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Nx4 Reduced Susceptibility to Distraction in an Attention Modulation Task
Kathrin Mayer1, Marina Krylova1,2, Sarah Alizadeh1,2
1Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Frontiers in Psychiatry
|December 16, 2021
Summary
The stress-relieving medication Neurexan (Nx4) reduced distractibility by emotional stimuli, improving attention. This study used an enhanced Attention Modulation by Salience Task (AMST) with EEG to measure effects on reaction times and brain activity.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Psychopharmacology
Background:
- Stress impairs attentional focus and increases susceptibility to distraction.
- The Attention Modulation by Salience Task (AMST) measures reaction times (RT) to auditory stimuli amidst visual distractors.
- This study extended the AMST with emotional distractors and electroencephalography (EEG) evaluation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of Neurexan (Nx4), a stress-relieving medication, on susceptibility to distraction.
- To evaluate changes in reaction times (RT) and event-related potential (ERP) components using EEG.
- To explore the impact of emotional and salient distractors on attention.
Main Methods:
- A randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover trial (NEURIM study) reanalyzed post-hoc.
- 39 participants received a single dose of placebo or Nx4 before performing the AMST.
- EEG recordings analyzed RT, N1, N2, and N3 ERP components for distraction markers.
Main Results:
- Placebo condition replicated longer RT for high salient distractors.
- Increased N2 and N3 ERP amplitudes observed for positive emotional distractors.
- Nx4 significantly reduced distractibility by emotional stimuli, decreasing N2, N3 amplitudes, and RT for positive valence distractors.
Conclusions:
- Emotional distractors and EEG evaluation enhance the AMST paradigm.
- Salient distractors affect attention earlier; emotional distractors modulate later.
- Nx4 demonstrates beneficial effects on attention regulation by reducing susceptibility to emotional distraction, supporting its stress-relieving claims.
