Attentional Bias Scores Research Articles

Child temperamental reactivity and self-regulation effects on attentional biases.

This study examined the effects of individual differences in temperamental reactivity (fear) and self-regulation (attentional control) on attentional biases toward threat in a sample of school-aged children (age range was between 9 years 1 month and 13 years 10 months). Attentional biases were assessed with pictorial Dot-probe task, comparing attention allocation toward angry (threat-related) vs. neutral and happy faces. Children also completed self-report temperamental measures of fear and attentional control. We compared attentional bias scores in 4 groups of children: high/low fear and high/low attentional control. Results indicated that, in the case of children with high fear and low attentional control, attention was significantly biased toward angry faces compared with children who had low fear and low attentional control. Findings are discussed in terms of the moderating role of individual differences in attentional control in the context of threat, anxiety-related attentional biases in children.

Dynamics of attentional bias to threat in anxious adults: bias towards and/or away?

The aim of the present study was to question untested assumptions about the nature of the expression of Attentional Bias (AB) towards and away from threat stimuli. We tested the idea that high trait anxious individuals (N = 106; M(SD)age = 23.9(3.2) years; 68% women) show a stable AB towards multiple categories of threatening information using the emotional visual dot probe task. AB with respect to five categories of threat stimuli (i.e., angry faces, attacking dogs, attacking snakes, pointed weapons, violent scenes) was evaluated. In contrast with current theories, we found that 34% of participants expressed AB towards threat stimuli, 20.8% AB away from threat stimuli, and 34% AB towards some categories of threat stimuli and away from others. The multiple observed expressions of AB were not an artifact of a specific criterion AB score cut-off; not specific to certain categories of threat stimuli; not an artifact of differences in within-subject variability in reaction time; nor accounted for by individual differences in anxiety-related variables. Findings are conceptualized as reflecting the understudied dynamics of AB expression, with implications for AB measurement and quantification, etiology, relations, and intervention research.

Gender and Attention in Depression: Examining the Role of Modified Attention in Shifting Mood and Cognitions

The modified selective attention hypothesis proposes that individuals showing signs of depression will fail to disengage from negative stimuli in the environment. Some research suggests that depressive symptoms decrease once this bias is “corrected”. Thus, attention may play a causal and/or sustaining role in depression. The present study examined whether (a) attention can be modified in a student sample to induce a negative attentional bias; and (b) this trained attentional bias will be associated with negative shifts in mood and cognitions. A sample of undergraduates (N = 112) were recruited and asked to complete questionnaires designed to measure depressive symptoms, mood, and negative thoughts toward the self. Participants were then randomly assigned to either an attend-negative (n = 60) or a no-training control condition (n = 52), and asked to complete a computer task. In the attend-negative condition, the computer task (dot probe) was designed to elicit a transient attentional bias toward negative stimuli. After the completion of this task, participants completed the questionnaires a second time. Participants in the experimental condition evidenced higher negative attentional bias scores in comparison to control participants. Further, females demonstrated more negative attention at the end of the training relative to males. Repeated measures analysis of variances further found that following the completion of the computer task, both groups evidenced a negative shift in mood. These results must be interpreted with caution given that baseline attentional biases were not measured in this study. Replication and extension of the findings of this study is necessary.

Developmental precursors of social brain networks: the emergence of attentional and cortical sensitivity to facial expressions in 5 to 7 months old infants.

Biases in attention towards facial cues during infancy may have an important role in the development of social brain networks. The current study used a longitudinal design to examine the stability of infants' attentional biases towards facial expressions and to elucidate how these biases relate to emerging cortical sensitivity to facial expressions. Event-related potential (ERP) and attention disengagement data were acquired in response to the presentation of fearful, happy, neutral, and phase-scrambled face stimuli from the same infants at 5 and 7 months of age. The tendency to disengage from faces was highly consistent across both ages. However, the modulation of this behavior by fearful facial expressions was uncorrelated between 5 and 7 months. In the ERP data, fear-sensitive activity was observed over posterior scalp regions, starting at the latency of the N290 wave. The scalp distribution of this sensitivity to fear in ERPs was dissociable from the topography of face-sensitive modulation within the same latency range. While attentional bias scores were independent of co-registered ERPs, attention bias towards fearful faces at 5 months of age predicted the fear-sensitivity in ERPs at 7 months of age. The current results suggest that the attention bias towards fear could be involved in the developmental tuning of cortical networks for social signals of emotion.

Impulsive and reflective processes related to alcohol use in young adolescents.

Background: Dual process models suggest that the development of addictive behaviors is the result of interplay between impulsive and reflective processes, modulated by boundary conditions such as individual or situational factors. Empirical support for this model has been repeatedly demonstrated in adult samples [for a meta-analysis, see Ref. (1)]. The purpose of this study was to test these processes as they relate to emerging alcohol use in adolescents. Specifically, the interactive effects of several measures of impulsive and reflective processes and working memory capacity (WMC) are examined as predictors of changes in alcohol use among adolescents. It was expected that measures of reflective processes would better predict changes in alcohol use than measures of impulsive processes. Moreover, it was anticipated that WMC would moderate the relation between alcohol-specific impulsive and reflective processes and changes in adolescent alcohol use.Methods: The sample consisted of 427 adolescents (47.7% male) between 12 and 16 years of age (M = 13.96, SD = 0.78) who reported drinking alcohol at least once. Four measures of impulsive processes were included. Attentional bias for alcohol was assessed with a Visual Probe Test; approach bias toward alcohol was assessed with a Stimulus Response Compatibility (SRC) Test; and memory associations with alcohol were assessed with an Implicit Association Test (IAT) and a Word Association Test. Two measures of reflective measures were included: positive and negative expectancies. WMC was measured using a Self-Ordered Pointing Task.Results: Results showed that positive expectancies predicted changes in alcohol use, but this effect was qualified by an interaction with IAT scores. Moreover, SRC scores predicted changes in alcohol use only when negative expectancies were low. Attentional bias and word association scores did not predict changes in alcohol use. The relations between alcohol-specific processes or reflective processes and alcohol use were not moderated by WMC.Conclusion: Although there is empirical evidence for the validity of the model in predicting heavier alcohol use in adolescents, or alcohol abuse and dependence in adults, these observations do not generalize to a sample of normative, early adolescents. More specifically, results indicated that reflective processes are more important predictors of changes in alcohol use than impulsive process during adolescence.

Attentional Bias Modification in Dutch Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder—A Case Series With a Personalized Treatment Version

Beneficial effects of attentional bias modification have been claimed for a number of anxiety disorders, but study results are variable. A recent trial in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) showed no therapeutic effects. The use of personally relevant and verbal stimuli might increase the efficacy of attentional bias modification. In an A-B case series design, we hypothesized that individualized attentional bias modification would lead to reduction of attentional bias and a decrease in PTSD symptoms. Six Dutch male war veterans (mean age 39.33 years) who had developed PTSD after peacekeeping missions underwent the treatment. No therapeutic effects were observed. Inter- and intraindividual attentional bias scores varied widely and did not respond to attentional bias modification as hypothesized. This study provides no evidence that individualized attentional bias modification is an effective treatment for PTSD.

Attention Bias Modification Training Via Smartphone to Reduce Social Anxiety: A Randomized, Controlled Multi-Session Experiment

Testing feasibility and efficacy of psychological treatment via mobile devices is important, given its potential benefits for high-dosage treatment delivery, widespread and inexpensive dissemination, and efficient research methods. We conducted the first randomized controlled trial of attention bias modification training delivered via smartphones, comparing this training to control training in a double-blind design, also including a waitlist condition. All participants performed a variant of dot-probe training involving faces with neutral and disgust (representative of social threat) expressions in brief sessions three times daily over 4 weeks on their own smartphones, at home or anywhere they chose. Attention bias modification, also known as cognitive bias modification of attention, training included a contingency to induce attentional deployment away from disgust faces, whereas the control training included no contingency. Participants completed weekly Internet-based self-report symptom assessments as well as smartphone-delivered dot-probe attention bias assessments, whose reliability findings supported the viability of using smartphones for reaction-time based assessments. The between-groups training effect on attention bias scores was small, showing statistical significance in some analyses and not in others. On measures of social anxiety, intention-to-treat analyses (n = 326) revealed significant pre–post treatment declines with medium to large effect sizes in both training groups, whereas small declines in a waitlist group were nonsignificant. Both training groups showed greater reductions in social anxiety than did waitlist; however, the benefits under these two training conditions were statistically indistinguishable. Improvements in the two training conditions beyond those of waitlist could be attributable to any factors common to them, but not to the contingency training specific to active attention bias modification training.

