Developmental differences in threat learning are associated with changes in frontal-central theta activity.

Major theories link variations in threat learning to the emergence of anxiety symptoms, especially during adolescence. Despite significant neural maturation of threat learning circuitry during this developmental stage, research on adolescence-specific neural responses during threat learning is limit...

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Publicado en:European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Vol. 34; no. 11; pp. 3387 - 3400
Autores principales: Shner-Livne, Gil, Barak, Nadav, Shitrit, Ido, Abend, Rany, Shechner, Tomer
Formato: research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Springer Nature Nov2025
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: Nov2025
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      pub: Springer Nature
      place: New York, New York
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        10.1007/s00787-025-02745-2
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        atl: Developmental differences in threat learning are associated with changes in frontal-central theta activity.
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          Shner-Livne, Gil
          Barak, Nadav
          Shitrit, Ido
          Abend, Rany
          Shechner, Tomer
        affil: https://ror.org/02f009v59 School of Psychological Sciences and the Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center, University of Haifa, Abba Hushi 199, Mt Carmel, Haifa, Israel
      sug:
        subj:
          Conditioning (Psychology) Evaluation
          Reinforcement (Psychology) Evaluation
          Fear Evaluation
          Frontal Lobe Physiology
          Learning Evaluation
          Electroencephalography Evaluation
          Human
          Male
          Female
          Child
          Adolescence
          Adult
          Anxiety Psychosocial Factors
          Behavior Evaluation
          Emotions
          Neural Pathways Physiology
          Temporal Lobe Physiology
          Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brainstem Physiology
          Cues
          Safety
          Biological Markers Analysis
          Sleep Duration
          Sleep Quality
          Questionnaires
          Anxiety Psychosocial Factors
          Repeated Measures
          Analysis of Covariance
          Post Hoc Analysis
          Sensory Stimulation
          Neural Transmission Physiology
          Descriptive Statistics
          Data Analysis Software
          Child: 6-12 years
          Adolescent: 13-18 years
          Adult: 19-44 years
          Male
          Female
      ab: Major theories link variations in threat learning to the emergence of anxiety symptoms, especially during adolescence. Despite significant neural maturation of threat learning circuitry during this developmental stage, research on adolescence-specific neural responses during threat learning is limited. This study was the first to examine threat learning mechanisms through neural frequency activity among youth, focusing on activity in the theta (4–7 Hz) and alpha (8–12 Hz) frequency bands. Sixty-three adolescents and 65 adults completed a two-day threat acquisition and extinction procedure, while brain activity was measured using electroencephalography (EEG). Analyses focused on developmental differences in high temporal resolution changes in frequency activity, distinguishing between induced and evoked EEG signals. Developmental differences were mainly observed in frontal-central theta activity. During acquisition, adolescents showed higher induced theta activity to both threat and safety cues than adults. During extinction, adults showed decreased evoked theta activity to the conditioned stimulus, indicating effective inhibition of threat representations; in contrast, adolescents exhibited persistent threat contingencies throughout extinction. Both groups showed consistent alpha suppression towards the threat cue, suggesting sustained vigilance even during late extinction. Frontal-central theta activity is a valuable marker for capturing differences between adolescents and adults in threat learning. These findings add to mechanistic research efforts aiming to uncover factors contributing to anxiety vulnerability during adolescence.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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