Threat‐related attentional bias in anorexia nervosa

Dipl-Psych, Ilka Schober; Renwick, Beth; Jong, H. de; Kenyon, Martha; Sharpe, Helen; Jacobi, Corinna; Schmidt, Ulrike

doi:10.1002/eat.22215

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…The negative outcome for attention bias in AN differs from two prior studies that reported attention bias to angry faces using a Stroop task (Aspen et al, 2013), but it is consistent with a study using the dot probe task with social threat word stimuli (Dipl-psych et al, 2014). Relative to the dot probe, the Stroop task has been noted to have disadvantages, including that delays in response to threat stimuli may be due to increased attention as well as general delays in response to threat (Algom et al, 2004), and inability to assess allocation of spatial attention (MacLeod et al, 1986).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Attention bias in adults with anorexia nervosa, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and social anxiety disorder

Schneier

Kimeldorf

Choo

et al. 2016

Journal of Psychiatric Research

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Background Attention bias to threat (selective attention toward threatening stimuli) has been frequently found in anxiety disorder samples, but its distribution both within and beyond this category is unclear. Attention bias has been studied extensively in social anxiety disorder (SAD) but relatively little in obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), historically considered an anxiety disorder, or anorexia nervosa (AN), which is often characterized by interpersonal as well as body image/eating fears. Methods Medication-free adults with SAD (n=43), OCD (n=50), or AN (n=30), and healthy control volunteers (HC, n=74) were evaluated for attention bias with an established dot probe task presenting images of angry and neutral faces. Additional outcomes included attention bias variability (ABV), which summarizes fluctuation in attention between vigilance and avoidance, and has been reported to have superior reliability. We hypothesized that attention bias would be elevated in SAD and associated with SAD severity. Results Attention bias in each disorder did not differ from HC, but within the SAD group attention bias correlated significantly with severity of social avoidance. ABV was significantly lower in OCD versus HC, and it correlated positively with severity of OCD symptoms within the OCD group. Conclusions Findings do not support differences from HC in attention bias to threat faces for SAD, OCD, or AN. Within the SAD sample, the association of attention bias with severity of social avoidance is consistent with evidence that attention bias moderates development of social withdrawal. The association of ABV with OCD diagnosis and severity is novel and deserves further study.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Attention bias in adults with anorexia nervosa, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and social anxiety disorder

Schneier

Kimeldorf

Choo

et al. 2016

Journal of Psychiatric Research

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“…Such compensatory processes may be at play in AN. Similar nullcorrelations between measures of anxiety and attentional bias to threat have previously been reported in AN (Schneier et al, 2016;Schober et al, 2014), underscoring the cross-study variability of findings. This could account for the partly discrepant findings from behavioral studies of attentional bias to threat in AN.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

“…However, unlike some previous studies (Cardi et al, 2013;Telzer et al, 2008), and in contrast to our hypothesis, we did not detect a significant correlation between anxiety and attentional bias to threat. Similar nullcorrelations between measures of anxiety and attentional bias to threat have previously been reported in AN (Schneier et al, 2016;Schober et al, 2014), underscoring the cross-study variability of findings.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

“…Attentional bias to threat has been demonstrated in both ill and recovered patients, using a variety of disorder non-specific emotional stimuli (i.e. Another study (Schober et al, 2014) investigated attentional bias to negatively valenced words (including social threat words) using a dot-probe task, and did not find an attentional bias to such stimuli in patients with AN. However, some studies have failed to find Figure 1.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Using a pictorial dot-probe task similar to ours, Schneier et al (2016) found no evidence of an attentional bias to angry faces in patients with AN. Another study (Schober et al, 2014) investigated attentional bias to negatively valenced words (including social threat words) using a dot-probe task, and did not find an attentional bias to such stimuli in patients with AN. The reasons for the discrepant behavioral findings in AN are unclear.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Threat‐Detection and Attentional Bias to Threat in Women Recovered from Anorexia Nervosa: Neural Alterations in Extrastriate and Medial Prefrontal Cortices

Bang

Rø

Endestad

2016

Euro Eating Disorders Rev

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Different attention bias patterns in anorexia nervosa restricting and binge/purge types

Mann

Hamdan

Bar‐Haim³

et al. 2018

Euro Eating Disorders Rev

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Patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) have been shown to display both elevated anxiety and attentional biases in threat processing. In this study, we compared threat-related attention patterns of patients with AN restricting type (AN-R; n = 32), AN binge/purge type (AN-B/P; n = 23), and healthy controls (n = 19). A dot-probe task with either eating disorder-related or general and social anxiety-related words was used to measure attention patterns. Severity of eating disorder symptoms, depression, anxiety, and stress were also assessed. Patients with AN-R showed vigilance to both types of threat words, whereas patients with AN-B/P showed avoidance of both threat types. Healthy control participants did not show any attention bias. Attention bias was not associated with any of the demographic, clinical, and psychometric parameters introduced. These findings suggest that there are differential patterns of attention allocation in patients with AN-R and AN-B/P. More research is needed to identify what causes/underlies these differential patterns.

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Threat‐related attentional bias in anorexia nervosa

Abstract: The results suggest that the AB in AN patients may be specific to eating disorder-relevant anxieties.

Cited by 10 publications

References 48 publications

Attention bias in adults with anorexia nervosa, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and social anxiety disorder

Attention bias in adults with anorexia nervosa, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and social anxiety disorder

Threat‐Detection and Attentional Bias to Threat in Women Recovered from Anorexia Nervosa: Neural Alterations in Extrastriate and Medial Prefrontal Cortices

Different attention bias patterns in anorexia nervosa restricting and binge/purge types

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