Unlocking the past: efficacy of guided self-compassion and benefit-focused online interventions for managing negative personal memories.

Positive reappraisal strategies have been found to reduce negative affect following the recall of negative personal events. This study examined the restorative effect of two mood-repair instructions (self-compassion vs benefit-focused reappraisal) and a control condition with no instructions following a negative Mood Induction Procedure by using the guided recall of a negative autobiographical event. A total of 112 university students participated in the online study (81% women, Mage: 21.0 years). Immediately following the negative memory recall, participants were randomised to each condition [(self-compassion: n = 36, benefit-focused: n = 39) or a control condition (n = 37)]. Repeated measures ANOVAs 3 (Repair condition) × 3 (Time of mood assessment: pre-recall, post-recall, post-regulation) showed that, as expected, negative mood (sadness, shame, and guilt) worsened significantly after the guided recall in all groups (p < .001). After the mood-repair intervention, participants in the self-compassion and benefit-focused conditions showed a significant reduction in negative mood (p < .019), while such improvement was not observed in the control group. Self-compassion and benefit-focused reappraisal functioned similarly as mood repair strategies after experiencing negative affect induced by the recall of negative personal memories. Implications in the context of autobiographical memory biases are discussed.

Not just emotion regulation, but cognition: An experience sampling study testing the relations of ecological interpretation biases and use of emotion regulation strategies with momentary affective states during daily life functioning.

BACKGROUND: Current research is moving from studying cognitive biases and maladaptive emotion regulation (ER) as relatively stable phenomena contributing to affective disturbances, adopting ecological methodologies, such as Experience Sampling Methods (ESM). However, there is still limited ESM evidence on the interactions between stress and ER strategies' use, and negative interpretation biases, regarding their relations with momentary affective states. In this study, we used a new ESM design to disentangle the contextual, regulatory and cognitive processes implicated in daily affective experiences. METHOD: A sample of 103 participants completed an ESM study (3 times a day for 10 days) that included self-reports of momentary affect, stress intensity, ER strategies' use and a cognitive task measuring momentary negative interpretation biases. RESULTS: Multilevel analyses supported significant interactions of both rumination and worry with stress intensity, to account for momentary higher negative and lower positive affect levels. Furthermore, higher state negative interpretation bias levels uniquely predicted both higher negative and lower positive momentary affect levels. CONCLUSION: This study implemented a novel online cognitive task within an ESM procedure, which helped to disentangle how contextual ER strategies' use and momentary cognitive biases uniquely relate to affective experiences in daily life.

An integrative analysis of potential mechanisms of reduced positive affect in daily life in depression: an ESM study.

Decreased levels of positive affect (PA) are a hallmark of depression. Current models propose as potential main mechanisms a dysfunctional use of emotion regulation (ER) strategies (i.e. dampening, positive rumination), and a maladaptive activation of pro-hedonic goals. However, the role of these mechanisms in PA in daily life remains understudied. We used a 10-day ESM design to assess how these mechanisms influence each other and contribute to depressive symptomatology-related low momentary PA in 139 individuals. Higher depressive symptoms were associated with lower PA, pro-hedonic goals, more frequent use of positive rumination, and higher use of dampening. Further, experiencing higher levels of PA predicted lower following time point use of dampening in individuals with higher symptoms. Finally, using positive rumination was more beneficial (i.e. predicted higher PA increases one moment later) for individuals with higher symptomatology. Our findings suggest that moment-to-moment changes in PA daily life are affected by, and have an effect on, both pro-hedonic goals and the use of dampening and positive rumination, highlighting specific cognitive-affective mechanisms that should be considered when designing interventions aimed at improving low PA characterising depression symptomatology.

Correction: Epigenetic, psychological, and EEG changes after a 1-week retreat based on mindfulness and compassion for stress reduction in healthy adults: Study protocol of a cross-over randomized controlled trial.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0283169.].

Epigenetic, psychological, and EEG changes after a 1-week retreat based on mindfulness and compassion for stress reduction in healthy adults: Study protocol of a cross-over randomized controlled trial.

INTRODUCTION: The main objective of the study will be to evaluate the effects of two widely used standardized mindfulness-based programs [Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT)], on epigenetic, neurobiological, psychological, and physiological variables. METHODS: The programs will be offered in an intensive retreat format in a general population sample of healthy volunteer adults. During a 7-day retreat, participants will receive MBSR and CCT in a crossover design where participants complete both programs in random order. After finishing their first 3-day training with one of the two programs, participants will be assigned to the second 3-day training with the second program. The effects of the MBSR and CCT programs, and their combination, will be measured by epigenetic changes (i.e., DNA methylation biomarkers), neurobiological and psychophysiological measures (i.e., EEG resting state, EKG, respiration patterns, and diurnal cortisol slopes), self-report questionnaires belonging to different psychological domains (i.e., mindfulness, compassion, well-being, distress, and general functioning), and stress tasks (i.e., an Arithmetic Stress Test and the retrieval of negative autobiographical memories). These measures will be collected from both groups on the mornings of day 1 (pre-program), day 4 (after finishing the first program and before beginning the second program), and day 7 (post-second program). We will conduct a 3-month and a 12-month follow-up using only the set of self-report measures. DISCUSSION: This study aims to shed light on the neurobiological and psychological mechanisms linked to meditation and compassion in the general population. The protocol was registered at clinicaltrials.gov (Identifier: NCT05516355; August 23, 2022).

Online Contingent Attention Training (OCAT): transfer effects to cognitive biases, rumination, and anxiety symptoms from two proof-of-principle studies.

The aim of the present research was to develop and test the efficacy of a novel online contingent attention training (i.e., OCAT) to modify attention and interpretation biases, improve emotion regulation, and reduce emotional symptom levels in the face of major stressors. Two proof-of-principle studies were carried out. In study 1, 64 undergraduates who were about to start a major stressful period (i.e., final exams) were randomized to undergo 10 days of active OCAT or a sham-control training. Emotion regulation (habitual use of rumination and reappraisal) and symptom levels (depression and anxiety) were assessed before and after the intervention. In study 2, the same 2 × 2 mixed design was used with 58 individuals from the general population undergoing a major stressful situation (the lockdown period at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020). In both studies, the OCAT group showed significant improvements on attention towards negative information and interpretation biases in comparison to the sham-control group. Additionally, changes in cognitive biases transferred to reductions of participants' use of rumination and anxiety symptom levels. These results show preliminary evidence regarding the efficacy of the OCAT to target attention and interpretation biases as well as to improve emotion regulation processes and to buffer against the effects of major stressors.

Moment-to-Moment Interplay Among Stress Appraisals and Emotion Regulation Flexibility in Daily Life.

Flexible use of emotion regulation (ER) strategies in daily life is theorized to depend on appraisals of occurring stressful events. Yet, to date, little is known about (a) how appraisals of the current situation modulate the use of ER strategies in daily life and (b) how individual differences in affective symptoms impact these relations among appraisals and ER strategy use. This study attempted to address these two limitations using a 5-day experience sampling protocol, with three surveys administered per day in a sample of 97 participants. Each survey measured momentary appraisals of stress intensity and controllability as well as ER strategy use (i.e., rumination, reappraisal, avoidance, and active coping). Results showed that, in situations of low-stress intensity, higher stress controllability was related to greater use of reappraisal and rumination. In situations of high-stress intensity, higher controllability was related to reduced use of rumination. This pattern of flexible use of ER strategies depending on momentary stress appraisals was found for both rumination and avoidance and occurred specifically in individuals reporting lower levels of depression and/or anxiety levels. These findings provide new insight into how flexible use of ER strategies in daily life is modulated by interactions between stress intensity and controllability appraisals at varying levels of affective symptoms. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42761-022-00122-9.

A Novel Experience Sampling Method Tool Integrating Momentary Assessments of Cognitive Biases: Two Compliance, Usability, and Measurement Reactivity Studies.