Attention Bias Modification Treatment Augmenting Effects on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Children With Anxiety: Randomized Controlled Trial

Attention bias modification treatment (ABMT) is a promising novel treatment for anxiety disorders, but clinical trials have focused largely on stand-alone formats among adults. This randomized controlled trial examined the augmenting effects of threat-based ABMT on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in clinically anxious youth. Sixty-three treatment-seeking children with anxiety disorder were randomly assigned to 1 of the following 3 treatment groups: ABMT+ CBT; ABMT placebo+ CBT; and CBT-alone. Participants in the 2 ABMT conditions received repeated training on dot-probe tasks either designed to shift attention away from threats (active) or designed to induce no changes in attention patterns (placebo). Primary outcome measures were frequency and severity of anxiety symptoms as determined by a clinician using a semi-structured interview. Self- and parent-rated anxiety measures and threat-related attention bias scores were also measured before and after treatment. Both the active and placebo ABMT groups showed greater reductions in clinician-rated anxiety symptoms than the CBT-alone group. Furthermore, only the active ABMT group showed significant reduction in self- or parent-rated anxiety symptoms. Finally, all groups showed a shift in attention patterns across the study, starting with a bias toward threat at baseline and shifting attention away from threat after treatment. Active and placebo ABMT might augment the clinical response to CBT for anxiety. This effect could arise from benefits associated with performing computer-based paradigms such as the dot-probe task. Given the absence of group differences in attention-bias changes during treatment, possible mechanisms and methodological issues underlying the observed findings are discussed. Clinical trial registration information-Augmenting Effects of ABMT on CBT in Anxious Children: A Randomized Clinical Trial; http://clinicaltrials.gov/; NCT01730625.

Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement Reduces Pain Attentional Bias in Chronic Pain Patients

Background: Chronic pain involves hypervigilance for pain-related stimuli. Selective attention to pain-related stimuli, known as pain attentional bias (AB), can exacerbate chronic pain, prolong suffering, and undermine quality of life. The aim of this study was to determine if a multimodal mindfulness-oriented intervention could significantly reduce pain AB among chronic pain patients receiving opioid analgesics. Methods: A total of 67 chronic pain patients were randomized to an 8-week Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) intervention or a social support group intervention and began treatment. A dot probe task was used to measure pain AB. Primary outcomes were pain AB scores for cues presented for 2,000 and 200 ms. Results: Prior to intervention, participants exhibited a significant bias towards pain-related cues presented for 2,000 ms, but no bias for cues presented for 200 ms. A statistically significant time × intervention condition interaction was observed for 2,000 ms pain AB, such that participants in MORE evidenced significantly reduced posttreatment pain AB relative to pretreatment levels, whereas no significant pre-post treatment changes in pain AB were observed for support group participants. Decreases in pain AB were associated with increased perceived control over pain and attenuated reactivity to distressing thoughts and emotions. Conclusion: Study findings provide the first indication that a mindfulness-oriented intervention may reduce pain AB among adults suffering from chronic pain. Given the magnitude of chronic pain in postindustrial societies, coupled with the dramatic escalation in prescription opioid misuse, future studies should evaluate MORE as a nonpharmacological means of addressing factors linked with chronic pain.

Attentional Bias Modification in People with Chronic Pain: A Proof of Concept Study

The purpose of this proof of concept study was to explore the role of attentional bias modification (ABM) in improving clinically relevant outcomes in chronic pain. Eight participants with chronic pain completed eight ABM sessions, which featured a modified version of the visual-probe task implicitly training attention away from pain-related stimuli towards neutral stimuli. Training sessions included a variety of linguistic and pictorial pain-related stimuli, which were presented at two presentation times (500 and 1250 ms). Participants also completed a standard version of the visual-probe task pre- and post-ABM to assess changes in bias. The primary outcome measure was pain intensity, and secondary outcome measures were anxiety, depression severity and pain interference. Statistically and clinically significant change was shown pre- to post-ABM in pain intensity, anxiety, depression and pain interference. Attentional bias scores did not statistically differ across time. These results support the continued exploration of ABM in chronic pain and the modifications we made to the intervention (i.e. the inclusion of pictorial stimuli and a longer presentation time). Future research is needed to explore the optimal form of ABM and whether improvements are maintained over time.

