The presentation of real-world images can swiftly engage processing mechanisms within specific brain regions and neural pathways. In this study, we explore the effects of fear and psychopathological symptoms on neural processing of realistic stimuli during a free viewing naturalistic task in a sample of adolescents (11–16y). Thirty-one participants performed an experimental task consisting of the visualization of animal pictures according to three conditions - Snakes, Spiders, and Dogs - during EEG recordings. Dimensions of fear and psychopathological symptoms were previously assessed through The Fear Survey Schedule for Children- Revised and the Brief Symptom Inventory. Earlier and later visual processing was analyzed through ERP components’ peak amplitudes. The results show a robust effect of psychopathology-related dimensions in the visual processing of naturalistic images, suggesting an increase of neural activity at later stages of visual processing (at the N200 time window) in symptomatic adolescents, corroborating the role of psychopathological symptoms in modulating neural responses to naturalistic images, and also guiding clinicians by providing additional data on how symptomatic adolescents perceive and process reality.

真实世界图像的呈现可以迅速参与特定大脑区域和神经通路内的处理机制。在这项研究中，我们以青少年（11-16 岁）为样本，探讨了在自由观看自然主义任务期间恐惧和精神病理症状对现实刺激神经处理的影响。三十一名参与者执行了一项实验任务，其中包括在脑电图记录期间根据三种条件（蛇、蜘蛛和狗）对动物图片进行可视化。之前通过儿童恐惧调查表（修订版）和简短症状清单评估了恐惧和精神病理症状的维度。通过 ERP 组件的峰值幅度来分析早期和晚期的视觉处理。结果显示，与精神病理学相关的维度在自然图像的视觉处理中具有强大的作用，表明有症状的青少年在视觉处理的后期（在N200时间窗口）神经活动增加，证实了精神病理学症状在调节中的作用。神经对自然图像的反应，并通过提供有关有症状的青少年如何感知和处理现实的额外数据来指导临床医生。