Sex Differences in Anxiety: An Investigation of the Moderating Role of Sex in Performance Monitoring and Attentional Bias to Threat in High Trait Anxious Individuals.

ABSTRACT: Anxiety disorders are more predominant in women than men, however there is a lack of understanding as to what neurocognitive mechanisms drive this sex difference. Recent investigation has found a potential moderating role of sex in the relationship between anxiety and the error related negativity (ERN)-a component of error-monitoring that is prevalent in high anxiety individuals-such that females display a positive relationship between anxiety/worry and ERN amplitude. We strove to further explore the influence of sex on the relationship between trait anxiety and performance monitoring, specifically with ERN, as well as extend this work to include another hallmark of anxiety, attentional bias to threat. To meet this end, participants performed the flanker and dot-probe tasks, respectively.

SUBMITTER: Strand N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8172782 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature