Cited by 182Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesNeural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

Increased error-related brain activity distinguishes generalized anxiety disorder with and without comorbid major depressive disorder

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Weinberg, Anna, Klein, Daniel N., Hajcak, Greg·2012·Journal of Abnormal Psychology

Abstract

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) are so frequently comorbid that some have suggested that the 2 should be collapsed into a single overarching "distress" disorder. Yet there is also increasing evidence that the 2 categories are not redundant. Neurobehavioral markers that differentiate GAD and MDD would be helpful in ongoing efforts to refine classification schemes based on neurobiological measures. The error-related negativity (ERN) may be one such marker. The ERN is an event-related potential component presenting as a negative deflection approximately 50 ms following an erroneous response and reflects activity of the anterior cingulate cortex. There is evidence for an enhanced ERN in individuals with GAD, but the literature in MDD is mixed. The present study measured the ERN in 26 GAD, 23 comorbid GAD and MDD, and 36 control participants, all of whom were female and medication-free. Consistent with previous research, the GAD group was characterized by a larger ERN and an increased difference between error and correct trials than controls. No such enhancement was evident in the comorbid group, suggesting comorbid depression may moderate the relationship between the ERN and anxiety. The present study further suggests that the ERN is a potentially useful neurobiological marker for future studies that consider the pathophysiology of multiple disorders in order to construct or refine neurobiologically based diagnostic phenotypes.

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  • A functional perspective of worry has been supported in studies using neurobiological, psychophysiological, behavioral, and self-report measurement.

    “A functional perspective of worry has been supported in studies utilizing neurobiological11, psychophysiological12–14, behavioral15, and self-report16–17 measurement.”

    From AN OPEN TRIAL OF EMOTION REGULATION THERAPY FOR GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER AND COOCCURRING DEPRESSION. (2015) · cites this paper as [14]

    The Results (Error-Related Brain Activity; page unavailable) report a larger error-related neural response in participants with GAD without comorbid depression, and the introductory passage reports an association between worry and error-related brain activity. This supports the neurobiological-measurement portion of the citation, but the paper does not establish what function worry serves. Citation 11 is not being asked to support the other measurement types. (LLM, conf=0.78)

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Authors
Weinberg, A., Klein, D. N., & Hajcak, G.
Affiliations
Stony Brook University (US)
Venue
Journal of Abnormal Psychology
Published
2012-11
Volume
121
Issue
4
Pages
885-896
ISSN
  • 0021-843X (ISSN-L)
  • 1939-1846
OpenAlex
W2079642224
Cited by
182
References
132
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 17 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 17 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 14
FWCI
19.32
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Abnormal Psychology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Institute of Mental Health (MH091837-01A1)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
Keywords
generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, comorbidities, error-related negativity, anterior cingulate cortex, event-related potentials, diagnostic classification
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Anxiety Disorders, Brain, Major Depressive Disorder, Depressive Disorder, Major, Diagnosis, Differential, Electroencephalography, Evoked Potentials, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Middle Aged, Reaction Time

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