIVE
To measure neurophysiological correlates of inhibition in children with anxiety disorders.


METHODS
Anxiety-disordered children and healthy control children (11 years of age) performed a cued Continuous Performance Test (CPT-AX). Event-related potentials following NoGo and distractor stimuli as well as performance data were examined for group differences.


RESULTS
Anxious children displayed a significantly larger NoGo-related N1 global field power than did control children while no group differences were found for the N2 and P3 potentials. Groups did not differ in CPT performance.


CONCLUSIONS
Anxious children showed early attentional enhancement (N1) to stimuli indicating need for inhibition but not increased resource allocation to actual response inhibition.
Baving
L
L
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands. l.baving@psych.azu.nl
Rellum
T
T
Laucht
M
M
Schmidt
M H
MH
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001007:Anxiety / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology