Selective attention and threat: Quick orienting versus slow disengagement and two versions of the dot probe task

Salemink, Elske; Hout, Marcel A. van den; Kindt, Merel

doi:10.1016/j.brat.2006.04.004

Cited by 217 publications

(198 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Stimuli presentation and data collection used E-Prime software (Psychology Software Tools, Pittsburgh, PA). To reduce the effect of anticipatory responding and outliers, response times (RTs) o200 ms and 43 SD above the mean for each trial were discarded (Salemink et al, 2007). Attentional bias to threat was calculated as the difference between average RT to targets at neutral word locations and average RT to targets at threat word locations.…”

Section: Dot-probe Taskmentioning

confidence: 99%

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Cannabinoid Type 1 Receptor Availability in the Amygdala Mediates Threat Processing in Trauma Survivors

Pietrzak

Huang

Corsi-Travali

et al. 2014

Neuropsychopharmacol

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Attentional bias to threat is a key endophenotype that contributes to the chronicity of trauma-related psychopathology. However, little is known about the neurobiology of this endophenotype and no known in vivo molecular imaging study has been conducted to evaluate candidate receptor systems that may be implicated in this endophenotype or the phenotypic expression of trauma-related psychopathology that comprises threat (ie, re-experiencing, avoidance, and hyperarousal) and loss (ie, emotional numbing, depression/ dysphoria, generalized anxiety) symptomatology. Using the radioligand [ 11 C]OMAR and positron emission tomography (PET), we evaluated the relationship between in vivo cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB 1 ) receptor availability in the amygdala, and performance on a dot-probe measure of attentional bias to threat, and clinician interview-based measures of trauma-related psychopathology. The sample comprised adults presenting with a broad spectrum of trauma-related psychopathology, ranging from nontrauma-exposed, psychiatrically healthy adults to trauma-exposed adults with severe trauma-related psychopathology. Results revealed that increased CB 1 receptor availability in the amygdala was associated with increased attentional bias to threat, as well as increased severity of threat, but not loss, symptomatology; greater peripheral anandamide levels were associated with decreased attentional bias to threat. A mediation analysis further suggested that attentional bias to threat mediated the relationship between CB 1 receptor availability in the amygdala and severity of threat symptomatology. These data substantiate a key role for compromised endocannabinoid function in mediating both the endophenotypic and phenotypic expression of threat symptomatology in humans. They further suggest that novel pharmacotherapies that target the CB 1 system may provide a more focused, mechanism-based approach to mitigating this core aspect of trauma-related psychopathology.

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Section: Dot-probe Taskmentioning

confidence: 99%

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Cannabinoid Type 1 Receptor Availability in the Amygdala Mediates Threat Processing in Trauma Survivors

Pietrzak

Huang

Corsi-Travali

et al. 2014

Neuropsychopharmacol

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“…With respect to the specific components of selective attention, children with anxiety disorders showed difficulties to disengage attention away from severe threat, which has also been fairly consistently reported in adults. 14,15 Furthermore, children with anxiety disorders showed a tendency not to engage their attention toward mild threat. These results may suggest that children with anxiety disorders experience a general difficulty with shifting their attention (i.e., engaging or disengaging attention).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…13 Research in adults has shown that selective attention toward threat reflects attention disengagement difficulties rather than vigilance to threat. 14,15 These specific components of selective attention have not been examined in anxious children.…”

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confidence: 99%

Threat-Related Selective Attention Predicts Treatment Success in Childhood Anxiety Disorders

