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Does alcohol automatically capture drinkers' attention? Exploration through an eye-tracking saccadic choice task. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2023; 240:271-282. [PMID: 36688964 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-023-06314-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2022] [Accepted: 01/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Dominant theoretical models postulate the presence of an automatic attentional bias (AB) towards alcohol-related stimuli in alcohol use disorder, such AB constituting a core feature of this disorder. An early alcohol AB has been documented in subclinical populations such as binge drinking (i.e., a drinking pattern prevalent in youth and characterized by repeated alternation between alcohol intoxications and withdrawals, generating cerebral consequences). However, the automatic nature of AB remains to be established. OBJECTIVES We investigated the automatic nature of AB in binge drinkers through the saccadic choice task. This eye-tracking paradigm consistently highlights the extremely fast and involuntary saccadic responses elicited by faces in humans, relative to other object categories. Through an alcohol-related adaptation of the saccadic choice task, we tested whether the early and automatic capture of attentional resources elicited by faces can also be found for alcohol-related stimuli in binge drinkers, as predicted by theoretical models. METHODS Forty-three binge drinkers and 44 control participants performed two versions of the saccadic choice task. In the original version, two images (a face, a vehicle) were displayed on the left and right side of the screen respectively. Participants had to perform a saccade as fast as possible towards the target stimulus (either face or vehicle). In the alcohol-related version, the task was identical, but the images were an alcoholic beverage and a non-alcoholic stimulus. RESULTS We replicated the automatic attraction towards faces in both groups, as faces generated higher saccadic accuracy, speed, and amplitude than vehicles, as well as higher corrective saccade proportion. Concerning the alcohol-related adaptation of the task, groups did not differ for the accuracy, speed, and amplitude of the first saccade towards alcohol. However, binge drinkers differed from controls regarding the proportion of corrective saccade towards non-alcoholic stimuli after an error saccade towards alcohol, suggesting the presence of an alcohol disengagement bias specific to binge drinkers. CONCLUSIONS Alcohol-related AB in binge drinkers is not characterized by an early and automatic hijacking of attention towards alcohol. This AB rather relies on later and more controlled processing stages, namely a difficulty to disengage attentional resources from alcohol-related stimuli.
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Lu M, Lian C, Zeng X. An Attentional Blink Research on Different Types of Words in Male with Substance Use Disorder. Int J Ment Health Addict 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s11469-022-00885-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022] Open
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Bollen Z, Field M, Billaux P, Maurage P. Attentional bias in alcohol drinkers: A systematic review of its link with consumption variables. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 139:104703. [PMID: 35643118 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2021] [Revised: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 05/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
In severe alcohol use disorder (SAUD), attentional bias refers to the preferential allocation of attentional resources toward alcohol-related cues. Dominant models consider that this bias plays a key role in the emergence and maintenance of SAUD. We evaluate the available experimental support for this assumption through a systematic literature review, providing a critical synthesis of studies exploring the links between alcohol consumption and attentional bias. Using PRISMA guidelines, we explored three databases (PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus) and extracted 95 papers. We assessed their methodological quality and categorized them based on the population targeted, namely patients with SAUD or subclinical populations with various drinking patterns. We also classified papers according to the measures used (i.e., behavioral or eye-tracking measures). Overall, subclinical populations present an alcohol-related bias, but many studies in SAUD did not find such bias, nor approach/avoidance patterns. Moreover, attentional bias fluctuates alongside motivational states rather than according to alcohol use severity, which questions its stability. We provide recommendations to develop further theoretical knowledge and overcome methodological shortcomings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoé Bollen
- Louvain Experimental Psychopathology Research Group (LEP), Psychological Science Research Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Matt Field
- Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Pauline Billaux
- Institute of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Pierre Maurage
- Louvain Experimental Psychopathology Research Group (LEP), Psychological Science Research Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
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Tan CS, Reeves RK. HIV on the brain: is neurosignalling damage irreversible even on antiretroviral therapy? AIDS 2021; 35:1503-1504. [PMID: 34185717 PMCID: PMC8259886 DOI: 10.1097/qad.0000000000002957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- C. Sabrina Tan
- Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - R. Keith Reeves
- Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Center for Human Systems Immunology, Department of Surgery, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
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Onie S, Gong S, Manwaring E, Grageda D, Webb K, Yuen WS, Most SB. Validation of the Australian beverage picture set: A controlled picture set for cognitive bias measurement and modification paradigms. AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/ajpy.12272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sandersan Onie
- School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW, Australia,
| | - Sharon Gong
- School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW, Australia,
| | | | - Dayanna Grageda
- School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW, Australia,
| | - Kyra Webb
- School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW, Australia,
| | - Wing See Yuen
- School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW, Australia,
| | - Steven B. Most
- School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Kensington, NSW, Australia,
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Li F, Liu Q, Lu H, Zhu X. Attentional Blink in Pilots and Its Relationship With Flight Performance. Front Psychol 2020; 11:1696. [PMID: 32765376 PMCID: PMC7381166 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2020] [Accepted: 06/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective In flight, military pilots need to monitor changes in the external environment and monitor the situation of the aircraft at the same time. Attentional blink (AB) reflects attentional blindness in time. Therefore, the present study investigated the AB effect in military pilots and its relationship with flight performance. Methods Thirty male military pilots (44.23 ± 4.07 years old) and 29 control participants (44.07 ± 2.93 years old) underwent testing with the classic rapid serial visual presentation paradigm. The participants’ accuracy in detecting a second target stimulus (T2/T1) on the basis of their correctly response to the first target stimulus (T1) was calculated to measure the AB effect. The flight performance of these military pilots was also collected. Results The participants’ accuracy in detecting T2/T1 at positions of 180, 270, 360, and 450 ms was significantly lower than that in detecting T1 in both groups. The military pilots’ detection accuracy of T2/T1 at the positions of 180 ms (p < 0.001) and 270 ms (p < 0.001) was significantly higher than that of the control participants, and their mean detection accuracy of T2/T1 (AB effect) at the positions of 180, 270, 360, and 450 ms was also significantly higher than that of the control participants (p < 0.001). There was a significant correlation between the AB effect and the lowest flight performance score for the military pilots (r = 0.52, p = 0.004), and the regression coefficient was significant (β = 0.514, p = 0.004, R2 = 0.31). Conclusions Both groups experienced the AB effect, but the military pilots’ performance regarding the AB effect was better than that of the control participants. The AB effect can predict the lowest flight performance score in military pilots. These findings may have implications for the grounding and selection of Chinese military pilots.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fengzhan Li
- Department of Military Medical Psychology, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Quanhui Liu
- Department of Military Medical Psychology, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Huijie Lu
- Department of Military Medical Psychology, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Xia Zhu
- Department of Military Medical Psychology, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, China
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Bollen Z, Masson N, Salvaggio S, D'Hondt F, Maurage P. Craving is everything: An eye-tracking exploration of attentional bias in binge drinking. J Psychopharmacol 2020; 34:636-647. [PMID: 32202459 DOI: 10.1177/0269881120913131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Attentional bias towards alcohol-related stimuli is a core characteristic of severe alcohol use disorders (AUD), directly linked to clinical variables (e.g. alcohol consumption, relapse). Nevertheless, the extent of this bias in subclinical populations remains poorly documented. This is particularly true for binge drinking, an alcohol consumption pattern highly prevalent in youth, characterised by an alternation between excessive intakes and withdrawal periods. AIMS We used eye-tracking to: (a) measure attentional bias in binge drinking, (b) determine its time course by dissociating early/late processing stages, (c) clarify its specificity for alcohol-related stimuli compared to other appetitive stimulations and (d) explore its modulation by current craving intensity. METHODS Binge drinkers (n=42) and matched controls (n=43) performed a visual probe task, requiring visual targets preceded by pairs of pictures to be processed, with three conditions (i.e. alcohol vs. soft drink, alcohol vs. high-calorie food, high-calorie food vs. low-calorie food). RESULTS No group difference was observed for early processing (i.e. first area of interest visited). Dwell times highlighted a bias towards soft drinks and healthy food among controls, without any global bias towards alcohol in binge drinkers. Centrally, a comparison of binge drinkers with low versus high current craving intensity indicated that binge drinking was associated with a bias towards alcohol and high-calorie food only in the presence of a high craving towards these stimuli. CONCLUSION Attentional bias towards alcohol reported in severe AUD is only found in binge drinkers in the presence of high craving and is generalised to other appetitive cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoé Bollen
