OBJECTIVES To investigate (1) whether shared genetic factors influence migraine and anxious depression; (2) whether the genetic architecture of migraine depends on anxious depression; (3) whether the association between migraine and anxious depression is causal. BACKGROUND Migraine and anxious depression frequently occur together, but little is known about the mechanisms causing this associat...

Brain regions in the default mode network (DMN) display greater functional connectivity at rest or during self-referential processing than during goal-directed tasks. The present study assessed resting-state connectivity as a function of anxious apprehension and anxious arousal, independent of depressive symptoms, in order to understand how these dimensions disrupt cognition. Whole-brain, seed-...

The aim of this study was to investigate whether nonclinically anxious children, like anxious adults, favor the processing of threatening or concern-related information. Two experiments, using an emotional Stroop task, were carried out in high anxious and low anxious children aged 8 to 9 to examine whether a medical stressor elicited a processing bias. Results indicated that, independently of t...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Surgical patients are subject to different levels of preoperative distress. Anxious patients may present unfavorable psychophysical reactions, such as hypertension and tachycardia. This study aimed at evaluating the level of preoperative anxiety in a population of surgical patients, and at detecting heart rate and blood pressure changes and their relationship with age,...

Although fear and travel avoidance among anxious drivers are well documented, relatively little is known about the behavior of anxious individuals who continue to drive. Previous research has identified three broad domains of anxious driving behavior: exaggerated safety/caution behaviors, anxiety-based performance deficits, and hostile/aggressive driving behaviors. In an effort to explicate fac...

Negatively valenced thoughts are assumed to play a central role in the development and maintenance of anxiety. However, the role of positive thoughts in anxiety is rather unclear. In the current study we examined the role of negative and positive self-statements in the anxiety level of anxious and non-anxious children. Participants were 139 anxiety disordered children and 293 non-anxious childr...

The present study examined the magnitudes of startle blink reflexes and electrodermal responses in 4-8-year-old high anxious children (N=14) and non-anxious controls (N=11). Responses were elicited by 16 auditory startle trials during a baseline phase prior to an affective modulation phase involving 12 startle trials presented during angry and neutral faces. Results showed significant response ...