Hypervigilance versus perceptual avoidance in social phobia

描述(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使用行为和/或神经生理学测量来测试，因为到目前为止还没有连续的、接近实时的资源配置测量，而且注意定向的隐蔽过程也不能通过行为方法来测量。本文提出的研究直接解决了这一困难，通过闪烁视觉刺激诱发的稳态视觉诱发电位(SsVEP)来检测注意资源分配的时间进程。这种脑电(EEG)测量方法独一无二地提供了对视觉选择性注意的近实时评估。这项拟议的研究的总体目标是确定对社交威胁线索的功能障碍注意在社交恐惧症的精神病理学中的作用。计划确定以高度社交恐惧或社交恐惧症为特征的个体是否将感知和注意资源引导到或远离社会威胁刺激，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，首先量化注意动力学与注意强度之间的关系，然后研究社交威胁线索加工过程中注意动力学失调与社交恐惧症严重程度的关系。最后，我们计划评估基于SSVEP的注意动力学作为预测评估注意力的价值。这一信息对改善治疗选择和预后具有重要意义。具体地说，将患者与基于暴露或认知的治疗相匹配，将受益于有关他们在避免社会威胁线索方面高度警惕的性质的信息。公共卫生相关性：社交恐惧症与注意力分配功能障碍有关，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。它考察了注意资源分配的时间进程与社交恐惧症症状严重程度的关系，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具有重要意义。具体地说，将患者与基于暴露或认知的治疗相匹配，将受益于有关他们在避免社会威胁线索方面高度警惕的性质的信息。

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.