title: Anxiety, cognitive self-evaluation and performance: ERP correlates.
abstract: The relation between anxiety, cognitive self-evaluation, performance, and electrical brain activity (event-related potentials, ERPs) in a sustained attention task (Go/NoGo; SART) was investigated in 18 participants. No significant correlation was found between reaction times and anxiety (assessed by State and Trait Anxiety Inventory or STAI), and cognitive self-evaluation (assessed by Cognitive Failures Questionnaire or CFQ). N2 (ERP time-window 250-350ms) and P3 (350-650ms) amplitudes were found to be related to anxiety and cognitive self-evaluation. N2 amplitude increased in trait and state high anxious participants, whereas P3 decreased in participants who reported a higher frequency of cognitive failures. Electrophysiological responses revealed that cognitive strategies were probably activated by more anxious and less self-confident individuals in order to be efficient in their performance. As shown by current research, frontal areas and anterior cingulated cortex appear to be particularly involved in this affective-cognitive interaction.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Firenze, Italy. srighi@unifi.it
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Righi
authors.forename: Luciano
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mecacci
authors.forename: Maria Pia
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Viggiano
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology*; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012649:Self Concept; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D055815:Young Adult