title: Look who's judging-Feedback source modulates brain activation to performance feedback in social anxiety.
abstract: It is as yet unknown if behavioral and neural correlates of performance monitoring in socially anxious individuals are affected by whether feedback is provided by a person or a computer. This fMRI study investigated modulation of feedback processing by feedback source (person vs. computer) in participants with high (HSA) (N=16) and low social anxiety (LSA) (N=16). Subjects performed a choice task in which they were informed that they would receive positive or negative feedback from a person or the computer. Subjective ratings indicated increased arousal and anxiety in HSA versus LSA, most pronounced for social and negative feedback. FMRI analyses yielded hyperactivation in ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC)/anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and insula for social relative to computer feedback, and in mPFC/ventral ACC for positive relative to negative feedback in HSA as compared to LSA. These activation patterns are consistent with increased interoception and self-referential processing in social anxiety, especially during processing of positive feedback. Increased ACC activation in HSA to positive feedback may link to unexpectedness of (social) praise as posited in social anxiety disorder (SAD) psychopathology. Activation in rostral ACC showed a reversed pattern, with decreased activation to positive feedback in HSA, possibly indicating altered action values depending on feedback source and valence. The present findings corroborate a crucial role of mPFC for performance monitoring in social anxiety.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Münster, Von-Esmarch-Str. 52, 48149 Münster, Germany. Electronic address: Jutta.Peterburs@uni-muenster.de.
authors.forename: Jutta
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Peterburs
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology, University of Jena, Am Steiger 3, Haus 1, 07743 Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Carolin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sandrock
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology, University of Jena, Am Steiger 3, Haus 1, 07743 Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Wolfgang H R
authors.initials: WHR
authors.lastname: Miltner
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Psychology and Systems Neuroscience, University of Münster, Von-Esmarch-Str. 52, 48149 Münster, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Straube
mesh_terms: D001007:Anxiety / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001143:Arousal; D001676:Biofeedback, Psychology / Q000379:methods*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005246:Feedback; D025461:Feedback, Physiological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000503:physiopathology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Feedback processing; Performance monitoring; Self-focus; Social context; Social phobia