Electrocortical endophenotypes of anxiety

Abstract

Abstract Individual differences in dispositional anxiety and risk for anxiety disorders are heritable. Because robust direct associations between single gene variants and complex anxiety-related phenotypes remain sparse, it is important to identify brain “endophenotypes” that mediate the relationship between genotypes and dispositional anxiety. Due to its high temporal resolution, electroencephalography (EEG) is an ideal non-invasive tool to study individual differences in basic fear and anxiety-related neural processes, which often occur within few hundred milliseconds after threat signals appear. In this chapter, putative anxiety-related EEG markers are presented including the C1, P100, N1, N170, NoGo-N2, P300, Late Positive Potential, Feedback-Related Negativity, Error-Related Negativity, frontal midline theta, and N300H brain–heart-coupling components. For each marker, heritability estimates and/or tentative associations with single gene variants are presented and discussed. While individual differences in anxiety-related EEG activity seem genetically influenced, more replication studies are needed to confirm specific links between gene variants and anxiety-related EEG markers.