The impact of transcranial direct current stimulation on attention bias modification in children with ADHD

Individuals with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) struggle with the interaction of attention and emotion. The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) are assumed to be involved in this interaction. In the present study, we aimed to explore the effect of stimulation applied over the dlPFC and vmPFC on attention bias in individuals with ADHD. Twenty-three children with ADHD performed the emotional Stroop and dot probe tasks during transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in 3 conditions: anodal dlPFC (F3)/cathodal vmPFC (Fp2), anodal vmPFC (Fp2)/cathodal dlPFC (F3), and sham stimulation. Findings suggest reduction of attention bias in both real conditions based on emotional Stroop task and not dot probe task. These results were independent of emotional states. The dlPFC and vmPFC are involved in attention bias in ADHD. tDCS can be used for attention bias modification in children with ADHD.

The role of the dorsolateral and ventromedial prefrontal cortex in emotion regulation in females with major depressive disorder (MDD): A tDCS study

BACKGROUND

Individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) have deficits in emotion regulation, which plays a putative role in psychopathology. The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) are assumed to be involved in respective processes. In the present study, we aimed to explore the effect of stimulation over the dlPFC and vmPFC on emotion regulation in female with MDD.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Twenty women with MDD performed the Emotional Stroop, Emotional Go/No-Go, and Emotional 1-Back tasks during transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in three separate sessions with the following electrode montages: anodal dlPFC (F3)/cathodal vmPFC (Fp2), anodal vmPFC (Fp2)/cathodal dlPFC (F3), and sham stimulation.

RESULTS

Independent of the valence of the respective stimuli, accuracy and speed of interference control, accuracy of pre-potent inhibition, and accuracy, but not speed, of working memory performance improved during anodal left dlPFC/cathodal right vmPFC stimulation. Independent of stimulation conditions, interference control was reduced for sad faces, as compared to happy and neutral faces, and working memory performance was faster for happy than for neutral and sad faces. For the impact of stimulation on specific emotional qualities, anodal left dlPFC/cathodal right vmPFC, compared to sham stimulation, led to improved interference control of sad and neutral faces in the emotional Stroop task, as shown by faster reaction times. Furthermore, in that task accuracy with respect to neutral and happy face conditions was higher during both real stimulation conditions, as compared to sham stimulation.

CONCLUSION

The dlPFC is involved in emotion regulation in MDD. Emotional valence is moreover relevant for the effect of stimulation over this area on interference control in MDD.

Peer Victimization Influences Attention Processing Beyond the Effects of Childhood Maltreatment by Caregivers

Background

Different types of maltreatment (emotional, physical, and sexual) lead to distortions in emotion and attention processing. The present study investigated whether the experience of peer victimization in childhood and adolescence has an additional influence on attention processing in adulthood.

Methods

Two non-clinical samples consisting of individuals with different levels of experiences of maltreatment were recruited. In an evaluative conditioning task, images of faces with neutral emotional expression were either associated with short videos of intense negative statements, or associated with neutral videos. Subsequently, these faces were used as stimuli in an emotional Stroop task as well as a dot-probe task.

Results

In both tasks, hierarchical regression analyses revealed that retrospective reports of relational peer victimization made an incremental contribution to the prediction of attentional biases beyond child maltreatment. In the emotional Stroop task, emotional abuse was the strongest predictor for an attentional bias showing delayed responses to negatively associated faces, while peer victimization was associated with faster responses to negatively associated faces. In the dot-probe task, relational peer victimization was the strongest predictor for an attentional bias. When the attentional bias was examined in more detail, though, peer victimization did not show incremental contributions although emotional abuse remained the strongest predictor for facilitated attention toward negatively associated neutral faces.

Conclusion

Experiences of peer victimization leave additional cognitive scars beyond effects of childhood maltreatment by caregivers. It is likely that attentional biases in the aftermath of victimization put individuals at risk for the development of psychopathology.

