Pre-war induced theta oscillations moderate adolescents’ psychological responses to war exposure

IF 4.4 1区心理学 Q1 PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL

International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology Pub Date : 2026-04-01 Epub Date: 2026-06-19 DOI:10.1016/j.ijchp.2026.100701

Nir Orpaz, Gil-Shner Livne, Rany Abend, Daniel S. Pine, Tomer Shechner

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objective

Adolescents exposed to war face heightened risk for psychological difficulties, yet outcomes vary widely, underscoring the need to identify neurocognitive mechanisms of resilience and vulnerability. Error monitoring, a core facet of cognitive control, may play a critical role in shaping responses to real-world stressors. This longitudinal study examined whether two error-related neural markers: error-related negativity (ERN) and mediofrontal induced theta oscillations, moderate the impact of war exposure on adolescents’ psychological adjustment.

Method

Fifty adolescents (ages 12–17) completed a laboratory flanker task with electroencephalography (EEG) recordings prior to the outbreak of war. One year later, during an escalation of armed conflict, 30 participants completed follow-up assessments of anxiety, perceived stress, and avoidant coping.

Results

Moderation analyses revealed that induced theta, but not ERN, moderated the associations between objective exposure to war (number of missile alert sirens) and psychological outcomes. Specifically, higher levels of induced theta amplified the link between war exposure and both perceived stress and avoidant coping. No overall increases in mean anxiety levels were observed, highlighting the heterogeneity of adolescents’ responses to conflict. By contrast, ERN, although established as a developmental biomarker of anxiety risk, did not predict stress-related outcomes under prolonged war conditions.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that mediofrontal induced theta oscillations, reflecting dynamic and context-sensitive cognitive control processes, may serve as a neurobiological marker of vulnerability to maladaptive coping in real-world stress contexts. This study advances understanding of adolescent neurocognitive responses to threat and underscores the value of age-sensitive markers for identifying individuals at risk.

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战前诱发的θ波振荡调节青少年对战争暴露的心理反应。

目的：接触战争的青少年面临更高的心理困难风险，但结果差异很大，强调有必要确定恢复力和易受伤害的神经认知机制。错误监测是认知控制的一个核心方面，可能在形成对现实世界压力源的反应中发挥关键作用。本研究考察了两种与错误相关的神经标记：错误相关负性（ERN）和中额诱发θ波振荡是否调节战争暴露对青少年心理适应的影响。方法：50名12-17岁的青少年在战争爆发前用脑电图（EEG）记录完成了一项实验室侧卫任务。一年后，在武装冲突升级期间，30名参与者完成了焦虑、感知压力和回避应对的后续评估。结果：调节分析显示，诱导θ波调节客观暴露于战争（导弹警报次数）和心理结果之间的关联，而非ERN。具体来说，较高水平的诱发θ波放大了战争暴露与感知压力和回避性应对之间的联系。没有观察到平均焦虑水平的总体增加，突出了青少年对冲突反应的异质性。相比之下，ERN虽然被确定为焦虑风险的发育生物标志物，但并不能预测长期战争条件下与压力相关的结果。结论：这些研究结果表明，中额叶诱发的θ波振荡反映了动态和情境敏感的认知控制过程，可能是现实应激环境中适应不良应对易感性的神经生物学标志。这项研究促进了对青少年对威胁的神经认知反应的理解，并强调了年龄敏感标记对识别处于危险中的个体的价值。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL-

CiteScore

10.70

自引率

5.70%

发文量

审稿时长

33 days

期刊介绍： The International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology is dedicated to publishing manuscripts with a strong emphasis on both basic and applied research, encompassing experimental, clinical, and theoretical contributions that advance the fields of Clinical and Health Psychology. With a focus on four core domains—clinical psychology and psychotherapy, psychopathology, health psychology, and clinical neurosciences—the IJCHP seeks to provide a comprehensive platform for scholarly discourse and innovation. The journal accepts Original Articles (empirical studies) and Review Articles. Manuscripts submitted to IJCHP should be original and not previously published or under consideration elsewhere. All signing authors must unanimously agree on the submitted version of the manuscript. By submitting their work, authors agree to transfer their copyrights to the Journal for the duration of the editorial process.