Focal attention peaks and laterality bias in problem gamblers: an eye-tracking investigation

Problem gambling has been associated with attentional biases toward gambling-related stimuli, but less is known about how problem gamblers distribute their visual attention during gambling tasks. This eye-tracking study investigated differences in sustained visual attention between problem gamblers (PGs; n = 22) and non-problem gamblers (NPGs; n = 22) during a gambling task using neutral picture pairs. While total gaze time toward stimuli did not differ between the groups, PGs showed distinctive characteristics in their visual attentional allocation. Specifically, two-sample t-tests revealed that PGs exhibited significantly higher focal attention to right-sided stimuli in central zones (0-25 pixels) during decision-making, while NPGs demonstrated greater left-sided peripheral attention (76-100 pixels) during feedback. These patterns were further supported by a three-way ANOVA showing a significant group × zone × laterality interaction in the decision phase, confirming that PGs exhibited significantly higher right-sided attention in the central zone (0-25 and 26-50 pixels), while NPGs showed a tendency toward greater left-sided attention in the peripheral zone (76-100 pixels). Additionally, PGs demonstrated stronger rightward attentional bias in both phases. These differences in visual attention were associated with higher behavioral-approach-system, reward sensitivity, and sensation-seeking scores among PGs. The findings suggest that PGs exhibit distinctive characteristics in terms of sustained visual attention during gambling-related decision-making, even when viewing neutral stimuli. This distinctive distribution of visual attention may reflect fundamental differences in information processing and potential hemispheric imbalances in attention control mechanisms among PGs.