Exploring the function of selective attention and hypervigilance for threat in anxiety

Theoretical frameworks of anxiety propose that attentional biases to threat-related stimuli cause or maintain anxious states. The current paper draws on theoretical frameworks and key empirical studies to outline the distinctive attentional processes highlighted as being important in understanding anxiety. We develop a conceptual framework to make a distinction between two attentional biases: selective attention to threat and hypervigilance for threat. We suggest that these biases each have a different purpose and can account for the typical patterns of facilitated and impaired attention evident in anxious individuals. The framework is novel in its specification of the eye movement behavior associated with these attentional biases. We highlight that selective attention involves narrowing overt attention onto threat to ensure that these stimuli receive processing priority, leading to rapid engagement with task-relevant threat and delayed disengagement from task-irrelevant threat. We show that hypervigilance operates in the presence and absence of threat and involves monitoring for potential dangers via attentional broadening or excessive scanning of the environment with numerous eye movements, leading to improved threat detection and increased distraction from task-irrelevant threat. We conclude that future research could usefully employ eye movement measures to more clearly understand the diverse roles of attention in anxiety.     

Attentional biases to pain and social threat in children with recurrent abdominal pain

Objectives To test whether children with recurrent abdominalpain (RAP) exhibit subliminal (nonconscious) and supraliminal(conscious) attentional biases to pain-related words, and todetermine correlates of these biases. Previous research indicatesthat individuals attend to disorder-relevant threat words, andin this study, attentional biases to disorder-relevant threat(pain), alternative threat (social threat), and neutral wordswere compared. Methods Participants were 59 children with RAPwho completed a computer-based attentional bias task. Participantsand their parents also completed questionnaires measuring pain,somatic complaints, anxiety/depression, and body vigilance.Results Children with RAP showed attentional biases toward subliminalpain-related words and attentional biases away from supraliminalpain-related words. Participants’ attentional biases tosocial threat-related words were marginally significant andalso reflected subliminal attention and supraliminal avoidance.Attentional biases were related to parent and child reportsof pain, body vigilance, and anxiety/depression. ConclusionsChildren with RAP show nonconscious attention to and consciousavoidance of threat-related words. Their attentional biasesrelate to individual differences in symptom severity. Implicationsfor models of pediatric pain and future studies are discussed.     

Anxiety and orienting of gaze to angry and fearful faces

Neuroscience research indicates that individual differences in anxiety may be attributable to a neural system for threat-processing, involving the amygdala, which modulates attentional vigilance, and which is more sensitive to fearful than angry faces. Complementary cognitive studies indicate that high-anxious individuals show enhanced visuospatial orienting towards angry faces, but it is unclear whether fearful faces elicit a similar attentional bias. This study compared biases in initial orienting of gaze to fearful and angry faces, which varied in emotional intensity, in high- and low-anxious individuals. Gaze was monitored whilst participants viewed a series of face-pairs. Results showed that fearful and angry faces elicited similar attentional biases. High-anxious individuals were more likely to direct gaze at intense negative facial expressions, than low-anxious individuals, whereas the groups did not differ in orienting to mild negative expressions. Implications of the findings for research into the neural and cognitive bases of emotion processing are discussed.     

You don’t like me,do you? Enhanced ERP responses to averted eye gaze in social anxiety

Social anxiety is associated with an attentional bias toward angry and fearful faces, along with an enhanced processing of faces per se. However, little is known about the processing of gaze direction, a subtle but important social cue. Participants with high or low social anxiety (HSA/LSA) observed eye pairs with direct or averted gaze while subjective ratings and event-related potentials (ERPs) were measured. Behaviorally, all participants rated averted gaze as more unpleasant than direct gaze. Neurally, only HSA participants showed a trend for higher P100 amplitudes to averted gaze and significantly enhanced processing at late latencies (Late positive potential [LPP]), indicative of a specific processing bias for averted gaze. Furthermore, HSA individuals showed enhanced processing of both direct and averted gaze relative to the LSA group at intermediate latencies (Early posterior negativity [EPN]). Both general and specific attentional biases play a role in social anxiety. Averted gaze - a potential sign of disinterest - deserves more attention in the attentional bias literature.     

The N2pc component reliably captures attentional bias in social anxiety

We systematically compared different measures of attentional bias (i.e., reaction times, the N2pc component in the EEG, and explicit stimulus ratings) on their ability to reveal attentional engagement to threatening versus neutral facial stimuli in a Dot Probe Task and tested their relation to trait measures of general and social anxiety. We found that the N2pc component reflects a bias toward angry faces with excellent internal consistency. Similar results were obtained for explicit ratings. Reaction time (RT) differences, however, were not indicative of attentional biases and showed zero odd‐even reliability. We further found that both higher (i.e., more negative) N2pc amplitudes and earlier peak latencies were associated with more severe symptoms of social anxiety even when controlling for general trait anxiety. The explicit rating biases were also specifically associated with social anxiety. Conversely, the RT bias was not related to social anxiety levels but to general trait anxiety. This highlights the importance of valid and reliable outcome measures for interventions such as attentional bias modification protocols. Mutual exclusivity of different bias operationalizations is discussed.     

Mechanisms of attentional biases towards threat in anxiety disorders: An integrative review

A wealth of research demonstrates attentional biases toward threat in the anxiety disorders. Several models have been advanced to explain these biases in anxiety, yet the mechanisms comprising and mediating the biases remain unclear. In the present article, we review evidence regarding the mechanisms of attentional biases through careful examination of the components of attentional bias, the mechanisms underlying these components, and the stage of information processing during which the biases occur. Facilitated attention, difficulty in disengagement, and attentional avoidance comprise the components of attentional bias. A threat detection mechanism likely underlies facilitated attention, a process that may be neurally centered around the amygdala. Attentional control ability likely underlies difficulty in disengagement, emotion regulation goals likely underlie attentional avoidance, and both of these processes may be neurally centered around prefrontal cortex functioning. The threat detection mechanism may be a mostly automatic process, attentional avoidance may be a mostly strategic process, and difficulty in disengagement may be a mixture of automatic and strategic processing. Recommendations for future research are discussed.     

Attentional bias for psoriasis-specific and psychosocial threat in patients with psoriasis

Information processing biases relate to the manner in which people attend to particular types of information more readily than others. This bias, which is central to cognitive models of disorder, has not been explored in patients with psoriasis. The purpose of this study was to examine whether patients with psoriasis show an automatic attentional bias to classes of information relative to controls. Sixty patients and 60 age- and sex-matched controls completed a computer-based attentional interference task (the modified Stroop task). Patients with psoriasis showed significant interference for disease-specific, self-referent, and others' behavior stimuli relative to controls. In terms of information processing biases, the relationship between subject status (psoriasis patient vs. control) and color-naming interference was significantly stronger than that between anxiety, depression and worry, and interference. Recall bias was limited to disease-specific stimuli only. The observed bias to threat is more appropriately accounted for by participant's status (i.e., psoriasis patient or control) than by psychological distress.     

Enhanced neural reactivity and selective attention to threat in anxiety

Attentional bias towards threat is implicated in the etiology and maintenance of anxiety disorders. We examined the neural correlates of threat bias in anxious and nonanxious participants to shed light on the neural chronometry of this cognitive bias. In this study, event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while anxious (n = 23) and nonanxious (n = 23) young adults performed a probe-discrimination task measuring attentional bias towards threat (angry) and positive (happy) face stimuli. Results showed an attention bias towards threat among anxious participants, but not among nonanxious participants. No bias to positive faces was found. ERP data revealed enhanced C1 amplitude (∼80 ms following threat onset) in anxious relative to nonanxious participants when cue displays contained threat faces. Additionally, P2 amplitude to the faces display was higher in the anxious relative to the nonanxious group regardless of emotion condition (angry/happy/neutral). None of the ERP analyses associated with target processing were significant. In conclusion, our data suggest that a core feature of threat processing in anxiety lies in functional perturbations of a brain circuitry that reacts rapidly and vigorously to threat. It is this over-activation that may set the stage for the attention bias towards threat observed in anxious individuals.     

Time course of attentional bias in social anxiety: The effects of spatial frequencies and individual threats

Hypervigilance and attentional bias to threat faces with low-spatial-frequency (LSF) information have been found in individuals with social anxiety. The vigilance–avoidance hypothesis posits that socially anxious individuals exhibit initial vigilance and later avoidance to threatening cues. However, the temporal dynamics of these two processes in response to various LSF threats in social anxiety remain unclear. In the current study, we presented faces containing anger, disgust, and fear in high and low spatial frequencies and compared the neural correlates with sensory perception and attention in individuals with high versus low social anxiety (HSA/LSA, n = 24). A visual search task was used to investigate the attentional effects of threats and spatial frequencies, and event-related potentials, particularly, the visual components of P1 and P250, were measured to index visual perceptual and attentional processes, respectively. We found that HSA individuals showed pronounced P1 and reduced P250 to LSF (vs. HSF) faces, regardless of emotion type, suggesting a general pattern of initial vigilance and later avoidance to LSF faces in social anxiety. Furthermore, while LSA individuals showed enhanced P250 to both fear and disgust (vs. neutral) faces, HSA individuals showed pronounced P250 to disgust faces alone. Our results, thus, elucidate the temporal profile of early vigilance and later avoidance in social anxiety, highlighting its broad implication for all faces and predominance in the low spatial frequency. Considering individual threats, our results demonstrate specific attentional avoidance of fear faces in social anxiety.     

Physically active individuals look for more: An eye-tracking study of attentional bias

Attentional capture by exercise-related stimuli is important for the regulation of physical activity. Attentional processing underlying this capture has been investigated with indirect behavioral measures based on reaction times. To investigate more direct measures of visual spatial attention toward physical activity (vs. inactivity) stimuli, we used eye-tracking and a visual dot probe task in 77 young adults with various level of physical activity. Reaction times to detect a dot appearing in the area previously occupied by a physical activity (vs. inactivity) stimulus were an indirect measure of attentional bias. The first picture gaze and viewing time were more direct measures of attentional orienting and attentional engagement, respectively. Pupil dilation was an indicator of arousal. Reaction times revealed a two-way interaction between the location of the dot and participants’ usual level of physical activity. Only participants with a high level of physical activity more quickly detected a dot when it appeared in the area previously occupied by a physical activity stimulus. Eye-tracking results showed greater odds of first gazing at physical activity stimuli and for a longer time, and a greater decrease in pupil size when viewing physical activity stimuli when usual level of physical activity was moderate or high, but not low. The variance explained in the outcomes ranged from 13.9% (pupil dilation) to 40% (reaction times). Overall, as hypothesized, compared to less physically active participants, participants who were more physically active demonstrated indirect (reaction times) and direct (first gaze, viewing time) evidence of a more pronounced attentional bias toward physical activity. Physical activity stimuli biased attention, with a pronounced effect when the level of physical activity was higher. These findings suggest that physical activity stimuli are relevant to the current concerns of moderately and highly active individuals.     

Understanding the reward system functioning in anorexia nervosa: Crucial role of physical activity

Hyperactivity is a potential neurobiological marker and a core psychopathological trait in anorexia nervosa (AN). We investigated the processing of hyperactivity-related information in fifteen AN patients, 15 athletes and 15 non-athletes to examine if they represent disorder-related reward information using eye tracking. We assessed the extent of individually performed physical activity, mood, trait reward sensitivity and serum leptin levels. Results revealed a pronounced bias in overall attentional engagement toward stimuli associated with physical activity in patients and athletes as compared to non-athletes. In patients, relevant correlations were found: trait reward sensitivity and attentional orienting were strongly correlated and amount of physical activity correlated with attentional orienting and engagement. Compared to non-athletes, patients and athletes rated exercise stimuli as more pleasant. Findings suggest that exercise-related stimuli are perceived as rewarding by AN patients. Positive motivational valence of physical activity might contribute to disorder development and maintenance.     

Neural time course of threat-related attentional bias and interference in panic and obsessive–compulsive disorders

Attentional biases to threat are considered central to anxiety disorders, however physiological evidence of their nature and time course is lacking. Event-related potentials (ERPs) characterized sensory and cognitive changes while 20 outpatients with panic disorder (PD), 20 with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), and 20 healthy controls (HCs) responded to the color (emotional Stroop task) or meaning of threatening and neutral stimuli. ERPs indicated larger P1 amplitude and longer N1 latency in OCD, and shorter P1 latency in PD, to threatening (versus neutral) stimuli, across instructions to attend to, or ignore, threat content. Emotional Stroop interference correlated with phobic anxiety and was significant in PD. Participants with emotional Stroop interference had augmented P1 and P3 amplitudes to threat (versus neutral) stimuli when color-naming. The results suggest early attentional biases to threat in both disorders, with disorder-specific characteristics. ERPs supported preferential early attentional capture and cognitive elaboration hypotheses of emotional Stroop interference.     

Attentional biases for angry faces in unipolar depression

BACKGROUND: Past research has demonstrated that depression is associated with dysfunctional processing of emotional information. Recent studies demonstrate that a bias in the attentional processing of negative information may be an important cognitive vulnerability factor underlying the onset and maintenance of depression. However, to date, the nature of this attentional bias is still poorly understood and further exploration of this topic to advance current knowledge of attentional biases in depression seems imperative. METHOD: This study examined attentional biases for angry facial expressions presented for 1000 ms in 20 patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 20 non-depressed control participants (NC) matched for age and gender using an emotional modification of the Exogenous Cueing task. RESULTS: Patients with MDD showed maintained attention for angry faces compared with neutral faces. In comparison with non-depressed participants they showed a stronger attentional engagement for angry faces. In contrast, the NC group directed attention away from angry faces, more rapidly disengaging their attention compared with neutral faces. CONCLUSIONS: This pattern of results supports the assumption that MDD is characterized by deficits in the attentional processing of negative, interpersonal information and suggests a 'protective' bias in non-depressed individuals. Implications in relation to previous research exploring cognitive and interpersonal functioning in depression are discussed.     

Covert and overt attention in trait anxiety: a cognitive psychophysiological analysis

The effect of threatening cues and anxiety upon attention within a Posner paradigm was investigated in two experiments. It was predicted anxious individuals would show a bias to threat-related material. Heart rate and eye movements were obtained to assess the attentional processes associated with this cognitive bias. Sixty and 40 participants were allocated respectively to groups based on self-reported scores of anxiety and repressive coping style. All participants were exposed to threat and non-threat cue words within a word based Posner cueing task. In the second study, spatial position of the target was manipulated, together with instructional set. Differential patterns of attentional disengagement to threat were found that were modulated by trait anxiety in study 2. A bias towards threat involving uninstructed eye movements was observed amongst anxious participants. Repressors made few such eye movements. Findings are discussed in relation to models of attentional deployment to threat.     

Biased attentional behavior in childhood anxiety. A review of theory and current empirical investigation

This review examines the state of current theory and research regarding a relatively new area of study in childhood anxiety: the examination of attentional biases associated with the processing of threatening environmental stimuli. In particular, this paper focuses upon current attempts to extend an information processing framework traditionally associated with childhood psychopathology (i.e., Crick & Dodge [Psychol Bull 115 (1994) 74]) and anxiety-related attentional bias research previously conducted only with adults, to populations of anxious children. First, a thorough discussion of Crick and Dodge's model and its applicability to current theories of anxiety is presented. Although each stage of Crick and Dodge's model is shown to possess correlates with current conceptualizations of anxiety, the research investigations reviewed here focus upon the multiple approaches that have been undertaken to better comprehend anxious children's attentional biases in encoding and subsequent task performance decrements. Specifically, recent investigations of anxious children's attentional performance utilizing Stroop tasks, probe detection tasks, and the relatively new probe localization task are reviewed. A discussion of the disparate findings associated with recent studies of each of these tasks is given, with an eye toward the need to specify the developmental, theoretical, demographic, and clinically relevant characteristics associated with the biased attentional behavior observed among highly anxious children.     

