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Threat-related attentional disruptions in anxiety may relate to changes in cognitive control during task processing. The present study examined this question using the N2 event-related brain potential. It was predicted that threat stimuli will selectively influence the N2 for those showing elevated trait anxiety and that reduced N2 may reflect a compensatory process predicting better attention performance. EEG was recorded while 36 participants completed a cued flanker task with threat or nonthreat distracters. N2 amplitudes were greater to incongruent versus congruent flankers. Following threat, high trait anxious participants showed reduced modulation of the N2 by flanker type and greater N2 amplitudes to congruent flankers. Reduced N2 was associated with better attention performance. This study was among the first documenting the emotional modulation of the N2 related to the threat bias and its links with attention interference in anxiety.

The rapid processing of emotional information adaptively regulates the allocation of attention, but may also divert resources away from attention performance, particularly for those showing elevated anxiety. The temporal organization of rapid emotional processing and its implications for attention performance, however, remain unclear. Participants were 18 healthy adults (12 females) who reported on trait anxiety. Tasks-irrelevant fearful, sad, and neutral faces were presented for 50 ms prior to each trial of a cued attention task measuring alerting, orienting, and executive attention. Electroencephalographic recordings were made from 64 scalp electrodes to generate event-related potentials (ERPs) to faces. Emotional face type and trait anxiety modulated ERP responses at three early stages around 200 ms, 250 ms, and 320 ms. Although behavioral findings showed enhanced orienting and executive attention following presentation of fearful and sad faces, the degree to which these faces modulated ERP responses, particularly around 250 ms, interfered with orienting and executive attention in the high trait anxiety group, and enhanced alerting in the low trait anxiety group. Results are discussed in terms of mechanisms in the emotional capture of attention and implications for understanding attentional processes in anxiety.