title: Operationalizing proneness to externalizing psychopathology as a multivariate psychophysiological phenotype.
abstract: The externalizing dimension is viewed as a broad dispositional factor underlying risk for numerous disinhibitory disorders. Prior work has documented deficits in event-related brain potential (ERP) responses in individuals prone to externalizing problems. Here, we constructed a direct physiological index of externalizing vulnerability from three ERP indicators and evaluated its validity in relation to criterion measures in two distinct domains: psychometric and physiological. The index was derived from three ERP measures that covaried in their relations with externalizing proneness-the error-related negativity and two variants of the P3. Scores on this ERP composite predicted psychometric criterion variables and accounted for externalizing-related variance in P3 response from a separate task. These findings illustrate how a diagnostic construct can be operationalized as a composite (multivariate) psychophysiological variable (phenotype).
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306-4301, USA. nelson@psy.fsu.edu
authors.forename: Lindsay D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Patrick
authors.forename: Edward M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Bernat
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires