Active avoidance of potential threat is reflected in oscillatory brain activity

Detecting and responding to real and potential threats is crucial for self-preservation. While most studies have focused on passive threat perception, the neural mechanisms underlying active defensive behaviors like avoidance remain poorly understood. A secondary analysis was conducted on previously published EEG data from 95 participants who performed a task with three cue conditions. Each trial featured a colored cue (red, yellow, or green) followed by a naturalistic image: red signaled an unavoidable electric shock, yellow an avoidable shock requiring a rapid response, and green no shock. Time-frequency analyses revealed differences in oscillatory activity within the alpha and mu rhythms across conditions. Parietal alpha activity following cue and image onset, and left central mu activity, preceding the offset of the naturalistic image in the avoidance condition, differed significantly compared to other conditions. Notably, reduced mu power in the avoidance condition prior to image offset linearly predicted faster avoidance responses, while posterior alpha power correlated negatively with self-reported anxiety. These findings support the idea that oscillatory activity in visual and motor systems differentially drives avoidance responses to threat. This study advances understanding of the interplay between visual and motor cortices from threat detection to avoidance behavior.