Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Via Venezia 8 - 35131, Padua, Italy; Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padua, Via Orus 2/B - 35131, Padua, Italy.
Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Via Venezia 8 - 35131, Padua, Italy.
J Affect Disord. 2022 Apr 15;303:245-254. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2022.02.027. Epub 2022 Feb 13.
Considering that the elevated distress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, in some cases, led to post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), it has been proposed as a specific traumatic event. The present longitudinal study investigated pre-pandemic motivated attention to emotional stimuli, as indexed by Late Positive Potential (LPP) amplitude, in relation with the potential differential role of anxiety and depressive symptoms in predicting PTSS severity related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A total of 79 university students initially completed self-report measures of depression and anxiety along with a passive viewing task of emotional (pleasant, unpleasant) and neutral pictures while electroencephaloghic activity was recorded. In December 2020, 57 participants completed a questionnaire assessing PTSS.
Significant interactions between anxiety and LPP emerged in predicting pandemic-related PTSS, where greater anxiety symptoms predicted PTSS only in individuals with greater LPP to unpleasant or with reduced LPP to pleasant stimuli.
The prevalence of the female sex, the relatively young age of the participants, as well as the fact that they were all enrolled in a University course might not allow the generalization of the findings.
Taken together, the present longitudinal study provided novel evidence on EEG predictors of pandemic-related PTSS that might be useful for the prevention and treatment of PTSS. Indeed, assessing anxiety symptoms and pre-trauma LPP to emotional stimuli might be a useful target for identifying individuals that are more vulnerable to the development of PTSS during times of crisis.
考虑到 COVID-19 大流行引起的焦虑在某些情况下导致了创伤后应激症状（PTSS），因此将其视为一种特殊的创伤性事件。本纵向研究调查了 COVID-19 大流行前对情绪刺激的动机注意，以晚正电位（LPP）振幅为指标，同时考察了焦虑和抑郁症状在预测与 COVID-19 大流行相关的 PTSS 严重程度方面的潜在差异作用。
共有 79 名大学生最初完成了抑郁和焦虑的自我报告量表，以及情绪（愉快、不愉快）和中性图片的被动观看任务，同时记录了脑电图活动。2020 年 12 月，57 名参与者完成了一份评估 PTSS 的问卷。
焦虑和 LPP 之间存在显著的交互作用，预测与大流行相关的 PTSS，其中焦虑症状越严重，仅在对不愉快刺激的 LPP 较大或对愉快刺激的 LPP 减少的个体中预测 PTSS。
女性参与者比例较高、参与者年龄相对较小以及他们都参加了大学课程等事实可能不允许推广研究结果。
总之，本纵向研究提供了关于与大流行相关的 PTSS 的 EEG 预测因子的新证据，这对于预防和治疗 PTSS 可能是有用的。实际上，评估焦虑症状和创伤前对情绪刺激的 LPP 可能是识别在危机时期更容易发展为 PTSS 的个体的有用目标。
