Hypervigilance versus perceptual avoidance in social phobia

描述（由申请人提供）：社交恐惧症与注意力分配功能障碍有关，包括高度警惕和随后对社交威胁线索的知觉回避。这种假设的缺陷很难用行为和/或神经生理学的测量方法来测试，因为到目前为止，还没有连续的、接近实时的资源部署测量方法，而且注意定向的隐蔽过程也不能用行为方法来测量。本文提出的研究直接解决了这一难题，通过闪烁视觉刺激引发的稳态视觉诱发电位（ssVEPs）来研究注意资源分配的时间过程。这种脑电图（EEG）测量独特地提供了视觉选择性注意的近实时评估。本研究的总体目标是确定对社交威胁线索的功能失调注意在社交恐惧症的精神病理中的作用。计划确定具有高度社交恐惧或社交恐惧症特征的个体是否将感知和注意力资源转向或远离社交威胁刺激，以及他们这样做的时间顺序。本研究将ssVEP方法与自我报告、行为和生理测量相结合，首先对社交威胁线索加工过程中注意力动力学与注意力强度之间的关系进行量化，研究功能失调的注意动力学与社交恐惧严重程度之间的关系。最后，我们计划评估基于ssvep的注意动力学作为预后评估注意的预测价值。这一信息对改善治疗选择和预后预后具有重要意义。具体来说，将患者与基于暴露或认知的治疗相匹配，将受益于有关他们对避免社会威胁线索的过度警惕性质的信息。公共卫生相关性：社交恐惧症与注意力分配功能障碍有关，其可能包括慢性高度警惕和随后对社交威胁线索的知觉回避。这里提出的研究直接解决了这种缺陷的神经行为机制。它检查了与社交恐惧症症状严重程度相关的注意力资源分配的时间过程，并作为治疗结果的预测因子。这一信息对改善治疗选择和预后预后具有重要意义。具体来说，将患者与基于暴露或认知的治疗相匹配，将受益于有关他们对避免社会威胁线索的过度警惕性质的信息。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Social phobia has been related to dysfunctions of attention allocation that include hyper-vigilance and subsequent perceptual avoidance of social threat cues. This hypothesized deficit has been difficult to test using behavioral and/or neurophysiological measures because continuous, near real-time measures of resource deployment were not available so far, and the covert processes of attention orienting can not be measured by means of behavioral approaches. The research proposed here directly addresses this difficulty, examining the time course of attentional resource allocation by means of steady-state visual evoked potentials (ssVEPs), evoked by flickering visual stimuli. This electroencephalographic (EEG) measure uniquely provides for a near real-time assessment of visual selective attention. The overall goal of the proposed research is to identify the role of dysfunctional attention to social threat cues in the psychopathology of social phobia. It is planned to determine whether individuals characterized by high social fear or by social phobia direct perceptual and attentional resources towards or away from social threat stimuli, and in what temporal order they do so. Combining the ssVEP approach with self-report, behavioral, and physiological measures, we first aim to quantify the relationship between attention dynamics and the intensity of then aim to study the relationship between dysfunctional attention dynamics and the severity of social phobia during social threat cue processing. Finally, we plan to assess the predictive value of ssVEP-based attention dynamics as prognostic assessment attention. This information has strong implications for improving treatment selection and outcome prognosis. Specifically, matching patients to exposure-based or cognitive treatments will benefit from information as to the nature of their hypervigilance vis-¿-vis avoidance of social threat cues. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Social phobia has been related to dysfunctions of attention allocation that may include chronic hyper-vigilance and subsequent perceptual avoidance of social threat cues. The research proposed here directly addresses the neurobehavioral mechanisms of such a deficit. It examines the time course of attentional resource allocation in relation to symptom severity of social phobia, and as a predictor of treatment outcome. This information has implications for improving treatment selection and outcome prognosis. Specifically, matching patients to exposure-based or cognitive treatments will benefit from information as to the nature of their hypervigilance vis-¿-vis avoidance of social threat cues.