Behavioral and Computational Signatures of Visual Working Memory Deficits in Adolescents with Anxiety Disorder

Pathological anxiety is one of the most common mental health problems in adolescents. It is well documented that working memory, a core cognitive function, is often impaired in people individuals with anxiety disorders. However, the computational mechanisms underlying working memory deficits in adolescents with anxiety remain elusive. Here, we used the classic delay-estimation task in basic research to assess the visual working memory performance of adolescents with anxiety disorders (N = 39) and healthy controls (N = 41). Using a computational psychiatry approach, we tested 14 computational models established in basic research of visual working memory (VWM). Model comparison results identified the variable precision model as the best-fitting model for both groups, suggesting that the two groups share a qualitatively similar VWM process in completing the task. Subsequent analyses of the parameter estimates pointed to atypically reduced memory resources as the primary determinant of impaired VWM performance in adolescents with anxiety disorder. Crucially, the estimated memory resources in the anxious group predicted the severity of anxiety symptoms. Using state-of-the-art computational modeling, our results demonstrate that the reduced memory sources is the key factor mediating working memory deficits in adolescents with anxiety disorders, and this factor may also serve as a potential behavioral marker for future clinical interventions. The current study also highlights the use of computational approaches in dissecting the hidden mechanisms of psychiatric disorders.