Adverse childhood experiences and internalizing symptoms: the moderating role of neural responses to threat
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) increase vulnerability to internalizing symptoms, namely symptoms characterized primarily by processes within the self, such as anxiety and depression, but the underlying processes are still unclear. One possible mechanism is that ACEs alter the neural correlates...
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| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Neurobiology of Stress |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352289525000347 |
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| author | Carola Dell’Acqua Claudio Imperatori Rita B. Ardito Benedetto Farina Mauro Adenzato Giuseppe Carbone Aurelia Lo Presti Daniela Palomba Simone Messerotti Benvenuti |
| author_facet | Carola Dell’Acqua Claudio Imperatori Rita B. Ardito Benedetto Farina Mauro Adenzato Giuseppe Carbone Aurelia Lo Presti Daniela Palomba Simone Messerotti Benvenuti |
| author_sort | Carola Dell’Acqua |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) increase vulnerability to internalizing symptoms, namely symptoms characterized primarily by processes within the self, such as anxiety and depression, but the underlying processes are still unclear. One possible mechanism is that ACEs alter the neural correlates responsible for the preferential processing unpleasant stimuli, a key feature of anxiety. Another mechanism could be a stress-induced disruption in the processing of pleasant stimuli, which is mostly linked with depressive symptoms. In this study, we examined how ACEs and neural correlates of different emotional processing stages (affective engagement, anticipation, elaboration) interact in the association with internalizing symptoms in a sample of university students (n = 46, 28 females). Participants completed the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire (ACE-Q), and the anxiety and depression subscale of the Brief Symptoms Inventory Checklist to assess depression and anxiety. An S1-S2 paradigm, a task in which a cue (S1) anticipates the valence of a succeeding emotional image (S2), was used during an electroencephalographic (EEG) recording. Three event-related potentials (ERPs) reflecting different stages of emotional processing were assessed: the Cue-P300 (reflecting cue-evaluation and affective engagement), the Stimulus Preceding Negativity (SPN; reflecting outcome anticipation), and the P300/late positive potential (LPP) complex (reflecting affective processing). ACEs were linked to greater P300/LPP for unpleasant stimuli, suggesting that childhood adversities may be related to increased elaboration of threatening information. Moreover, ACEs were associated with dampened engagement (Cue-P300) and processing (P300/LPP) of pleasant content. Interestingly, the interaction between the P300/LPP to unpleasant stimuli and ACEs was significantly associated with greater symptoms of anxiety, whereas there was no effect in the link with depression. Specifically, individuals exposed to ACEs only reported heightened anxiety symptoms when their P300/LPP complex to unpleasant stimuli was larger. No significant effect emerged for the other ERPs components. Taken together, these findings suggest that an increased sensitivity to unpleasant content in adulthood might moderate the association between ACEs and anxiety symptoms. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ae5cbd34b88d41ea9816fa01931f6185 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2352-2895 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
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| series | Neurobiology of Stress |
| spelling | doaj-art-ae5cbd34b88d41ea9816fa01931f61852025-08-20T03:09:32ZengElsevierNeurobiology of Stress2352-28952025-07-013710074010.1016/j.ynstr.2025.100740Adverse childhood experiences and internalizing symptoms: the moderating role of neural responses to threatCarola Dell’Acqua0Claudio Imperatori1Rita B. Ardito2Benedetto Farina3Mauro Adenzato4Giuseppe Carbone5Aurelia Lo Presti6Daniela Palomba7Simone Messerotti Benvenuti8Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy; Corresponding author. Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Via Venezia, 8, 35131, Padua, Italy.Experimental and Applied Psychology Laboratory, Department of Human Sciences, European University of Rome, Rome, ItalyDepartment of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, ItalyExperimental and Applied Psychology Laboratory, Department of Human Sciences, European University of Rome, Rome, ItalyDepartment of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, ItalyDepartment of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, ItalyDepartment of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, ItalyDepartment of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy; Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padua, Padua, ItalyDepartment of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy; Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padua, Padua, Italy; Hospital Psychology Unit, Padua University Hospital, Padua, ItalyAdverse childhood experiences (ACEs) increase vulnerability to internalizing symptoms, namely symptoms characterized primarily by processes within the self, such as anxiety and depression, but the underlying processes are still unclear. One possible mechanism is that ACEs alter the neural correlates responsible for the preferential processing unpleasant stimuli, a key feature of anxiety. Another mechanism could be a stress-induced disruption in the processing of pleasant stimuli, which is mostly linked with depressive symptoms. In this study, we examined how ACEs and neural correlates of different emotional processing stages (affective engagement, anticipation, elaboration) interact in the association with internalizing symptoms in a sample of university students (n = 46, 28 females). Participants completed the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire (ACE-Q), and the anxiety and depression subscale of the Brief Symptoms Inventory Checklist to assess depression and anxiety. An S1-S2 paradigm, a task in which a cue (S1) anticipates the valence of a succeeding emotional image (S2), was used during an electroencephalographic (EEG) recording. Three event-related potentials (ERPs) reflecting different stages of emotional processing were assessed: the Cue-P300 (reflecting cue-evaluation and affective engagement), the Stimulus Preceding Negativity (SPN; reflecting outcome anticipation), and the P300/late positive potential (LPP) complex (reflecting affective processing). ACEs were linked to greater P300/LPP for unpleasant stimuli, suggesting that childhood adversities may be related to increased elaboration of threatening information. Moreover, ACEs were associated with dampened engagement (Cue-P300) and processing (P300/LPP) of pleasant content. Interestingly, the interaction between the P300/LPP to unpleasant stimuli and ACEs was significantly associated with greater symptoms of anxiety, whereas there was no effect in the link with depression. Specifically, individuals exposed to ACEs only reported heightened anxiety symptoms when their P300/LPP complex to unpleasant stimuli was larger. No significant effect emerged for the other ERPs components. Taken together, these findings suggest that an increased sensitivity to unpleasant content in adulthood might moderate the association between ACEs and anxiety symptoms.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352289525000347Adverse childhood experiencesAnxietyDepressionERPsSPNP300/LPP |
| spellingShingle | Carola Dell’Acqua Claudio Imperatori Rita B. Ardito Benedetto Farina Mauro Adenzato Giuseppe Carbone Aurelia Lo Presti Daniela Palomba Simone Messerotti Benvenuti Adverse childhood experiences and internalizing symptoms: the moderating role of neural responses to threat Neurobiology of Stress Adverse childhood experiences Anxiety Depression ERPs SPN P300/LPP |
| title | Adverse childhood experiences and internalizing symptoms: the moderating role of neural responses to threat |
| title_full | Adverse childhood experiences and internalizing symptoms: the moderating role of neural responses to threat |
| title_fullStr | Adverse childhood experiences and internalizing symptoms: the moderating role of neural responses to threat |
| title_full_unstemmed | Adverse childhood experiences and internalizing symptoms: the moderating role of neural responses to threat |
| title_short | Adverse childhood experiences and internalizing symptoms: the moderating role of neural responses to threat |
| title_sort | adverse childhood experiences and internalizing symptoms the moderating role of neural responses to threat |
| topic | Adverse childhood experiences Anxiety Depression ERPs SPN P300/LPP |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352289525000347 |
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