The Relationship Between Attentional Bias and Anxiety in Children and Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Young people with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are more likely to have heightened levels of anxiety compared with their typically developing (non-ASD) peers. The reasons for this are poorly understood, and there has been little research investigating the cognitive correlates of anxiety in individuals with ASD. Typically developing youth with anxiety disorders have frequently been found to show an attentional bias toward threatening information. In this study, we examined whether such a bias was also found in young people with ASD and anxiety symptoms. The protocol utilized two versions of the dot-probe paradigm, the first with emotional faces and the second with emotional words. Participants comprised 38 boys with an ASD and 41 typically developing controls aged 10-16 years of age. Those with an ASD displayed higher levels of parent- and child-rated anxiety (both P < 0.001) and depression (P < 0.001) compared with controls. However, there were no significant group differences in attentional bias scores and no significant relationship between anxiety and attentional bias in either the face or word tasks, for either group. Our findings suggest that, for young people with ASD, unlike non-ASD individuals with an anxiety disorder, high levels of anxiety may not be associated with attentional bias to threat. This may indicate that anxiety in ASD has different cognitive correlates from anxiety in the typically developing population. Further conclusions, study limitations, and future directions are discussed.

Attentional biases for betel nut cues in heavy and light chewers.

The betel nut (Areca catecu) is regarded by the World Health Organization as the fourth most prevalent human carcinogen. Our study aims to investigate whether habitual chewers show bias in their attention toward betel nut usage. In the current study, heavy and light betel nut chewers were instructed to respond to a probe presented immediately after either one of a pair of areca-related picture and non-areca-matched picture. The presentation durations of these pictures were manipulated to investigate attentional biases under awareness threshold (17 ms), in initial orienting (200 ms), and maintenance of attention (2,000 ms). Faster response to the probe replacing the areca-related picture, in comparison with a matched picture, indicated attentional bias. The results showed that neither group showed subliminal attentional biases. Further, heavy chewers, but not light chewers, exhibited supraliminal biases toward betel nut cues in initial orienting of attention and maintained attention. Moreover, attentional bias scores at 2,000 ms were also shown to be positively associated with betel nut craving and dependence. Implications of the current findings are thoroughly discussed in the article.

Attentional threat avoidance and familial risk are independently associated with childhood anxiety disorders

Twin studies in children reveal that familial aggregation of anxiety disorders is due to both genetic and environmental factors. Cognitive biases for threat information are considered a robust characteristic of childhood anxiety. However, little is known regarding the underlying aetiology of such biases and their role in anxiety disorders. A face version of the dot-probe task measuring attentional biases for negative (anger, fear, sad, disgust) and positive (happy) facial expressions was completed by 600, 8-year-old twins; the largest study of its kind. Twin correlations for attentional bias scores were compared to estimate genetic and environmental effects. Parent-report diagnostic interviews identified children with an anxiety disorder. Indices of inferred genetic and familial risk for anxiety disorders were created for each child. Data were analysed using a series of logistic regressions. Anxious children showed greater attentional avoidance of negative faces than nonanxious children; t (548) = 2.55, p < .05. Attentional avoidance was not under genetic or shared environmental influence. Risk for anxiety disorders was predicted by familial factors. Both attentional avoidance and inferred familial risk were significant but independent predictors of anxiety disorders (ORs = .65 and 3.64, respectively). Anxiety-related attentional biases and familial risk play important but independent roles in childhood anxiety disorders. If replicated, these findings indicate that links between genetic risk and anxiety disorders lie outside the domain of attentional processes.

Threat bias in attention orienting: evidence of specificity in a large community-based study

Preliminary research implicates threat-related attention biases in paediatric anxiety disorders. However, major questions exist concerning diagnostic specificity, effects of symptom-severity levels, and threat-stimulus exposure durations in attention paradigms. This study examines these issues in a large, community school-based sample. Method A total of 2046 children (ages 6-12 years) were assessed using the Development and Well Being Assessment (DAWBA), Childhood Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and dot-probe tasks. Children were classified based on presence or absence of 'fear-related' disorders, 'distress-related' disorders, and behavioural disorders. Two dot-probe tasks, which differed in stimulus exposure, assessed attention biases for happy-face and threat-face cues. The main analysis included 1774 children. For attention bias scores, a three-way interaction emerged among face-cue emotional valence, diagnostic group, and internalizing symptom severity (F = 2.87, p < 0.05). This interaction reflected different associations between internalizing symptom severity and threat-related attention bias across diagnostic groups. In children with no diagnosis (n = 1411, mean difference = 11.03, s.e. = 3.47, df = 1, p < 0.001) and those with distress-related disorders (n = 66, mean difference = 10.63, s.e. = 5.24, df = 1, p < 0.05), high internalizing symptoms predicted vigilance towards threat. However, in children with fear-related disorders (n = 86, mean difference = -11.90, s.e. = 5.94, df = 1, p < 0.05), high internalizing symptoms predicted an opposite tendency, manifesting as greater bias away from threat. These associations did not emerge in the behaviour-disorder group (n = 211). The association between internalizing symptoms and biased orienting varies with the nature of developmental psychopathology. Both the form and severity of psychopathology moderates threat-related attention biases in children.

