Dataset Information

Evidence for a Priori Existence of Attentional Bias Subgroups in Emotional Processing of Aversive Stimuli.

ABSTRACT: Little is known regarding inter-individual differences in attentional biases for pain-related information; more knowledge is crucial, since these biases have been associated with differences in pain processing as well as in predicting the risk of postoperative pain. The present study investigated EEG correlates of attentional bias patterns for pain-related information, with specific focus on avoidance- and vigilance-like behavior. Forty-one participants performed a dot-probe task, where neutral and pain-related words were used to create neutral, congruent, incongruent, and double (two pain-related words) trials. EEG was recorded, which was used to generate ERP's of the word-processing phase and the post-dot phase. Participants were placed in two subgroups based on the direction of their attentional bias (either positive; toward the pain-related words, or negative; away from pain-related words). Using t-profiles, four latency windows were identified on which the two subgroups differed significantly. These latency windows yield areas which correspond with the P1-N1 domain and the P3b for the word-processing phase, while the post-dot phase latency windows cover the areas of the P200 and the P3b. The two subgroups show differences on congruent, incongruent, and the double trials, but interestingly also on the neutral trials. Most notably, the area in the word-phase associated with the P3b is diminished in the subgroup showing a negative bias. The deflections associated with both early and late attentional components, including the P3B, as well as a positive deflection in the timeframe of proposed response evaluation processes differ significantly between subgroups. In this study we demonstrated that different attentional biases exist in the healthy population, by showing differences in ERP's. We also show differences in processing neutral trials, which suggests there are fundamental differences between these groups in processing words in general.

SUBMITTER: van Heck CH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5427543 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Evidence for a Priori Existence of Attentional Bias Subgroups in Emotional Processing of Aversive Stimuli.

van Heck Casper H CH Oosterman Joukje M JM de Kleijn Kim M A KMA Jongsma Marijtje L A MLA van Rijn Clementina M CM

Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience 20170512

Little is known regarding inter-individual differences in attentional biases for pain-related information; more knowledge is crucial, since these biases have been associated with differences in pain processing as well as in predicting the risk of postoperative pain. The present study investigated EEG correlates of attentional bias patterns for pain-related information, with specific focus on avoidance- and vigilance-like behavior. Forty-one participants performed a dot-probe task, where neutral ...[more]

PMID: 28553210

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Project description:Threatening stimuli seem to capture attention more swiftly than neutral stimuli. This attention bias has been observed under different experimental conditions and with different types of stimuli. It remains unclear whether this adaptive behaviour reflects the function of automatic or controlled attention mechanisms. Additionally, the spatiotemporal dynamics of its neural correlates are largely unknown. The present study investigates these issues using an Emotional Flanker Task synchronized with EEG recordings. A group of 32 healthy participants saw response-relevant images (emotional scenes from IAPS or line drawings of objects) flanked by response-irrelevant distracters (i.e., emotional scenes flanked by line drawings or vice versa). We assessed behavioural and ERP responses drawn from four task conditions (Threat-Central, Neutral-Central, Threat-Peripheral, and Neutral-Peripheral) and subjected these responses to repeated-measures ANOVA models. When presented as response-relevant targets, threatening images attracted faster and more accurate responses. They did not affect response accuracy to targets when presented as response-irrelevant flankers. However, response times were significantly slower when threatening images flanked objects than when neutral images were shown as flankers. This result replicated the well-known Emotional Flanker Effect. Behavioural responses to response-relevant threatening targets were accompanied by significant modulations of ERP activity across all time-windows and regions of interest and displayed some meaningful correlations. The Emotional Flanker Effect was accompanied by a modulation over parietal and central-parietal regions within a time-window between 550-690ms. Such a modulation suggests that the attentional disruption to targets caused by response-irrelevant threatening flankers appears to reflect less neural resources available, which are seemingly drawn away by distracting threatening flankers. The observed spatiotemporal dynamics seem to concur with understanding of the important adaptive role attributed to threat-related attention bias.

Dataset Information

Evidence for a Priori Existence of Attentional Bias Subgroups in Emotional Processing of Aversive Stimuli.

Publications

Evidence for a Priori Existence of Attentional Bias Subgroups in Emotional Processing of Aversive Stimuli.

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