The Interaction of State and Trait Worry on Response Monitoring in Those with Worry and Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms

Abstract

The error related negativity (ERN) is an event-related brain potential that is sensitive to errors. It reflects individual differences in the extent to which individuals recruit neural systems involved in monitoring errors and systems for cognitive control that then make adjustments to future behavior. It has been closely linked to anxiety through diverse disorders and symptoms, but recently evidence highlights the role of anxious apprehension as a key individual difference related to error monitoring. Diverse hypotheses have emerged to explain this relationship. While some views emphasize the role of motivation and emotion, others suggest that a transient compensatory control is responsible for this relationship. Although both theories recognize the potential for state anxiety to potentiate the ERN, there is limited literature that allows a comparison of these competing hypotheses. The present study investigated the interaction of state and trait anxiety on the ERN by comparing ERN amplitude before and after a five minute worry induction period that specifically targeted each individual's greatest current worries. Results did not unequivocally support one specific theory, but rather provide some preliminary evidence of how trait and state worry may interact and affect the ERN. Suggestions for future research are provided, including using worry induction paradigms in which the worries increase threat or significance of errors.