Children’s Shyness, Frontal Brain Activity, and Anxiety in the Perioperative Context
Although preoperative anxiety affects up to 75% of children undergoing surgery each year and is associated with many adverse outcomes, we know relatively little about individual differences in how children respond to impending surgery. We examined whether patterns of anterior brain electrical activi...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Behavioral Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/13/9/766 |
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| author | Cheryl H. T. Chow Kristie L. Poole Richard Y. Xu Jhanahan Sriranjan Ryan J. Van Lieshout Norman Buckley Graeme Moffat Louis A. Schmidt |
| author_facet | Cheryl H. T. Chow Kristie L. Poole Richard Y. Xu Jhanahan Sriranjan Ryan J. Van Lieshout Norman Buckley Graeme Moffat Louis A. Schmidt |
| author_sort | Cheryl H. T. Chow |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although preoperative anxiety affects up to 75% of children undergoing surgery each year and is associated with many adverse outcomes, we know relatively little about individual differences in how children respond to impending surgery. We examined whether patterns of anterior brain electrical activity (i.e., a neural correlate of anxious arousal) moderated the relation between children’s shyness and preoperative anxiety on the day of surgery in 70 children (36 girls, <i>M</i><sub>age</sub> = 10.4 years, <i>SD</i><sub>age</sub> = 1.7, years, range 8 to 13 years) undergoing elective surgery. Shyness was assessed using self-report approximately 1 week prior to surgery during a preoperative visit (Time 1), preoperative anxiety was assessed using self-report, and regional EEG (left and right frontal and temporal sites) was assessed using a dry sensory EEG headband on the day of surgery (Time 2). We found that overall frontal EEG alpha power moderated the relation between shyness and self-reported preoperative anxiety. Shyness was related to higher levels of self-reported anxiety on the day of surgery for children with lower average overall frontal alpha EEG power (i.e., higher cortical activity) but not for children with higher average overall frontal alpha EEG power (i.e., lower cortical activity). These results suggest that the pattern of frontal brain activity might amplify some shy children’s affective responses to impending surgery. Findings also extend prior results linking children’s shyness, frontal brain activity, and anxiety observed in the laboratory to a real-world, ecologically salient environment. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:02:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-880935725d1046b7b4dded8f200971f7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-328X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:02:36Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Behavioral Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-880935725d1046b7b4dded8f200971f72023-11-19T09:35:29ZengMDPI AGBehavioral Sciences2076-328X2023-09-0113976610.3390/bs13090766Children’s Shyness, Frontal Brain Activity, and Anxiety in the Perioperative ContextCheryl H. T. Chow0Kristie L. Poole1Richard Y. Xu2Jhanahan Sriranjan3Ryan J. Van Lieshout4Norman Buckley5Graeme Moffat6Louis A. Schmidt7Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, CanadaDepartment of Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, CanadaDepartment of Anesthesia, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, CanadaInteraXon Inc., Toronto, ON M5V 3B1, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, CanadaAlthough preoperative anxiety affects up to 75% of children undergoing surgery each year and is associated with many adverse outcomes, we know relatively little about individual differences in how children respond to impending surgery. We examined whether patterns of anterior brain electrical activity (i.e., a neural correlate of anxious arousal) moderated the relation between children’s shyness and preoperative anxiety on the day of surgery in 70 children (36 girls, <i>M</i><sub>age</sub> = 10.4 years, <i>SD</i><sub>age</sub> = 1.7, years, range 8 to 13 years) undergoing elective surgery. Shyness was assessed using self-report approximately 1 week prior to surgery during a preoperative visit (Time 1), preoperative anxiety was assessed using self-report, and regional EEG (left and right frontal and temporal sites) was assessed using a dry sensory EEG headband on the day of surgery (Time 2). We found that overall frontal EEG alpha power moderated the relation between shyness and self-reported preoperative anxiety. Shyness was related to higher levels of self-reported anxiety on the day of surgery for children with lower average overall frontal alpha EEG power (i.e., higher cortical activity) but not for children with higher average overall frontal alpha EEG power (i.e., lower cortical activity). These results suggest that the pattern of frontal brain activity might amplify some shy children’s affective responses to impending surgery. Findings also extend prior results linking children’s shyness, frontal brain activity, and anxiety observed in the laboratory to a real-world, ecologically salient environment.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/13/9/766preoperative anxietychildshynesselectroencephalographytemperamentsurgery |
| spellingShingle | Cheryl H. T. Chow Kristie L. Poole Richard Y. Xu Jhanahan Sriranjan Ryan J. Van Lieshout Norman Buckley Graeme Moffat Louis A. Schmidt Children’s Shyness, Frontal Brain Activity, and Anxiety in the Perioperative Context Behavioral Sciences preoperative anxiety child shyness electroencephalography temperament surgery |
| title | Children’s Shyness, Frontal Brain Activity, and Anxiety in the Perioperative Context |
| title_full | Children’s Shyness, Frontal Brain Activity, and Anxiety in the Perioperative Context |
| title_fullStr | Children’s Shyness, Frontal Brain Activity, and Anxiety in the Perioperative Context |
| title_full_unstemmed | Children’s Shyness, Frontal Brain Activity, and Anxiety in the Perioperative Context |
| title_short | Children’s Shyness, Frontal Brain Activity, and Anxiety in the Perioperative Context |
| title_sort | children s shyness frontal brain activity and anxiety in the perioperative context |
| topic | preoperative anxiety child shyness electroencephalography temperament surgery |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/13/9/766 |
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