Psychopathology dimensions and the late positive potential in adolescent and young adult females

Maladaptive emotional processing is central to multiple forms of psychopathology, including both internalizing and externalizing disorders. The late positive potential (LPP) is an event-related potential component that reflects attention allocation and the motivational significance of affective stimuli. Altered LPP amplitudes to emotional pictures have been observed across a range of psychopathologies, yet it remains unclear whether specific higher-order psychopathology dimensions might explain these associations. In a sample of 172 female participants aged 13 to 22 years (M_age = 17.85, standard deviation [SD] = 1.96), the present study examined the association between higher-order psychopathology dimensions and the LPP. Participants completed the Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms - Expanded Version to assess internalizing symptoms, and a parent (89.3% mothers) completed the Child Behavior Checklist to report on their child’s externalizing behaviors. Participants also completed the emotional interrupt task while electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded to measure the LPP during picture viewing. We conducted an analysis of covariance to examine the relationship between multiple psychopathology dimensions and both the overall LPP and emotion-modulated LPP. Results indicated that higher distress scores were associated with a more blunted overall LPP, while higher fear/obsessions and rule-breaking behavior scores were associated with a larger overall LPP. No psychopathology dimension was associated with the emotion-modulated LPP. The present study suggests that internalizing and externalizing subfactor dimensions are independently associated with the LPP, primarily reflecting general neural engagement with neutral, pleasant, and unpleasant emotional images.