Media multitasking as an avoidance coping strategy against emotionally negative stimuli

Background and Objectives: Emotion regulation refers to the way individuals manage and regulate their own emotions in response to negative emotional experiences. This study investigated whether media multitasking serves as an avoidance coping strategy for managing emotionally stressful events. Design and Methods: Using a correlational design, 140 participants completed self-report measures of media multitasking and emotion regulation, and cognitive measures assessing attentional bias for emotionally negative stimuli. Results: Media multitasking was associated with difficulties in accepting emotional responses for participants who showed an attentional bias away from anxiety words, and for participants with poorer inhibitory control over such words. Further, there was a strong association between media multitasking and reduced interference from anxiety words for participants with stronger inhibitory control over such words in the emotional Stroop task. Conclusions: Results support the idea that media multitasking is linked to difficulty dealing with emotionally negative stimuli and serves as an avoidance coping strategy where one deliberately directs attention away from negative stimuli to prevent their further processing. The findings have real-life implications for managing anxiety and depression, as media multitasking may be used as a maladaptive coping strategy that further increases these negative moods.

Childhood emotional maltreatment, anxiety, attachment, and mindfulness: Associations with facial emotion recognition

The current study investigated factors thought to contribute to facial emotion processing. Female university students (N = 126) completed self-report measures of childhood emotional maltreatment, anxiety symptoms, attachment anxiety and avoidance, and trait mindfulness before completing a facial emotion recognition task, where they viewed sequences of faces that incorporated progressively more emotional content until they were able to correctly identify the emotion. They completed the task under low and high cognitive load conditions to distinguish between relatively effortful versus automatic processing abilities. Regression analyses revealed that under low cognitive load, attachment avoidance and mindfulness predicted quicker identification of fear (i.e., with less perceptual information), whereas anxiety predicted slower identification of fear (i.e., with more perceptual information). In the high cognitive load condition, emotional maltreatment and mindfulness predicted quicker identification of fear, and anxiety and mindfulness predicted faster identification of emotions overall. Although current findings are correlational, most of these effects were specific to fearful faces, suggesting that experiences of childhood emotional maltreatment and associated socio-emotional sequelae are related to heightened processing of threat-related information.

Less is more: Neural activity during very brief and clearly visible exposure to phobic stimuli

Research on automatic processes in fear has emphasized the provocation of fear responses rather than their attenuation. We have previously shown that the repeated presentation of feared images without conscious awareness via backward masking reduces avoidance of a live tarantula in spider-phobic participants. Herein we investigated the neural basis for these adaptive effects of masked exposure. 21 spider-phobic and 21 control participants, identified by a psychiatric interview, fear questionnaire, and approaching a live tarantula, viewed stimuli in each of three conditions: (1) very brief exposure (VBE) to masked images of spiders, severely limited awareness; (2) clearly visible exposure (CVE) to spiders, full awareness; and (3) masked images of flowers (control), severely limited awareness. Only VBE to masked spiders generated neural activity more strongly in phobic than in control participants, within subcortical fear, attention, higher-order language, and vision systems. Moreover, VBE activated regions that support fear processing in phobic participants without causing them to experience fear consciously. Counter-intuitively, CVE to the same spiders generated stronger neural activity in control rather than phobic participants within these and other systems. CVE deactivated regions supporting fear regulation and caused phobic participants to experience fear. CVE-induced activations also correlated with measures of explicit fear ratings, whereas VBE-induced activations correlated with measures of implicit fear (color-naming interference of spider words). These multiple dissociations between the effects of VBE and CVE to spiders suggest that limiting awareness of exposure to phobic stimuli through visual masking paradoxically facilitates their processing, while simultaneously minimizing the experience of fear. Hum Brain Mapp 38:2466-2481, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Interpretive bias, repressive coping, and trait anxiety

OBJECTIVES

According to vigilance-avoidance theory, repressors have an avoidant interpretive bias, i.e., they interpret ambiguous self-relevant situations in a nonthreatening fashion. This study sought to demarcate the range of situations associated with avoidant interpretive bias in repressors.

DESIGN

Four groups of participants, representing the four combinations of low- and high-trait anxiety and defensiveness, were identified. Those low in trait anxiety and high in defensiveness were categorized as repressors.

METHODS

Participants (N = 163) rated their likelihood of making both threatening and nonthreatening interpretations of 32 ambiguous scenarios over four domains: social, intellectual, physical, and health. Half the scenarios were self-relevant and half were other relevant. Brief measures of state anxiety were taken after each likelihood rating.

RESULTS

Repressors displayed an avoidant interpretive bias for ambiguous threats in the social and intellectual domains but not the health or physical domains. This was due to repressors' low level of trait anxiety rather than their high defensiveness.

