Modification of threat-processing in non-anxious individuals: a preliminary behavioral and ERP study

Previous research suggests that attention bias toward threat contributes to the development and maintenance of anxiety. The current study extends this work by mapping the neural correlates of experimentally-induced changes in attention bias. The study examines both behavioral and psychophysiological changes associated with experimentally-induced changes in threat bias.

Thirty-four non-anxious female adults were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: training attention toward threat or placebo control. Attention bias was assessed and trained via a modified dot-probe task. Participants completed pre- and post-training assessments of attention bias and stress reactivity. As well, EEG was collected during pre- and post-test assessment of attention bias using the dot-probe task.

Training induced significant changes in attention bias, though findings were complicated by group differences in baseline threat-bias scores. Compared to controls, those in the training group showed greater depression vulnerability to a post-training stressor and increased P2 amplitude, an ERP component associated with attention toward threat, during the dot-probe task.

Although participants were randomly assigned to groups, there were still group differences in pre-training bias scores. Also, while the use of a stress task before the initial assessment of attention bias was used to control for initial differences in stress vulnerability, this may have altered pre-bias scores since participants completed this task immediately after being stressed.

These findings demonstrate training-induced changes in behavior and neural response patterns relevant to work on attention bias modification.