# Ecological Assessment of Cognitive Control in Individuals with Social Anxiety

> **NIH NIH R21** · FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY · 2023 · $405,625

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Social anxiety disorder is an impairing condition that typically emerges during adolescence, affecting about 10%
of the population. Models of social anxiety (SA) elucidate excessive self-focus and sensitivity to mistakes as
factors that negatively impact quality of life. Using traditional cognitive neuroscience paradigms, prior work has
identified neural measures associated with enhanced self-detection of errors (Error Monitoring), that predicts SA,
as well as anxiety more generally. However, a major challenge with translational interventions developed from
cognitive neuroscience paradigms is the transfer to ecologically valid settings. There is a critical need for the
design and validation of novel tasks/protocols to identify and reliably measure brain-based therapeutic targets
for SA within ecologically valid, “real-world” settings that are applicable to youth. In line with our long-term goal
of developing brain-based interventions for adolescent SA, the purpose of this proposal is to optimize and
validate a novel, ecologically-valid task that will reliably assess neural and behavioral measures associated with
social anxiety. We propose a sequential, multi-study project that leverages a mixed-methods approach to
optimize and validate our novel Natural Reading task and demonstrate its utility in predicting SA. By developing
an ecologically-valid paradigm early in the experimental therapeutics process, we increase the probability of
successful transfer of effects in future interventions that target measures captured by this novel task; in this way,
our proposal is strongly aligned with the Institute’s mission to transform the understanding and treatment of
mental illnesses. We propose two aims: (1) a pilot study to optimize the design of our novel Natural Reading task
and (2) a second study to establish the reliability and predictive power of the Natural Reading task in relation to
SA. In Study 1, 10 youths (13-17 yrs., 5 high and 5 low SA) will perform the Natural Reading task and a traditional
Flanker task, both alone and while under social observation by a peer. To investigate experiential aspects of
task completion, including participants' perceptions and self-assessed task performance, qualitative methods will
be employed in the analysis of semi-structured interview data. Qualitative results will be leveraged to optimize
design of the Natural Reading task prior to proceeding with Study 2 data collection (Aim 2). For Study 2, within
a second sample of 80 youth (13-17 yrs.), participants will perform an optimized version of the Natural Reading
task and a traditional Flanker task, alone and under peer observation. Neural measures of Error Monitoring,
along with associated behavioral measures, will be extracted to perform quantitative analyses. Hypothesis 2A:
Both tasks will exhibit acceptable levels of reliability in neural and behavioral measures. Hypothesis 2B: Within
each task, measures of Error Monitoring extracted from the ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10740262
- **Project number:** 1R21MH131928-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** George Arthur Buzzell
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $405,625
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-08-01 → 2026-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10740262

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10740262, Ecological Assessment of Cognitive Control in Individuals with Social Anxiety (1R21MH131928-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10740262. Licensed CC0.

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