Increased attention to threat is considered a core feature of anxiety. However, there are multiple mechanisms of attention and multiple types of threat, and the relationships among attention, threat, and anxiety are poorly understood. In the present study, we used event-related potentials (ERPs) to separately isolate attentional selection (N2pc) and suppression (P_D) of pictorial threats (photos of weapons, snakes, etc.) and conditioned threats (colored shapes paired with electric shock). In a sample of 48 young adults, both threat types were initially selected for increased attention (an N2pc), but only conditioned threats elicited subsequent suppression (a P_D) and a reaction time (RT) bias. Levels of trait anxiety were unrelated to N2pc amplitude, but increased anxiety was associated with larger P_Ds (i.e., greater suppression) and reduced RT bias to conditioned threats. These results suggest that anxious individuals do not pay more attention to threats but rather engage more attentional suppression to overcome threats.

增加对威胁的关注被认为是焦虑的核心特征。然而，注意力机制和威胁类型多种多样，注意力、威胁和焦虑之间的关系知之甚少。在本研究中，我们使用事件相关电位（ERP）单独分离注意力选择（N2pc）和抑制（P _d画报威胁）和空调的威胁（彩色形状的（武器，蛇等照片），搭配电震惊）。在 48 名年轻人的样本中，两种威胁类型最初都被选中以提高注意力（N2pc），但只有条件性威胁才会引起后续抑制（P _D) 和反应时间 (RT) 偏差。特质焦虑的水平与 N2pc 幅度无关，但焦虑的增加与更大的 P _Ds（即更大的抑制）和减少对条件威胁的 RT 偏差有关。这些结果表明，焦虑的个体不会更多地关注威胁，而是通过更多的注意力抑制来克服威胁。