The DOI matches its Crossref record; 118 of the 121 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Intolerance of uncertainty: Neural and psychophysiological correlates of the perception of uncertainty as threatening
Abstract
Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) reflects the perception of uncertainty as threatening, regardless of the true probability of threat. IU is elevated in various forms of psychopathology, uniquely associated with anxiety and depression symptoms after controlling for related constructs, and prospectively predicts symptoms. Given the ubiquity of uncertainty in daily life and the clinical implications of IU, recent work has begun to investigate the neural and psychophysiological correlates of IU. This review summarizes the existing literature and integrates findings within a mechanistic neural model of responding to uncertainty. IU is associated with heightened reactivity to uncertainty reflected in greater activity of the anterior insula and amygdala, alterations in neural responses to rewards and errors evident in event-related potentials, a mixed pattern of startle responses to uncertain threat, and deficiencies in safety learning indexed by startle and skin conductance responding. These findings provide evidence of disruptions in several domains of responding to uncertainty, threat, and reward associated with IU that may confer risk for the development of psychopathology. Significant attention is devoted to recommendations for future research, including consideration of the complex interplay of IU with emotion regulation, cognitive control, and reward processing.
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In the citing paper
“whereas other research has not found an association between IU and startle potentiation or subjective responses in an unpredictable threat-context (Bennett, Dickmann, & Larson, 2018; see Tanovic, Gee, & Joormann, 2018 for a recent review of the relationship between IU and startle).”
From Responding to uncertain threat: A potential mediator for the effect of mindfulness on anxiety (2021) · cites this paper as Tanovic, Gee, & Joormann, 2018
In the citing paper
“Theoretical models have considered uncertainty a central feature in the understanding of psychopathology, especially in anxiety-related disorders. 5”
From Psychometric properties of the brazilian intolerance of uncertainty scale – short version (Ius-12) (2020) · cites this paper as [5]
In the citing paper
“With regard to anxiety-related disorders per se, IU has been related to social anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia and hypochondria, PTSD, and major depressive disorder. 5,18,19-21”
From Psychometric properties of the brazilian intolerance of uncertainty scale – short version (Ius-12) (2020) · cites this paper as [5]
In the citing paper
“Accordingly, the IUS-12 has shown suitable psychometric properties and has been considered a useful tool in the transdiagnostic evaluation of trait IU. 5”
From Psychometric properties of the brazilian intolerance of uncertainty scale – short version (Ius-12) (2020) · cites this paper as [5]
In the citing paper
“and increased physiological arousal (Morriss, Abend, et al., 2023; Tanovic et al., 2018)”
From Intolerance of uncertainty, paranoia, and prodromal symptoms: Comparisons between a schizophrenia spectrum disorder, anxiety disorder and non‐clinical sample. (2025) · cites this paper as Tanovic et al., 2018
In the citing paper
“IU has been identified as a critical transdiagnostic risk factor and component of internalizing psychopathology across a range of mental disorders, such as generalized panic and social anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, eating disorders, and others [87-89].”
From Impact of Media-Induced Uncertainty on Mental Health: Narrative-Based Perspective. (2025) · cites this paper as [88]
In the citing paper
“The studies that have examined both reward and threat cue processing do suggest highly overlapping neurobiological and psychological processing abnormalities in anxiety disorders that may generally encompass the attribution of value and recruitment of attention to valenced cues, rather than just threat cues (Gorka, Nelson, Phan, & Shankman, 2016; Tanovic et al., 2018).”
From Cued for Risk: Evidence for an Incentive Sensitization Framework to Explain the Interplay between Stress and Anxiety, Substance Abuse, and Reward Uncertainty in Disordered Gambling Behavior (2019) · cites this paper as Tanovic et al., 2018
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3 of the 121 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Tanovic, E., Hajcak, G., & Joormann, J.. Hating waiting: Individual differences in willingness to wait in uncertainty. Journal of Experimental Psychopathology. (in press)
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Liang, S., Zhao, J., Liang, Y., Li, X., Yang, W., & Zheng, Y. (2026) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2026.105021
Turgut, E. T., & Soyer, M. K. (2026) · Uluslararası Türk Eğitim Bilimleri Dergisi · doi:10.46778/goputeb.1713507
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Metadata
- Authors
- Tanovic, E., Gee, D. G., & Joormann, J.
- Affiliations
- Yale University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Tanovic, Ema
- Venue
- Clinical Psychology Review
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2018-03
- Volume
- 60
- Pages
- 87-99
- ISSN
- 0272-7358 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2782498233
- Semantic Scholar
- 6e173ea412d0920b7cd6c7020e57f52d6037d150
- Cited by
- 214
- References
- 121
- Citations by year
- 2026: 25 · 2025: 34 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 42 · 2021: 32 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 4
- FWCI
- 2.74
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Clinical Psychology Review (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Keywords
- intolerance of uncertainty, neural correlates, psychophysiological correlates, anterior insula, amygdala, event-related potentials, startle response, skin conductance, safety learning, reward processing, threat processing, anxiety, depression, emotion regulation, cognitive control
- MeSH terms
- Anxiety, Brain, Emotions, Fear, Humans, Uncertainty
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