The impact of social anxiety (X) on the attentional bias (Y) during laughter perception (response times JOY – TAU) was mediated through cerebral activation (M) patterns in left DLPFC.

Mediation analysis: X = independent variable, Y = dependent variable, M = mediator, a = influence of X on M, b = influence of M on Y controlling for X, c = total effect of X on Y, c’ = direct effect of X on Y, ab = indirect effect of X on Y through M. Z values for the ab path pertain to the Sobel test while 95% CI pertain to the bootstrapping approach (for details see Methods). Values displayed in bold type refer to significant effects.