scholarly journals Change in Negative Attention Bias Mediates the Association Between Attention Bias Modification Training and Depression Symptom Improvement

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher G Beevers ◽  
Kean J. Hsu ◽  
David M Schnyer ◽  
Jasper A. J. Smits ◽  
Jason Shumake
Keyword(s):  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Attentional Bias ◽  
Attention Bias ◽  
Symptom Improvement ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Depression Symptom ◽  
Attention Bias Modification ◽  
Mediation Effects ◽  
Depression Change ◽  
Bias Modification

Attention bias modification training (ABMT) is purported to reduce depression by targeting and modifying an attentional bias for sadness-related stimuli. However, few tests of this hypothesis have been completed. Method: The current study examined whether change in attentional bias mediated a previously reported association between ABMT condition (active ABMT, sham ABMT, assessments only; N = 145) and depression symptom change among depressed adults. The pre-registered, primary measure of attention bias was a discretized eye tracking metric that quantified the proportion of trials where gaze time was greater for sad stimuli than neutral stimuli. Results: Contemporaneous longitudinal simplex mediation indicated that change in attentional bias early in treatment partially mediated the effect of ABMT on depression symptoms. Specificity analyses indicated that in contrast to the eye-tracking mediator, reaction time assessments of attentional bias for sad stimuli (mean bias and trial level variability) and lapses in sustained attention did not mediate the association between ABMT and depression change. Results also suggested that mediation effects were limited to a degree by suboptimal measurement of attentional bias for sad stimuli. Conclusion: When effective, ABMT may improve depression in part by reducing an attentional bias for sad stimuli, particularly early on during ABMT.

scholarly journals Change in negative attention bias mediates the association between attention bias modification training and depression symptom improvement.

2021 ◽  
Vol 89 (10) ◽  
pp. 816-829
Author(s):  
Christopher G. Beevers ◽  
Kean J. Hsu ◽  
David M. Schnyer ◽  
Jasper A. J. Smits ◽  
Jason Shumake
Keyword(s):  
Attention Bias ◽  
Symptom Improvement ◽  
Depression Symptom ◽  
Attention Bias Modification ◽  
Bias Modification

scholarly journals Eye-Tracking Based Attention Bias Modification (ET-ABM) Facilitates Disengagement from Negative Stimuli in Dysphoric Individuals

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 408-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Möbius ◽  
Gina R. A. Ferrari ◽  
Robin van den Bergh ◽  
Eni S. Becker ◽  
Mike Rinck
Keyword(s):  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Attention Bias ◽  
Attention Bias Modification ◽  
Bias Modification ◽  
Negative Stimuli

scholarly journals A Novel Attention Bias Modification Single Session Training Improves Eye Gaze Behaviour in Social Anxiety Disorder: A Pilot Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-27
Author(s):  
Louise F. Carey ◽  
Giles M. Anderson ◽  
Sanjay Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Attentional Bias ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Attention Bias ◽  
Socially Anxious ◽  
Attention Bias Modification ◽  
Attentional Deployment ◽  
Gaze Behaviour ◽  
Bias Modification

AbstractBackgroundAttention bias modification (ABM) can reduce anxiety and attentional bias towards threatening stimuli, but evidence of its usefulness as a potential intervention for socially anxious individuals has been mixed. Eye contact avoidance, a maladaptive attentional strategy in social anxiety disorder (SAD), has yet to be targeted by ABM research.AimsThis study sought to establish whether a new ABM training paradigm could increase attentional deployment towards eyes and what effect this would have on social and gaze-related anxiety.MethodParticipants (n = 23) recruited through adverts calling for people who felt anxious in social situations completed either a novel ABM training task designed to induce attentional bias towards images of eyes over images of noses, or control training. Data on response times (RTs), accuracy of responses, gaze behaviour (using an eye tracker) and scores on clinical measures of social and gaze-related anxiety were collected before and after both training tasks.ResultsABM training produced a greater number of initial saccades towards eye images than did the control task, indicating an induced shift in early attentional deployment. ABM training was also associated with a marginal increase in fixation durations on eye images. No effect was observed on RTs or social and gaze-related anxiety.ConclusionsOur results indicate that ABM can alter the gaze behaviour of socially anxious individuals. They also highlight the importance of eye tracking to ABM research, because it was more sensitive than analyses of RTs to changes in early attentional deployment.

Threat Monitoring and Attention-Bias Modification in Anxiety and Stress-Related Disorders

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 431-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomer Shechner ◽  
Yair Bar-Haim
Keyword(s):  
Multilevel Analysis ◽  
Attentional Bias ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Attention Bias ◽  
Pathological Response ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Affective Neuroscience ◽  
Attention Bias Modification ◽  
Therapeutic Value ◽  
Bias Modification

Extensive research has demonstrated the effects of threat-related attentional bias on anxiety and stress-related disorders. This review summarizes recent findings from clinical affective neuroscience. It takes a multilevel analysis approach by presenting behavioral and neural findings from studies conducted in laboratories, clinical settings, and real-life situations. Building on recent findings, we propose a new working model linking individual tendencies to attend or avoid threats with the level of danger in a given context. Namely, adaptive or pathological response is determined by threat-monitoring flexibility and plasticity in an ever-changing environment. The review culminates by describing the potential therapeutic value of attention-bias modification in the treatment of anxiety and stress-related disorders.

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