Anxiety symptoms and children's eye gaze during fear learning.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The eye region of the face is particularly relevant for decoding threat-related signals, such as fear. However, it is unclear if gaze patterns to the eyes can be influenced by fear learning. Previous studies examining gaze patterns in adults find an association between anxiety and eye gaze avoidance, although no studies to date examine how associations between anxiety symptoms and eye-viewing patterns manifest in children. The current study examined the effects of learning and trait anxiety on eye gaze using a face-based fear conditioning task developed for use in children.

Methods

Participants were 82 youth from a general population sample of twins (aged 9-13 years), exhibiting a range of anxiety symptoms. Participants underwent a fear conditioning paradigm where

SUBMITTER: Michalska KJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9673016 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature