Visuo-spatial attention processes in panic disorder with agoraphobia: a pilot study using a visual target discrimination task. |
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| Authors: | H Dupont E Mollard J Cottraux |
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| Affiliation: | 1. University of Tampere, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, FI-33014 Tampere, Finland;2. Tampere University Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, FI-33014 Tampere, Finland;3. Seinäjoki Hospital District, Department of Psychiatry, Huhtalantie 53, 60220 Seinäjoki, Finland;1. New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY;2. Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY;3. University of Chicago, School of Social Services Administration, Chicago, IL;4. Northwestern University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Chicago, IL;5. Behavioral Consultants of Westchester, White Plains, NY;1. Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Israel;2. Outpatient Psychiatric Unit, The department of Psychiatry, Emek Medical Center, Rapaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Izhak Rabin Ave, 18000 Afula, Haifa, Israel;3. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Kutvolgyi Clinical Center, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary;4. MTA-SE Neuropsychopharmacology Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences and Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary;5. NAP-2-SE New Antidepressant Target Research Group, Semmelweis University, Budapest;6. Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health, University of Genoa, Section of Psychiatry;7. Department of Neurosciences, Suicide Prevention Center, Sant''Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy;8. James J. Peters Veterans'' Administration Medical Center and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA;9. IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy |
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| Abstract: | Panic attacks can be observed in a wide range of situations, but most common are those providing complex and unstructured stimulations, suggesting an impairment in attentional processing of visuo-spatial information. This study evaluated agoraphobics' attentional processing of neutral (i.e., not anxiety-provoking) visuo-spatial stimulation. Twelve patients suffering from panic attacks with agoraphobia were compared with 22 normal controls on a computerized visual target discrimination task specifically designed for this study. Psychometric measures assessed the phobic avoidance, the level of depression and anxiety. The numbers of errors and reaction times were analysed with a three-way ANOVA (Group x target modality x number of stimulations). No between-group significant difference was found for the reaction time performance and the mean number of detection errors. However, an interaction effect was observed for this last variable depending on the target modality: agoraphobic patients made fewer omission errors than control subjects when the target was present among distractors, while they made more commission errors when the target was absent. Outcomes are discussed in terms of attentional hyperactivation related to anxiety and perseverative decision process in agoraphobic patients. |
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