The role of medication use and state anxiety on the cognitive components of emotional facial processing: An Event-Related Potentials Study

Abstract

High levels of anxiety have been associated with a cognitive bias towards threat, impacting attention and emotional facial processes as evidenced at the electrophysiological level from EventRelated Potentials (ERP). This threat-bias can be attenuated by reducing anxiety with Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI), but the relationship between anxiety, psychotropic medications, and attentional resources remains a relatively unexplored area. The current study therefore aimed to examine the impact of anxiety reducing SSRI medication on emotional facial processing by comparing individuals with high and low anxiety and differing medication levels. Participants (n = 50) completed a Rapid Serial Visualization Presentation and were asked to identify emotional facial expressions while ERP and accuracy were recorded. Results suggest SSRIs have an overall emotional attenuation on facial processing. ERP results revealed all participants displayed a dominant early positive bias, with the threat-bias associated with high anxiety originating exclusively in later cognitive components of facial processing.