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Measuring Attentional Biases for Threat in Children and Adults
Published on: October 19, 2014
Neural mechanisms underlying selective attention to threat
1Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB23EB, UK. sb445@cam.ac.uk
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
|July 2, 2008
Summary
Selective attention to threat involves both sensory processing and cognitive control. Anxiety and genetics can modulate neural responses in the amygdala and prefrontal cortex.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
Background:
- Biased competition models explain selective attention via bottom-up salience and top-down control.
- Investigating neural mechanisms of selective attention to threat is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the neural basis of selective attention to threat.
- To examine the automaticity of amygdala responses to threat distractors.
- To understand how anxiety, genetics, and environment influence threat processing circuitry.
Main Methods:
- Review of empirical literature on selective attention to threat.
- Consideration of theoretical accounts of attention and awareness.
- Analysis of factors influencing neural activity, including stimulus properties and attentional control.
Main Results:
- Subcortical (amygdala) and prefrontal cortical regions activate in response to task-irrelevant threat stimuli.
- Neural activity is influenced by stimulus salience, competition, and top-down attention.
- Individual differences in anxiety and genetics modulate amygdala and prefrontal function.
Conclusions:
- Selective attention to threat is a complex interplay of sensory and cognitive processes.
- Amygdala and prefrontal cortex are key regions in threat detection and attentional control.
- Anxiety and genetic factors significantly impact the neural processing of threat stimuli.
