Time-Domain Attentional Biases in High Trait Anxiety: Insights From Event-Related Potentials in the RSVP Paradigm

Attentional bias significantly influences the development, persistence, and exacerbation of anxiety disorders in individuals with high trait anxiety (HTA). Although attention encompasses both temporal and spatial aspects, temporal attentional bias remains underexplored. Traditional views often negatively generalize attentional biases, neglecting their distinct cognitive vulnerabilities and biological adaptive functions. This study aims to explore temporal bias, focusing on its unique characteristics and significance. We used the rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) task to measure temporal attentional engagement and disengagement precisely in two EEG experiments. Experiment 1 examined attentional engagement by presenting neutral T1 followed by negative or neutral T2 stimuli. Experiment 2 assessed disengagement using negative or neutral T1 followed by neutral T2 stimuli. Behaviorally, typical attentional blink effects were observed in both experiments. Electrophysiologically, Experiment 1 (Engagement) revealed significantly larger P3b and late positive potential (LPP) amplitudes for negative compared with neutral T2 stimuli, specifically in the HTA group, suggesting enhanced engagement. The LTA group showed larger early posterior negativity (EPN) to negative T2 at lag 2 than the HTA group. Experiment 2 (disengagement) showed distinct T2-elicited LPP patterns: HTA participants exhibited significantly smaller LPP amplitudes following negative versus neutral T1 stimuli, whereas LTA participants showed no such difference, indicating greater difficulty disengaging from negative information in HTA. For T1 processing, LTA showed larger EPN to negative versus neutral T1, while HTA did not. Increased engagement with negative stimuli may be a common human trait, as evidenced by increased sensitivity in both high- and low-anxiety individuals. However, difficulties in disengaging attention from negative stimuli are particularly evident in individuals with HTA. These findings have important implications for the prediction, assessment, and prevention of anxiety disorders.