Selective attention to threat versus reward: meta-analysis and neural-network modeling of the dot-probe task

Two decades of research conducted to date has examined selective visual attention to threat and reward stimuli as a function of individual differences in anxiety using the dot-probe task. The present study tests a connectionist neural-network model of meta-analytic and key individual-study results derived from this literature. Attentional bias for threatening and reward-related stimuli is accounted for by connectionist model implementation of the following clinical psychology and affective neuroscience principles: 1) affective learning and temperament, 2) state and trait anxiety, 3) intensity appraisal, 4) affective chronometry, 5) attentional control, and 6) selective attention training. Theoretical implications for the study of mood and anxiety disorders are discussed.     

Attentional shift by gaze is triggered without awareness

Reflexive attentional shift in response to another individual’s gaze direction has been reported, but it remains unknown whether this process can occur subliminally. We investigated this issue using facial stimuli consisting of drawings (Experiment 1) and photographs (Experiment 2). The gaze direction was expressed by the eye gaze direction (Experiment 1), and the eye gaze and head direction (Experiment 2). The gaze cue was presented either supraliminally or subliminally in the center of the visual field, before target presentation in the periphery. The task for participants was to localize the target as soon as possible. The reaction time needed to localize the target was consistently shorter for valid than invalid gaze cues for both types of gaze cues in both subliminal and supraliminal conditions. These findings indicate that attentional shift can be triggered even without awareness in response to another individual’s eye gaze or head direction.     

Time course of attentional bias in anxiety: Emotion and gender specificity

Anxiety is characterized by cognitive biases, including attentional bias to emotional (especially threatening) stimuli. Accounts differ on the time course of attention to threat, but the literature generally confounds emotional valence and arousal and overlooks gender effects, both addressed in the present study. Nonpatients high in self‐reported anxious apprehension, anxious arousal, or neither completed an emotion‐word Stroop task during event‐related potential (ERP) recording. Hypotheses differentiated time course of preferential attention to emotional stimuli. Individuals high in anxious apprehension and anxious arousal showed distinct early ERP evidence of preferential processing of emotionally arousing stimuli along with some evidence for gender differences in processing. Healthy controls showed gender differences at both early and later processing stages. The conjunction of valence, arousal, and gender is critical in the time course of attentional bias.     

Cognitive vulnerability to anxiety: A review and an integrative model

Consistent research evidence supports the existence of threat-relevant cognitive bias in anxiety, but there remains controversy about which stages of information processing are most important in the conferral of cognitive vulnerability to anxiety. To account for both theoretical and empirical discrepancies in the literature, an integrative multi-process model is proposed wherein core assumptions of dual-systems theories from social and cognitive psychology are adapted to explain attentional and interpretive biases in the anxiety disorders. According to the model, individual differences in associative and rule-based processing jointly influence orientation, engagement, disengagement, and avoidance of threat-relevant stimuli, as well as negatively-biased interpretation of ambiguous stimuli in anxious populations. By linking anxiety-related symptoms to basic principles of information processing, the model parsimoniously integrates different kinds of cognitive biases in anxiety, providing a useful framework for future research and clinical intervention.     

眼动技术对自闭症患者认知行为学研究的可视化分析

背景:眼动技术因其能客观及时且无创地反映自闭症患者的眼球运动和注意特征,较好地弥补了传统测量方法缺乏的客观性,得到了中国学者的关注,目前尚无针对眼动技术研究自闭症患者的可视化分析.目的:利用文献计量学方法对自闭症眼动研究的相关中英文文献进行可视化分析,了解中国和国际上该领域的研究概况、热点及趋势.方法:检索Web of...