Examination Stress Results in Attentional Bias and Altered Neural Reactivity in Test-Anxious Individuals

Overview

Journal Neural Plast

Specialty Neurology

Date 2018 May 15

PMID 29755511

Citations 12

Authors

Xiaocong Zhang

Yunying Dong

Renlai Zhou

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Examination stress occurs so frequently in the lives of students. The neural mechanisms of attentional bias induced by examination stress in test-anxious individuals remain unclear. Accordingly, we investigated the attentional bias toward test-related threatening words in selected high and low test-anxious participants under the stress of final examinations by using an event-related potential (ERP) technique. A classic dot-probe paradigm was adopted with a test-related/test-unrelated threatening word and a neutral word pair as cues. Results showed attention bias and enhanced N200 amplitude toward test-related threat in high test-anxious individuals, whereas avoidance of test-related threat and decreased N200 amplitude were shown in low test-anxious individuals. Additionally, ERP data revealed the relatively enhanced LPP amplitude in low test-anxious participants compared with that in high test-anxious participants. No attentional bias toward test-unrelated threat was found. In conclusion, examination stress resulted in attentional bias and functional perturbations of a brain circuitry that reacted rapidly to test-related threat in high test-anxious individuals.

Citing Articles

Electrocortical signatures of attentional bias toward subliminal and supraliminal socially negative words in social anxiety.

Gan S, Cai Y, Li W Front Psychiatry. 2025; 16:1506516.

PMID: 40018680 PMC: 11865052. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1506516.

Effects of multisession prefrontal cortex tDCS or taVNS on stress, perceived stress and sleep quality: a double-blind, randomized controlled study.

Dos Reis L, Pereira Generoso L, Pereira G, Teixeira Baru J, Candido N, Maziero Capello M Front Psychol. 2024; 15:1343413.

PMID: 39346507 PMC: 11427356. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1343413.

Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex improves attentional control in chronically stressed adults.

Liu Y, Liu Q, Zhao J, Leng X, Han J, Xia F Front Neurosci. 2023; 17:1182728.

PMID: 37397442 PMC: 10309114. DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1182728.

Academic Buoyancy: Overcoming Test Anxiety and Setbacks.

Putwain D, Jansen In de Wal J, van Alphen T J Intell. 2023; 11(3).

PMID: 36976135 PMC: 10056025. DOI: 10.3390/jintelligence11030042.

Interventional Strategies to Reduce Test Anxiety among Nursing Students: A Systematic Review.

Khaira M, Raja Gopal R, Mohamed Saini S, Md Isa Z Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023; 20(2).

PMID: 36673999 PMC: 9858718. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20021233.

References

Calvo M, Avero P . Time course of attentional bias to emotional scenes in anxiety: Gaze direction and duration. Cogn Emot. 2012; 19(3):433-51. DOI: 10.1080/02699930441000157. View

MacLeod C, Mathews A, Tata P . Attentional bias in emotional disorders. J Abnorm Psychol. 1986; 95(1):15-20. DOI: 10.1037//0021-843x.95.1.15. View

Schupp H, Ohman A, Junghofer M, Weike A, Stockburger J, Hamm A . The facilitated processing of threatening faces: an ERP analysis. Emotion. 2004; 4(2):189-200. DOI: 10.1037/1528-3542.4.2.189. View

Olofsson J, Nordin S, Sequeira H, Polich J . Affective picture processing: an integrative review of ERP findings. Biol Psychol. 2008; 77(3):247-65. PMC: 2443061. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2007.11.006. View

Rossignol M, Campanella S, Bissot C, Philippot P . Fear of negative evaluation and attentional bias for facial expressions: an event-related study. Brain Cogn. 2013; 82(3):344-52. DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2013.05.008. View

Conley K, Lehman B . Test anxiety and cardiovascular responses to daily academic stressors. Stress Health. 2012; 28(1):41-50. DOI: 10.1002/smi.1399. View

Sass S, Heller W, Fisher J, Silton R, Stewart J, Crocker L . Electrophysiological evidence of the time course of attentional bias in non-patients reporting symptoms of depression with and without co-occurring anxiety. Front Psychol. 2014; 5:301. PMC: 3988368. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00301. View

Mueller E, Hofmann S, Santesso D, Meuret A, Bitran S, Pizzagalli D . Electrophysiological evidence of attentional biases in social anxiety disorder. Psychol Med. 2008; 39(7):1141-52. PMC: 3204217. DOI: 10.1017/S0033291708004820. View

Taylor J, Deane F . Development of a short form of the Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI). J Gen Psychol. 2002; 129(2):127-36. DOI: 10.1080/00221300209603133. View

10.

Barry T, Vervliet B, Hermans D . An integrative review of attention biases and their contribution to treatment for anxiety disorders. Front Psychol. 2015; 6:968. PMC: 4495309. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00968. View

11.

Clutter L, Potter W, Alarbi A, Caruso J . Test Anxiety and Salivary Cortisol Levels in Nursing Students. Nurse Educ. 2016; 42(1):28-32. DOI: 10.1097/NNE.0000000000000291. View

12.

Holmes A, Mogg K, de Fockert J, Nielsen M, Bradley B . Electrophysiological evidence for greater attention to threat when cognitive control resources are depleted. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2013; 14(2):827-35. DOI: 10.3758/s13415-013-0212-4. View

13.

Eldar S, Yankelevitch R, Lamy D, Bar-Haim Y . Enhanced neural reactivity and selective attention to threat in anxiety. Biol Psychol. 2010; 85(2):252-7. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2010.07.010. View

14.

Kappenman E, Farrens J, Luck S, Proudfit G . Behavioral and ERP measures of attentional bias to threat in the dot-probe task: poor reliability and lack of correlation with anxiety. Front Psychol. 2014; 5:1368. PMC: 4255626. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01368. View

15.

Koster E, Crombez G, Verschuere B, De Houwer J . Selective attention to threat in the dot probe paradigm: differentiating vigilance and difficulty to disengage. Behav Res Ther. 2004; 42(10):1183-92. DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2003.08.001. View

16.

Cai W, Pan Y, Chai H, Cui Y, Yan J, Dong W . Attentional bias modification in reducing test anxiety vulnerability: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Psychiatry. 2018; 18(1):1. PMC: 5756356. DOI: 10.1186/s12888-017-1517-6. View

17.

Loft P, Thomas M, Petrie K, Booth R, Miles J, Vedhara K . Examination stress results in altered cardiovascular responses to acute challenge and lower cortisol. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2007; 32(4):367-75. DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2007.02.004. View

18.

Kappenman E, MacNamara A, Proudfit G . Electrocortical evidence for rapid allocation of attention to threat in the dot-probe task. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2014; 10(4):577-83. PMC: 4381248. DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsu098. View

19.

Kuckertz J, Amir N . Attention bias modification for anxiety and phobias: current status and future directions. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2015; 17(2):9. DOI: 10.1007/s11920-014-0545-x. View

20.

Nunez-Pena M, Suarez-Pellicioni M . Processing of multi-digit additions in high math-anxious individuals: psychophysiological evidence. Front Psychol. 2015; 6:1268. PMC: 4543779. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01268. View