Electrophysiological responses to threat in youth with and without Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

► As in adults, children and adolescents exhibited greater late positive potentials and larger skin conductance responses to pictures indicating threat, relative to non-threat. ► Children and adolescents exhibited less recovery from initial heart rate deceleration in response to threat-related pictures, relative to non-threat pictures. ► At follow-up, skin conductance responses in non-traumatized children and adolescents habituated, whereas children with PTSD maintained larger responses to threat-related pictures compared to non-threat pictures. ► Children with PTSD generated greater acoustic startle reflexes than non-traumatized children. ► Psychotherapy did not appear to influence electrophysiological measures.