Youth Generalized Anxiety and Brain Activation States During Socioemotional Processing

Youths entered 3 distinct brain activation states during movie watching, and youths with anxiety spent more time in a state with high ventral attention and default activation during negative socioemotional processing. Youths high in generalized anxiety may be more engaged in deeply processing negative emotional content, which may influence self-regulation. Interventions that focus on changing physiological and psychological state during negative social interactions in youths with anxiety should be considered.