Zänkert Sandra, Lindl Alfred, Schmitz Anja, Kudielka Brigitte M, Mühlberger Andreas, Wüst Stefan
Department of Medical Psychology, Psychological Diagnostics and Research Methodology, University of Regensburg, Germany.
Department of Educational Sciences, University of Regensburg, Germany.
Int J Psychophysiol. 2022 May;175:8-17. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.02.009. Epub 2022 Feb 23.
Fear is a phasic state of apprehension to an imminent threat, whereas anxiety is a more sustained state of expecting a potential threat leading to tension and worry. The NPU-threat test is a laboratory startle paradigm allowing a reliable and valid assessment of both, fear- and anxiety-potentiated reactions. It is suggested to differentiate between anxiety disorders, but little is known on associations with everyday life experiences of cognitive-emotional processes regarding anxiety in non-clinical samples. In the present project, the NPU-threat test was applied in three studies with (1) unselected healthy individuals, (2) participants with extreme manifestations of trait anxiety (low vs. high) and (3) individuals preparing for a high-stakes exam. Self-reported states of emotionality and worry were assessed during a four-day ambulatory assessment (AA). Overall, NPU-threat test measures did not significantly differ between studies, while the AA dependent measures were sufficiently sensitive to capture differences between groups. However, there was no significant association between psychophysiological measures of the NPU-threat test and AA state measures across participants. In participants recruited for low vs. high trait anxiety we found an association with AA worry and emotionality, but no interaction with potentiated startle. The present findings do not support the idea of a link between our laboratory biomarker and adaptive regulation of cognitive-emotional states in everyday life in healthy individuals. We speculate that an association between laboratory physiological measures and everyday experience of anxious states may be detectable in clinical samples.
恐惧是对迫在眉睫的威胁的阶段性忧虑状态，而焦虑是对潜在威胁的更持续的预期状态，会导致紧张和担忧。NPU-威胁测试是一种实验室惊吓范式，可对恐惧和焦虑增强反应进行可靠且有效的评估。人们建议区分焦虑症，但对于非临床样本中焦虑与认知-情感过程的日常生活经历之间的关联知之甚少。在本项目中，NPU-威胁测试应用于三项研究，研究对象分别为：（1）未经挑选的健康个体；（2）具有极端特质焦虑表现（低与高）的参与者；（3）准备参加高风险考试的个体。在为期四天的动态评估（AA）期间评估了自我报告的情绪状态和担忧。总体而言，研究之间NPU-威胁测试的测量结果没有显著差异，而依赖于AA的测量对捕捉组间差异足够敏感。然而，参与者中NPU-威胁测试的心理生理测量与AA状态测量之间没有显著关联。在招募的低特质焦虑与高特质焦虑参与者中，我们发现了与AA担忧和情绪的关联，但与惊吓增强没有相互作用。目前的研究结果不支持我们的实验室生物标志物与健康个体日常生活中认知-情感状态的适应性调节之间存在联系的观点。我们推测，在临床样本中可能会检测到实验室生理测量与焦虑状态的日常体验之间的关联。