CONCLUSIONS

Individuals high in trait anxiety are especially sensitive to situations involving social evaluation but not those characterized by danger to their health or physical well-being.

Avoiding interference: adult attachment and emotional processing biases

The present study investigated attachment-related differences in emotional processing biases. Consistent with the proposal that avoidant individuals limit attention to potentially distressing information, attachment avoidance was associated with reductions in emotional Stroop (ES) interference for attachment-related words (e.g., intimate, loss). These biases were strongest among individuals who were currently in a romantic relationship, suggesting that being in a close relationship may activate avoidant defensive strategies. In addition, avoidant attentional biases were attenuated under cognitive load, suggesting that inhibiting attention to attachment-related information requires cognitive effort. Finally, avoidance was unrelated to ES performance for emotional, nonattachment-related words, demonstrating the specificity of these attentional biases. The present findings suggest that avoidant individuals can inhibit attention to potentially threatening information, that this ability requires cognitive effort, and that relationship status may be an important moderator of avoidant defensive strategies. The implications of these strategies for emotional functioning and well-being are discussed.

Repressing distress in childhood: a defense against health-related stress

This paper is a review of empirical investigations of the repressive adaptive style in youth. Studies were selected on the basis of their adherence to Weinberger et al.'s (J Abnorm Psychol 88: 369-380, 1979) paradigm, consisting of the interaction between a measure of distress and a measure of defensiveness to categorize repressors. The presence of a repressive style of adaptation was identified in adolescence, especially among pediatric populations. Adolescent repressors were found to exhibit characteristics similar to those identified among adult samples (i.e., self-deception, biased self-reports, and inhibition of signals of distress). Only one study focused on young repressors' autonomic reactivity, which is another main characteristic of a repressive adaptive style in adulthood. Methodological inconsistencies between child studies are highlighted and weaknesses in the psychometric properties of defensiveness measures in childhood are discussed. Future investigations should examine the impact of a repressive adaptive style on health outcomes and behaviors to see if adult health data associated with a repressive style of adaptation are replicable in childhood.

Cognitive coping with the threat of rape: vigilance and cognitive avoidance

Individual differences in women's avoidant and vigilant style in coping with the threat of rape were explored in four studies. In the first study, 97 women read a rape scenario and completed measures of cognitive vigilance and avoidance. They also provided ratings of fear of rape and anticipated coping problems in case of sexual assault. Vigilance was associated with significantly higher levels of fear of rape and anticipation of more severe coping problems. No effects were found for cognitive avoidance. Study 2 replicated these findings with a sample of 275 women. In addition, it showed that high vigilance was associated with significantly more rape-preventive behaviors. Study 3, including 172 women, was an online study on the effect of cognitive coping style on fear of rape, anticipated coping problems, and two behavioral measures of rape avoidance. High vigilance was related to higher levels of fear of rape, anticipation of more severe coping problems, and more rape-preventive behaviors. Finally, Study 4 (N=210) showed that individual differences in cognitive coping style affected rape-related affect and behavior in the absence of a rape scenario, underlining the chronic salience of the threat of rape for women. Vigilance was positively related to fear of rape, rape-avoidance behavior, and anticipated coping problems. In contrast, a negative relationship was found between cognitive avoidance and fear of rape, rape-avoidance strategies, and anticipated coping problems. Across the four studies, no evidence was found for an interactive effect of cognitive avoidance and vigilance, as suggested by the construct of repression versus sensitization. The findings are discussed in the light of previous research on repression-sensitization in coping with threatening information.

Violations of Implicit Theories and the Sense of Prediction and Control: Implications for Motivated Person Perception

Beginning with the assumption that implicit theories of personality are crucial tools for understanding social behavior, the authors tested the hypothesis that perceivers would process person information that violated their predominant theory in a biased manner. Using an attentional probe paradigm (Experiment 1) and a recognition memory paradigm (Experiment 2), the authors presented entity theorists (who believe that human attributes are fixed) and incremental theorists (who believe that human attributes are malleable) with stereotype-relevant information about a target person that supported or violated their respective theory. Both groups of participants showed evidence of motivated, selective processing only with respect to theory-violating information. In Experiment 3, the authors found that after exposure to theory-violating information, participants felt greater anxiety and worked harder to reestablish their sense of prediction and control mastery. The authors discuss the epistemic functions of implicit theories of personality and the impact of violated assumptions.