Legerstee

Tulen

Kallen

et al. 2009

Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psych

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Objective: The present study examined whether threat-related selective attention was predictive of treatment success in children with anxiety disorders and whether age moderated this association. Specific components of selective attention were examined in treatment responders and nonresponders. Method: Participants consisted of 131 children with anxiety disorders (aged 8Y16 years), who received standardized cognitive-behavioral therapy. At pretreatment, a pictorial dotprobe task was administered to assess selective attention. Both at pretreatment and posttreatment, diagnostic status of the children was evaluated with a semistructured clinical interview (the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for Children).Results: Selective attention for severely threatening pictures at pretreatment assessment was predictive of treatment success. Examination of the specific components of selective attention revealed that nonresponders showed difficulties to disengage their attention away from severe threat. Treatment responders showed a tendency not to engage their attention toward severe threat. Age was not associated with selective attention and treatment success. Conclusions: Threatrelated selective attention is a significant predictor of treatment success in children with anxiety disorders. Clinically anxious children with difficulties disengaging their attention away from severe threat profit less from cognitive-behavioral

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“…Remarkably, at present, data from studies examining psychometric properties are equivocally supportive for the reliability of experimental tasks used. For example, low split-half and test-retest COMBINED COGNITIVE BIAS HYPOTHESIS IN DEPRESSION 24 reliabilities as well as nonsignificant correlations between bias indices have been reported for different versions of the dot probe task (Salemink, van den Hout, & Kindt, 2007;Schmukle, 2005). Furthermore, it has been observed that bias indices intended to measure the same construct often do not correlate with each other.…”

Section: Methodological Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The combined cognitive bias hypothesis in depression

Everaert

Koster

Derakshan

2012

Clinical Psychology Review

273

179

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Drawing from substantial evidence demonstrating cognitive biases in depression at various stages of information processing (i.e., attention, interpretation, memory, cognitive control), we argue for an approach that considers the interplay among these processes. This paper attempts to apply the combined cognitive bias hypothesis (Hirsch, Mathews, & Clark, 2006) to depression research and reviews competing theoretical frameworks that have guided research in this area. We draw on current findings from behavioral studies on the interplay between depression-related processing biases. These data indicate that various cognitive biases are associated. However, it is not clear whether single or multiple biases are most predictive of depressive symptoms. We conclude this article with theoretical and clinical implications of the current state of research in this field and propose a number of ways in which research on the combined cognitive bias hypothesis can be advanced. A State-of-the-art Major depression is a prevalent psychiatric disorder that is associated with debilitating symptomatic suffering, functional impairments, and high societal costs (Kessler & Wang, 2009). Notwithstanding a range of well-established psychological and pharmacological interventions, relapse and recurrence rates of depression remain high (Vittengl, Clark, Dunn, & Jarrett, 2007) indicating that current therapies do not sufficiently address vulnerability factors for this burdensome disorder. Moreover, with each successive depressive episode the risk for recurrence increases (Boland & Keller, 2009), which points to an expanding vulnerability with multiple episodes. Hence, profound insight into the mechanisms involved in the etiology and maintenance of major depression seems essential in improving contemporary treatment options and the prevention of depression.In the past three decades, research inspired by cognitive accounts of depression has been successful in identifying vulnerability factors for this disorder. Apart from substantial research examining depressive cognitive content as a vulnerability factor (e.g., negative thoughts), a promising line of research highlights the role of cognitive biases in the development, maintenance, and relapse/recurrence of depression (for reviews see Mathews & MacLeod, 2005). Research efforts in this particular area of interest have typically focused on abnormalities in attention, interpretation, and memory processes, which are considered to be instrumental in the understanding of the processes involved in these cognitive biases. More recently, there is growing interest into cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying cognitive control impairments, which may operate across a variety of cognitive biases. Indeed a substantial number of studies on emotional information processing in depressed samples provide evidence that depression is characterized by attention, interpretation, and memory biases, especially for negative information (see below). COMBINED COGNITIVE BIAS HYPOTHESIS IN DEPRESSION 4This resea...

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Selective attention and threat: Quick orienting versus slow disengagement and two versions of the dot probe task

Cited by 217 publications

References 32 publications

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Cannabinoid Type 1 Receptor Availability in the Amygdala Mediates Threat Processing in Trauma Survivors

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Cannabinoid Type 1 Receptor Availability in the Amygdala Mediates Threat Processing in Trauma Survivors

Threat-Related Selective Attention Predicts Treatment Success in Childhood Anxiety Disorders

The combined cognitive bias hypothesis in depression

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