Abstract
Cross-frequency coupling (CFC) between frontal delta (1–4 Hz) and beta (14–30 Hz) oscillations has been suggested as a candidate neural correlate of social anxiety disorder, a disorder characterized by fear and avoidance of social and performance situations. Prior studies have used amplitude-amplitude correlation (AAC) as a CFC measure and hypothesized it as a candidate neural mechanism of affective control. However, using this metric has yielded inconsistent results regarding the direction of CFC, and the functional significance of coupling strength is uncertain. To offer a better understanding of CFC in social anxiety, we compared frontal delta-beta AAC with phase-amplitude coupling (PAC) – a mechanism for information transfer through neural circuits. Twenty high socially anxious (HSA) and 32 low socially anxious (LSA) female undergraduates participated in a social performance task (SPT). Delta-beta PAC and AAC were estimated during the resting state, as well as the anticipation and recovery conditions. Results showed significantly more AAC in LSA than HSA participants during early anticipation, as well as significant values during all conditions in LSA participants only. PAC did not distinguish between LSA and HSA participants, and instead was found to correlate with state nervousness during early anticipation, but in LSA participants only. Together, these findings are interpreted to suggest that delta-beta AAC is a plausible neurobiological index of adaptive stress regulation and can distinguish between trait high and low social anxiety during stress, while delta-beta PAC might be sensitive enough to reflect mild state anxiety in LSA participants.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 764-777 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Neuroscience |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Aug 2018 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported by the Austrian Science Fund for the Doctoral College ?Imaging the Mind? (FWF; grant number W 1233) to EP, and by the Research Profile Area: Health, Prevention, and the Human Life Cycle of Leiden University. We would like to thank Sanne Rovers, MSc. and Eefje Rietveld, MSc. for their assistance in data collection, and Ir. Krister de Ridder, Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Walter R. Gruber, Dipl.-Ing. Peter Ott, and Mike X. Cohen, PhD for their assistance with the analysis. EP was responsible for data collection, writing analysis scripts, performing data analyses, and writing drafts and the final version of the manuscript. AH was responsible for data collection, study design, and reviewing the final version of the manuscript. PMW was responsible for study design, funding, and reviewing the final version of the manuscript. MM was responsible for study design, analysis strategy, as well as editing drafts and the final version of the manuscript
Funding Information:
Acknowledgements This work was supported by the Austrian Science Fund for the Doctoral College BImaging the Mind^ (FWF; grant number W 1233) to EP, and by the Research Profile Area: Health, Prevention, and the Human Life Cycle of Leiden University. We would like to thank Sanne Rovers, MSc. and Eefje Rietveld, MSc. for their assistance in data collection, and Ir. Krister de Ridder, Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Walter R. Gruber, Dipl.-Ing. Peter Ott, and Mike X. Cohen, PhD for their assistance with the analysis.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018, The Author(s).