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SOMATIC AWARENESS IN ANXIOUS YOUTH: RELATING TRAIT AND SITUATIONAL SYMPTOMS TO NEURAL MECHANISMS OF THREAT-PROCESSING

Mandell, Darcy (2015) SOMATIC AWARENESS IN ANXIOUS YOUTH: RELATING TRAIT AND SITUATIONAL SYMPTOMS TO NEURAL MECHANISMS OF THREAT-PROCESSING. Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

The current study examined the relationship between self-reported somatic symptomatology and neural patterns of threat-processing in anxious youth. It attempted to merge discrepant findings regarding somatic awareness in anxiety by differentiating between more chronic somatic anxiety symptoms and an experiential (“situational”) awareness of bodily symptoms in response to an acute stressor. Forty-two adolescents (ages 9-13), meeting DSM-IV criteria for GAD, Social Phobia, and/or Separation Anxiety completed a classic dot-probe task in which they indicated the location of a probe that replaced either threatening or neutral faces. Mean BOLD responses on to threat trials were extracted for anatomically defined regions of interest that have been related to anxiety, and this activity was correlated with self-reported somatic subscale scores. Results indicated that, within a sample of anxious youth, chronic somatic anxiety symptomatology was negatively correlated with sustained bilateral amygdala activity, while situational somatic symptomatology was associated with increased sustained bilateral anterior insula and caudal anterior cingulate activity. Thus, patients who display blunted emotional reactivity to mild threat cues may be more prone to chronic somatic anxiety symptoms. In addition, patients who maintain an awareness of interoceptive cues during low-grade threat-processing may be more likely to notice and report bodily cues under periods of more acute threat.


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Details

Item Type: University of Pittsburgh ETD
Status: Unpublished
Creators/Authors:
CreatorsEmailPitt UsernameORCID
Mandell, Darcydlm60@pitt.eduDLM60
ETD Committee:
TitleMemberEmail AddressPitt UsernameORCID
Committee MemberSilk, Jennifer S.silkj@upmc.edu
Committee MemberMarsland, Anna L.marsland@pitt.eduMARSLAND
Committee ChairSiegle, Greg J.gsiegle@pitt.eduGSIEGLE
Date: 9 January 2015
Date Type: Publication
Defense Date: 25 May 2011
Approval Date: 9 January 2015
Submission Date: 28 May 2014
Access Restriction: No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately.
Number of Pages: 61
Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Schools and Programs: Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Psychology
Degree: MS - Master of Science
Thesis Type: Master's Thesis
Refereed: Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords: anxiety, somatic symptoms, fMRI, threat processing, pediatric
Date Deposited: 09 Jan 2015 20:04
Last Modified: 15 Nov 2016 14:20
URI: http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/21690

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