The Effect of Alexithymia on Attentional Bias Toward Emotional Stimuli in Depression: An Eye-Tracking Study
Alexithymia—reflecting deficits in cognitive emotion processing—is highly prevalent in individuals with depressive disorders. Subsequently, mixed evidence for attentional bias is found in these individuals. Alexithymia may be a potential influencing factor for attentional bias in depression. In the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-02-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.569946/full |
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| author | M. Annemiek Bergman M. Annemiek Bergman Constance Th. W. M. Vissers Constance Th. W. M. Vissers Rose M. Collard Philip van Eijndhoven Philip van Eijndhoven Aart H. Schene Aart H. Schene Janna N. Vrijsen Janna N. Vrijsen Janna N. Vrijsen |
| author_facet | M. Annemiek Bergman M. Annemiek Bergman Constance Th. W. M. Vissers Constance Th. W. M. Vissers Rose M. Collard Philip van Eijndhoven Philip van Eijndhoven Aart H. Schene Aart H. Schene Janna N. Vrijsen Janna N. Vrijsen Janna N. Vrijsen |
| author_sort | M. Annemiek Bergman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Alexithymia—reflecting deficits in cognitive emotion processing—is highly prevalent in individuals with depressive disorders. Subsequently, mixed evidence for attentional bias is found in these individuals. Alexithymia may be a potential influencing factor for attentional bias in depression. In the current study, 83 currently depressed (CD) and 76 never-depressed (ND) controls completed an eye-tracker task consisting of valenced (non)-social pictures. Alexithymia scores were also included as a moderator as both a continuous and categorical measure (so high vs. low alexithymia). No group difference or moderating effect of alexithymia was found on attentional bias. Thus, alexithymic symptoms, included both dimensionally and categorically, may not influence biased attentional processing in depression compared to ND individuals. Thus, it is important to explore other potential explaining factors for the equivocal results found on biased attentional processing of emotional information in depression. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T12:15:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-04d08b88f33242c5965fd1a77d7a938f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-0640 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T12:15:27Z |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-04d08b88f33242c5965fd1a77d7a938f2022-12-21T23:01:37ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402021-02-011110.3389/fpsyt.2020.569946569946The Effect of Alexithymia on Attentional Bias Toward Emotional Stimuli in Depression: An Eye-Tracking StudyM. Annemiek Bergman0M. Annemiek Bergman1Constance Th. W. M. Vissers2Constance Th. W. M. Vissers3Rose M. Collard4Philip van Eijndhoven5Philip van Eijndhoven6Aart H. Schene7Aart H. Schene8Janna N. Vrijsen9Janna N. Vrijsen10Janna N. Vrijsen11Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, NetherlandsDonders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Donders Center for Medical Neuroscience, Nijmegen, NetherlandsRoyal Dutch Kentalis, Kentalis Academy, Sint-Michielsgestel, NetherlandsRadboud University Nijmegen, Behavioural Science Institute, Nijmegen, NetherlandsDepartment of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, NetherlandsDepartment of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, NetherlandsDonders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Donders Center for Medical Neuroscience, Nijmegen, NetherlandsDepartment of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, NetherlandsDonders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Donders Center for Medical Neuroscience, Nijmegen, NetherlandsDepartment of Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, NetherlandsDonders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Donders Center for Medical Neuroscience, Nijmegen, NetherlandsPro Persona Mental Health Care, Depression Expertise Center, Nijmegen, NetherlandsAlexithymia—reflecting deficits in cognitive emotion processing—is highly prevalent in individuals with depressive disorders. Subsequently, mixed evidence for attentional bias is found in these individuals. Alexithymia may be a potential influencing factor for attentional bias in depression. In the current study, 83 currently depressed (CD) and 76 never-depressed (ND) controls completed an eye-tracker task consisting of valenced (non)-social pictures. Alexithymia scores were also included as a moderator as both a continuous and categorical measure (so high vs. low alexithymia). No group difference or moderating effect of alexithymia was found on attentional bias. Thus, alexithymic symptoms, included both dimensionally and categorically, may not influence biased attentional processing in depression compared to ND individuals. Thus, it is important to explore other potential explaining factors for the equivocal results found on biased attentional processing of emotional information in depression.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.569946/fullalexithymiadepressionattentional biasexecutive functioningemotion regulation |
| spellingShingle | M. Annemiek Bergman M. Annemiek Bergman Constance Th. W. M. Vissers Constance Th. W. M. Vissers Rose M. Collard Philip van Eijndhoven Philip van Eijndhoven Aart H. Schene Aart H. Schene Janna N. Vrijsen Janna N. Vrijsen Janna N. Vrijsen The Effect of Alexithymia on Attentional Bias Toward Emotional Stimuli in Depression: An Eye-Tracking Study Frontiers in Psychiatry alexithymia depression attentional bias executive functioning emotion regulation |
| title | The Effect of Alexithymia on Attentional Bias Toward Emotional Stimuli in Depression: An Eye-Tracking Study |
| title_full | The Effect of Alexithymia on Attentional Bias Toward Emotional Stimuli in Depression: An Eye-Tracking Study |
| title_fullStr | The Effect of Alexithymia on Attentional Bias Toward Emotional Stimuli in Depression: An Eye-Tracking Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Effect of Alexithymia on Attentional Bias Toward Emotional Stimuli in Depression: An Eye-Tracking Study |
| title_short | The Effect of Alexithymia on Attentional Bias Toward Emotional Stimuli in Depression: An Eye-Tracking Study |
| title_sort | effect of alexithymia on attentional bias toward emotional stimuli in depression an eye tracking study |
| topic | alexithymia depression attentional bias executive functioning emotion regulation |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.569946/full |
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