Monitoring social threat is essential for maintaining healthy social relationships, and recent studies suggest a neural alarm system that governs our response to social rejection. Frontal-midline... Show moreMonitoring social threat is essential for maintaining healthy social relationships, and recent studies suggest a neural alarm system that governs our response to social rejection. Frontal-midline theta (4-8 Hz) oscillatory power might act as a neural correlate of this system by being sensitive to unexpected social rejection. Here, we examined whether frontal-midline theta is modulated by individual differences in personality constructs sensitive to social disconnection. In addition, we examined the sensitivity of feedback-related brain potentials (i.e., the feedback-related negativity and P3) to social feedback. Sixty-five undergraduate female participants (mean age = 19.69 years) participated in the Social Judgment Paradigm, a fictitious peer-evaluation task in which participants provided expectancies about being liked/disliked by peer strangers. Thereafter, they received feedback signaling social acceptance/rejection. A community structure analysis was employed to delineate personality profiles in our data. Results provided evidence of two subgroups: one group scored high on attachment-related anxiety and fear of negative evaluation, whereas the other group scored high on attachment-related avoidance and low on fear of negative evaluation. In both groups, unexpected rejection feedback yielded a significant increase in theta power. The feedback-related negativity was sensitive to unexpected feedback, regardless of valence, and was largest for unexpected rejection feedback. The feedback-related P3 was significantly enhanced in response to expected social acceptance feedback. Together, these findings confirm the sensitivity of frontal midline theta oscillations to the processing of social threat, and suggest that this alleged neural alarm system behaves similarly in individuals that differ in personality constructs relevant to social evaluation. Show less
Harrewijn, A.; Van der Molen, M.J.W.; Van Vliet, I.M.; Houwing-Duistermaat, J.J.; Westenberg, P.M. 2018
BackgroundSocial anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterized by an extreme and intense fear and avoidance of social situations. In this two-generation family study we examined delta-beta correlation... Show moreBackgroundSocial anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterized by an extreme and intense fear and avoidance of social situations. In this two-generation family study we examined delta-beta correlation during a social performance task as candidate endophenotype of SAD.MethodsNine families with a target participant (diagnosed with SAD), their spouse and children, as well as target's siblings with spouse and children performed a social performance task in which they gave a speech in front of a camera. EEG was measured during resting state, anticipation, and recovery. Our analyses focused on two criteria for endophenotypes: co-segregation within families and heritability.ResultsCo-segregation analyses revealed increased negative delta-low beta correlation during anticipation in participants with (sub)clinical SAD compared to participants without (sub)clinical SAD. Heritability analyses revealed that delta-low beta and delta-high beta correlation during anticipation were heritable. Delta-beta correlation did not differ between participants with and without (sub)clinical SAD during resting state or recovery, nor between participants with and without SAD during all phases of the task.LimitationsIt should be noted that participants were seen only once, they all performed the EEG tasks in the same order, and some participants were too anxious to give a speech.ConclusionsDelta-low beta correlation during anticipation of giving a speech might be a candidate endophenotype of SAD, possibly reflecting increased crosstalk between cortical and subcortical regions. If validated as endophenotype, delta-beta correlation during anticipation could be useful in studying the genetic basis, as well as improving treatment and early detection of persons at risk for developing SAD. Show less
Harrewijn, A.; Schmidt, L.A.; Westenberg, P.M.; Tang, A.; Van der Molen, M.J.W. 2017