- Louvain for Experimental Psychopathology Research Group (LEP), Psychological Science Research Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Nicolas Masson
- Numerical Cognition Group, Psychological Science Research Institute and Neuroscience Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Samuel Salvaggio
- Numerical Cognition Group, Psychological Science Research Institute and Neuroscience Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Fabien D'Hondt
- Univ. Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, U1172 - LilNCog - Lille Neuroscience & Cognition, Lille, France.,CHU Lille, Clinique de Psychiatrie, CURE, Lille, France.,Centre National de Ressources et de Résilience Lille-Paris (CN2R), Lille, France
| | - Pierre Maurage
- Louvain for Experimental Psychopathology Research Group (LEP), Psychological Science Research Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
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Cofresí RU, Bartholow BD, Piasecki TM. Evidence for incentive salience sensitization as a pathway to alcohol use disorder. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 107:897-926. [PMID: 31672617 PMCID: PMC6878895 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.10.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2019] [Revised: 10/14/2019] [Accepted: 10/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The incentive salience sensitization (ISS) theory of addiction holds that addictive behavior stems from the ability of drugs to progressively sensitize the brain circuitry that mediates attribution of incentive salience (IS) to reward-predictive cues and its behavioral manifestations. In this article, we establish the plausibility of ISS as an etiological pathway to alcohol use disorder (AUD). We provide a comprehensive and critical review of evidence for: (1) the ability of alcohol to sensitize the brain circuitry of IS attribution and expression; and (2) attribution of IS to alcohol-predictive cues and its sensitization in humans and non-human animals. We point out gaps in the literature and how these might be addressed. We also highlight how individuals with different alcohol subjective response phenotypes may differ in susceptibility to ISS as a pathway to AUD. Finally, we discuss important implications of this neuropsychological mechanism in AUD for psychological and pharmacological interventions attempting to attenuate alcohol craving and cue reactivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto U Cofresí
- University of Missouri, Department of Psychological Sciences, Columbia, MO 65211, United States.
| | - Bruce D Bartholow
- University of Missouri, Department of Psychological Sciences, Columbia, MO 65211, United States
| | - Thomas M Piasecki
- University of Missouri, Department of Psychological Sciences, Columbia, MO 65211, United States
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Attentional capture by alcohol-related stimuli may be activated involuntarily by top-down search goals. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2018; 235:2087-2099. [PMID: 29696310 PMCID: PMC6015597 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-018-4906-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2017] [Accepted: 04/11/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Previous research has found that the attention of social drinkers is preferentially oriented towards alcohol-related stimuli (attentional capture). This is argued to play a role in escalating craving for alcohol that can result in hazardous drinking. According to incentive theories of drug addiction, the stimuli associated with the drug reward acquire learned incentive salience and grab attention. However, it is not clear whether the mechanism by which this bias is created is a voluntary or an automatic one, although some evidence suggests a stimulus-driven mechanism. Here, we test for the first time whether this attentional capture could reflect an involuntary consequence of a goal-driven mechanism. Across three experiments, participants were given search goals to detect either an alcoholic or a non-alcoholic object (target) in a stream of briefly presented objects unrelated to the target. Prior to the target, a task-irrelevant parafoveal distractor appeared. This could either be congruent or incongruent with the current search goal. Applying a meta-analysis, we combined the results across the three experiments and found consistent evidence of goal-driven attentional capture, whereby alcohol distractors impeded target detection when the search goal was for alcohol. By contrast, alcohol distractors did not interfere with target detection, whilst participants were searching for a non-alcoholic category. A separate experiment revealed that the goal-driven capture effect was not found when participants held alcohol features active in memory but did not intentionally search for them. These findings suggest a strong goal-driven account of attentional capture by alcohol cues in social drinkers.
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