An early attentional bias to BEGIN-stimuli of the smoking ritual is accompanied with mesocorticolimbic deactivations in smokers

Biased processing of drug-associated stimuli is believed to be a crucial feature of addiction. Particularly, an attentional bias seems to contribute to the disorder's maintenance. Recent studies suggest differential effects for stimuli associated with the beginning (BEGIN-smoking-stimuli) or the terminal stage of the smoking ritual (END-smoking-stimuli), with the former but not the later evoking high cue-reactivity. The current study investigated the neuronal network underlying an attentional bias to BEGIN-smoking-stimuli and END-smoking-stimuli in smokers and tested the hypothesis that the attentional bias is greater for BEGIN-smoking-stimuli. Sixteen non-deprived smokers and 16 non-smoking controls participated in an fMRI study. Drug pictures (BEGIN-smoking-stimuli, END-smoking-stimuli) and control pictures were overlaid with geometrical figures and presented for 300ms. Subjects had to identify picture content (identification-task) or figure orientation (distraction-task). The distraction-task was intended to demonstrate attentional bias. Behavioral data revealed an attentional bias to BEGIN-smoking-stimuli but not to END-smoking-stimuli in both groups. However, only smokers showed mesocorticolimbic deactivations in the distraction-task with BEGIN-smoking-stimuli. Importantly, these deactivations were significantly stronger for BEGIN- than for END-smoking-stimuli and correlated with the attentional bias score. Several explanations may account for missing group differences in behavioral data. Brain data suggest smokers using regulatory strategies in response to BEGIN-smoking-stimuli to prevent the elicitation of motivational responses interfering with distraction-task performance. These strategies could be reflected in the observed deactivations and might lead to a performance level in smokers that is similar to that of non-smokers.

Attentional bias to emotional stimuli is altered during moderate- but not high-intensity exercise.

Little is known regarding how attention to emotional stimuli is affected during simultaneously performed exercise. Attentional biases to emotional face stimuli were assessed in 34 college students (17 women) using the dot-probe task during counterbalanced conditions of moderate- (heart rate at 45% peak oxygen consumption) and high-intensity exercise (heart rate at 80% peak oxygen consumption) compared with seated rest. The dot-probe task consisted of 1 emotional face (pleasant or unpleasant) paired with a neutral face for 1,000 ms; 256 trials (128 trials for each valence) were presented during each condition. Each condition lasted approximately 10 min. Participants were instructed to perform each trial of the dot-probe task as quickly and accurately as possible during the exercise and rest conditions. During moderate-intensity exercise, participants exhibited significantly greater attentional bias scores to pleasant compared with unpleasant faces (p < .01), whereas attentional bias scores to emotional faces did not differ at rest or during high-intensity exercise (p > .05). In addition, the attentional bias to unpleasant faces was significantly reduced during moderate-intensity exercise compared with that during rest (p < .05). These results provide behavioral evidence that during exercise at a moderate intensity, there is a shift in attention allocation toward pleasant emotional stimuli and away from unpleasant emotional stimuli. Future work is needed to determine whether acute exercise may be an effective treatment approach to reduce negative bias or enhance positive bias in individuals diagnosed with mood or anxiety disorders, or whether attentional bias during exercise predicts adherence to exercise.

Validating incentive salience with functional magnetic resonance imaging: association between mesolimbic cue reactivity and attentional bias in alcohol‐dependent patients

Alcohol-associated cues are able to elicit brain activations in mesocorticolimbic networks that are related to the rewarding properties of the drug. Some authors hypothesize that the activation of the mesocorticolimbic reward system triggers an attention allocation to alcohol-associated cues. Yet, no functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies examining this proposition are available. In this fMRI study we investigate the association between attentional bias and neural cue reactivity. Thirty-eight recently abstinent alcohol-dependent patients were examined. fMRI was used to study cue reactivity during the presentation of alcohol-related pictures. A modified visual dot-probe task was used to assess attentional bias. Alcohol-dependent patients showed an attentional bias to alcohol-associated cues as well as cue-induced fMRI activation in response to alcohol-related stimuli in limbic and reward-related brain regions and visual areas. We found a positive correlation between cue-induced brain activation and attentional bias score in a network including frontal, temporal and subcortical regions. This study is the first demonstrating that, in line with previous suggestions, cue induced activation of the mesocorticolimbic reward system triggers focusing attention to substance-associated cues. However, this association could also be bidirectional with the attentional bias enhancing cue-induced neural activity.

