A Mouse-Tracking Paradigm for Value-Driven Attentional Capture

Reward learning is fundamental to adaptive behavior and exhibits substantial individual variability linked to addiction and other psychiatric conditions. Traditional value-driven attentional capture (VDAC) paradigms rely mainly on reaction time (RT) and accuracy, but it remains unknown whether engaging motor control processes could enhance sensitivity for detecting individual differences in reward-induced attentional biases. We developed a novel mouse-tracking VDAC paradigm that engages motor control processes. Two independent samples (n1 = 45, n2 = 59) completed the task and a battery of reward-related psychological scales (reward sensitivity, impulsivity, self-control, digital addiction tendency). A new index, maximum deviation (MD) of mouse trajectories, quantified how reward history biases attention and motor response. The paradigm replicated the classic RT-based VDAC effect. Trajectory-based measures revealed bidirectional effects: high-value distractors increased attraction and reduced active avoidance. The relative angle modulated VDAC strength, with the largest effect at 120°. ΔMD (high-value vs. absent) showed significant positive correlations with reward sensitivity, impulsivity, and addiction tendency, and negative correlations with self-control in both samples, whereas ΔRT showed no significant correlations. The consistent pattern across two independent samples suggests that mouse-tracking provides a complementary, process-sensitive index for detecting individual differences in reward-driven attention. This paradigm may serve as a useful tool for investigating cognitive markers of vulnerability to reward-related disorders, including addiction.