BACKGROUND: Experience sampling methods (ESMs) are increasingly being used to study ecological emotion dynamics in daily functioning through repeated assessments taken over several days. However, most of these ESM approaches are only based on self-report assessments, and therefore, studies on the ecological trajectories of their underlying mechanisms are scarce (ie, cognitive biases) and require evaluation through experimental tasks. We developed a novel ESM tool that integrates self-report measures of emotion and emotion regulation with a previously validated app-based cognitive task that allows for the assessment of underlying mechanisms during daily functioning. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study is to test this new tool and study its usability and the possible factors related to compliance with it in terms of latency and missing responses. Among the compliance predictors, we considered psychological and time-related variables, as well as usability, measurement reactivity, and participants' satisfaction with the tool. METHODS: We conducted 2 extensive ESM studies-study 1 (N=84; a total of 3 assessments per day for 5 days) and study 2 (N=135; a total of 3 assessments per day for 10 days). RESULTS: In both studies, participants found the tool highly usable (average usability score >81). By using mixed regression models, we found both common and specific results for the compliance predictors. In both study 1 and study 2, latency was significantly predicted by the day (P<.001 and P=.003, respectively). Participants showed slower responses to the notification as the days of the study progressed. In study 2 but not in study 1, latency was further predicted by individual differences in overload with the use of the app, and missing responses were accounted for by individual differences in stress reactivity to notifications (P=.04). Thus, by using a more extensive design, participants who experienced higher overload during the study were characterized by slower responses to notifications (P=.01), whereas those who experienced higher stress reactivity to the notification system were characterized by higher missing responses. CONCLUSIONS: The new tool had high levels of usability. Furthermore, the study of compliance is of enormous importance when implementing novel ESM methods, including app-based cognitive tasks. The main predictors of latency and missing responses found across studies, specifically when using extensive ESM protocols (study 2), are methodology-related variables. Future research that integrates cognitive tasks in ESM designs should take these results into consideration by performing accurate estimations of participants' response rates to facilitate the optimal quality of novel eHealth approaches, as in this study.

Monitoring the resistance of Rhipicephalus microplus to amitraz, flumethrin, coumaphos, and ivermectin on cattle farms in Mexico.

The prevalence, resistance ratios and factor associated with Rhipicephalu microplus populations resistant to amitraz, flumethrin, coumaphos, and ivermectina (IVM) in Mexico were studied. Field tick populations were collected from 54 farms in 15 different states of Mexico. The dose-response bioassays were carried out using the larval immersion test (amitraz and IVM) and the modified larval packet test (flumethrin and coumaphos) against R. microplus. Mortality data were subjected to probit analysis to calculate lethal concentrations at 50%. A logistic regression model was used to evaluate the relation between resistance and possible associated factors. The phenotype was defined as high resistant (HR), low resistant (LR) or susceptible (S). The overall prevalence of cattle farms with R. microplus resistant to coumaphos, amitraz, flumethrin and IVM were 25.9, 46.2, 31.5 and 68.5%, respectively. For coumaphos, 74.1, 22.2, and 3.7% were classified as S, LR, and HR, respectively, whereas, for amitraz, 53.7, 24.1, and 22.2% of phenotypes were S, LR, and HR, respectively, for flumethrin 68.5, 14.8, and 16.7% were S, LR and HR respectively, and for IVM, 31.5, 46.3, and 22.2% were S, LR, and HR, respectively. We identified that cattle farms without acaricide rotation program (OR: 7.66, CL95%: 1.70-34.47, P: 0.008) had a higher probability of developing R. microplus resistant to amitraz. We concluded that amitraz and IVM resistance in R. microplus is frequent, but mainly at a low level in cattle farms of Mexico. Cattle farms without acaricide rotation program had higher probability of developing R. microplus resistant to amitraz.

An Online Assessment to Evaluate the Role of Cognitive Biases and Emotion Regulation Strategies for Mental Health During the COVID-19 Lockdown of 2020: Structural Equation Modeling Study.

BACKGROUND: Extant research supports causal roles of cognitive biases in stress regulation under experimental conditions. However, their contribution to psychological adjustment in the face of ecological major stressors has been largely unstudied. OBJECTIVE: We developed a novel online method for the ecological examination of attention and interpretation biases during major stress (ie, the COVID-19 lockdown in March/April 2020) and tested their relations with the use of emotion regulation strategies (ie, reappraisal and rumination) to account for individual differences in psychological adjustment to major COVID-19-related stressors (ie, low depression and anxiety, and high well-being and resilience). METHODS: Participants completed an online protocol evaluating the psychological impact of COVID-19-related stressors and the use of emotion regulation strategies in response to them, during the initial weeks of the lockdown of March/April 2020. They also completed a new online cognitive task designed to remotely assess attention and interpretation biases for negative information. The psychometric properties of the online cognitive bias assessments were very good, supporting their feasibility for ecological evaluation. RESULTS: Structural equation models showed that negative interpretation bias was a direct predictor of worst psychological adjustment (higher depression and anxiety, and lower well-being and resilience; χ29=7.57; root mean square error of approximation=0.000). Further, rumination mediated the influence of interpretation bias in anxiety (P=.045; 95% CI 0.03-3.25) and resilience (P=.001; 95% CI -6.34 to -1.65), whereas reappraisal acted as a mediator of the influence of both attention (P=.047; 95% CI -38.71 to -0.16) and interpretation biases (P=.04; 95% CI -5.25 to -0.12) in well-being. CONCLUSIONS: This research highlights the relevance of individual processes of attention and interpretation during periods of adversity and identifies modifiable protective factors that can be targeted through online interventions.