The effects of the dopamine D3 receptor antagonist GSK598809 on attentional bias to palatable food cues in overweight and obese subjects

The mesolimbic dopamine system plays a critical role in the reinforcing effects of rewards. Evidence from pre-clinical studies suggests that D₃ receptor antagonists may attenuate the motivational impact of rewarding cues. In this study we examined the acute effects of the D₃ receptor antagonist GSK598809 on attentional bias to rewarding food cues in overweight to obese individuals (n=26, BMI mean=32.7±3.7, range 27-40 kg/m²) who reported binge and emotional eating. We also determined whether individual differences in restrained eating style modulated the effects of GSK598809 on attentional bias. The study utilized a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over design with each participant tested following acute administration of placebo and GSK598809 (175 mg). Attentional bias was assessed by the visual probe task and modified Stroop task using food-related words. Overall GSK598809 had no effects on attentional bias in either the visual probe or food Stroop tasks. However, the effect of GSK598809 on both visual probe and food Stroop attentional bias scores was inversely correlated with a measure of eating restraint allowing the identification of two subpopulations, low- and high-restrained eaters. Low-restrained eaters had a significant attentional bias towards food cues in both tasks under placebo, and this was attenuated by GSK598809. In contrast, high-restrained eaters showed no attentional bias to food cues following either placebo or GSK598809. These findings suggest that excessive attentional bias to food cues generated by individual differences in eating traits can be modulated by D₃ receptor antagonists, warranting further investigation with measures of eating behaviour and weight loss.

Effect of escitalopram treatment on cognitive bias to the emotional facial information in panic disorder

Objective To investigate the effect of escitalopram treatment on cognitive bias to the emotional facial information in patients with panic disorder. Methods 30 patients met CCMD-3 criteria for panic disorder were enrolled as research group and marched sexual and age 30 healthy persons enrolled as control group. Patients were treated with escitalopram for 8 weeks. All participants measured with dot-probe task of emotional facial information at base and after 8 weeks. RTs and attentional bias scores were compared respectively. Results After 8 weeks,HAMA scores (7. 81 ± 2. 52) in research group were lower than that of at base ( 17. 23 ± 3. 12) (P = 0.002). A repeated measure ANOVA revealed a significant probe site main effect (F(1,58) =4. 34, P = 0.031 ) , RTs of antarafacial site were longer than that of homonymy site. It revealed a significant probe site and group interaction(F(1,58) =16.15, P=0.000) ,a significant emotional facial information type and probe site interaction(F(1,58)=9.25, P =0.015) ,and a significant emotional facial information type × probe site× group interaction(F(1,58) =7. 31, P = 0. 002). LSD test showed that RTs of antarafacial site to fear facial information in research group were longer than that of homonymy site(P = 0.0009). RTs and attention bias scores of antarafacial site to fear facial information after 8 weeks in research group were lower than that of at base(P=0.032,0.008). Conclusion Patients with panic disorder have the cognitive bias to the fear facial emotional stimulus, and escitalopram treatment might improve the cognitive bias. Key words: Panic Disorder; Emotional facial information; Dot-probe task; Cognitive bias; Escitalopram

Is Smoking-related Attentional Bias a Useful Marker for Treatment Effects?

Theoretical models of nicotine abuse suggest that preferential attention allocation towards smoking-related stimuli plays an important role in the development and maintenance of smoking behavior. However, little is known about the impact of standard treatment programs for nicotine cessation on this effect. In the current study, we investigated smoking-related attentional bias using a visual dot probe task and an emotional Stroop task before and after a standard behavioral group therapy. Smokers (n = 39) who received treatment, a smoker control group without treatment (n = 20) and a non-smoker control group (n = 20) were investigated. Although we found a reduction in attentional bias scores after successful treatment, this effect failed to reach statistical significance. Of note, we observed a low test–retest reliability in low-dependence smokers in both tasks which is a substantial limitation for using these paradigms in longitudinal studies. Additionally, there was no significant correlation between the attentional bias scores from both tasks.