Developmental differences in threat learning are associated with changes in frontal-central theta activity

TL;DR

This study shows that adolescents and adults differ in brain activity during threat learning, with adolescents showing less effective inhibition of threat responses.

Contribution

The study is the first to examine developmental differences in threat learning through theta and alpha frequency EEG activity in youth.

Findings

Adolescents showed higher induced theta activity to threat and safety cues during acquisition compared to adults.

Adults exhibited decreased evoked theta activity during extinction, while adolescents showed persistent threat contingencies.

Both groups showed consistent alpha suppression towards the threat cue, indicating sustained vigilance.

Abstract

Major theories link variations in threat learning to the emergence of anxiety symptoms, especially during adolescence. Despite significant neural maturation of threat learning circuitry during this developmental stage, research on adolescence-specific neural responses during threat learning is limited. This study was the first to examine threat learning mechanisms through neural frequency activity among youth, focusing on activity in the theta (4–7 Hz) and alpha (8–12 Hz) frequency bands. Sixty-three adolescents and 65 adults completed a two-day threat acquisition and extinction procedure, while brain activity was measured using electroencephalography (EEG). Analyses focused on developmental differences in high temporal resolution changes in frequency activity, distinguishing between induced and evoked EEG signals. Developmental differences were mainly observed in frontal-central theta activity. During acquisition, adolescents showed higher induced theta activity to both threat and safety cues than adults. During extinction, adults showed decreased evoked theta activity to the conditioned stimulus, indicating effective inhibition of threat representations; in contrast, adolescents exhibited persistent threat contingencies throughout extinction. Both groups showed consistent alpha suppression towards the threat cue, suggesting sustained vigilance even during late extinction. Frontal-central theta activity is a valuable marker for capturing differences between adolescents and adults in threat learning. These findings add to mechanistic research efforts aiming to uncover factors contributing to anxiety vulnerability during adolescence.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00787-025-02745-2.

Figures