Emotional SNARC: emotional faces affect the impact of number magnitude on gaze patterns.

The Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) effect is characterised by a spatial cognitive representation of low numbers to the left side of space and high numbers to the right side of space. This effect has been found using a diversity of stimuli and experimental paradigms. However, the influence of emotional stimuli on this effect remains unclear. In this study, the SNARC effect is analysed in relation to pairs of emotional facial stimuli (happy-neutral, sad-neutral and happy-sad pairs). Gaze patterns of 151 participants were analysed when exposed to a free-viewing eye-tracking paradigm consisting of pairs of emotional faces preceded by small and large numbers. Replicating previous results, a standard SNARC effect was found independently of the emotional expressions of the faces (i.e., there was a significant linear trend of number magnitude in the frequency of first fixations of the gaze to the left side space). However, specific slope analyses revealed that the SNARC effect was influenced by the spatial position of each emotion presented in the emotional pairs. Specifically, the effect disappeared in happy-neutral trials, when the happy faces were allocated in the right position and also in happy-sad trials when two emotional stimuli were simultaneously displayed. The study revealed that the SNARC effect is sensitive to the spatial position of emotional stimuli which further adds to other known limits of the phenomenon. The limitations of the study and its implications in the area of cognition and emotion are also discussed.

Knowledge and Acceptance towards Vasectomy in a Sample of Medicine Students, Meta 2018 / Conocimientos y aceptación sobre vasectomía en una muestra de estudiantes de medicina, Meta 2018

Introduction The low adherence to vasectomy is associated with the cultural environment, with false beliefs, and with lack of knowledge. In Colombia, the practice of vasectomy increased 3% between 1990 and 2015. Medical education seeks to have an impact on the general population; therefore, medicine students should have knowledge and attitudes toward birth control that include a significant participation of the male gender. Objective To describe the level of knowledge, beliefs, and acceptance of vasectomy in a sample of Colombian medicine students. Methods Cross-sectional descriptive study, nonprobabilistic sample by convenience with a total of 112 medicine students from different universities of the country attending at a university event. A total of 20 dichotomous questions were used. Results A total of 72.3% of the students answered correctly most of the answers; the knowledge level was grouped in high (53.35%), medium (41.07%), and low (5.35%). Up to 95.5% of the students recognized vasectomy as a male birth control method. Regarding beliefs, > 99% considered that family planning is not just a responsibility of women, although only 75% of the men would accept undergo a vasectomy. Conclusions Colombian medicine students have a good level of knowledge about vasectomy, they recommend performing the surgery, and recognize the active participation of males in contraception; nevertheless, a higher willingness to perform a vasectomy would be expected from this population. Training on the subject would break barriers about beliefs and promote proper counseling in birth control consultations.

Introducción La poca adherencia a la vasectomía se asocia al entorno cultural, falsas creencias y bajo conocimiento. En Colombia, su prevalencia incrementó 3% entre los años 1990 y 2015. La educación Médica busca tener impacto sobre la población general, por lo cual el estudiante de medicina debe tener conocimientos y actitudes sobre la planificación familiar, que incluya una participación significativa del sexo masculino. Objetivo Describir el nivel de conocimiento, creencias y aceptación de la vasectomía en una muestra de estudiantes de medicina colombianos. Métodos Estudio descriptivo transversal, muestra no probabilista por conveniencia de 112 estudiantes de medicina, de diferentes universidades del país asistentes a un evento universitario. Se emplea instrumento de 20 preguntas dicotómicas. Resultados El 72,3% de los estudiantes acertó correctamente en la mayoría de las respuestas, se agrupó nivel de conocimiento en alto 53,35%, medio 41,07% y bajo 5,35%. Hasta un 95,5% reconoció la vasectomía como método de planificación masculina. En cuanto a creencias, más del 99% manifiesta que la planificación familiar no es responsabilidad solo de la mujer, aunque sólo el 75% de los hombres aceptó realizarse la vasectomía. Conclusiones Los estudiantes de medicina colombianos tienen un buen nivel de conocimientos sobre vasectomía, recomiendan su realización y reconocen la participación activa masculina dentro de la anticoncepción, sin embargo, se esperaría una mayor disposición, por parte de esta población, a la realización de la vasectomía. La capacitación sobre el tema puede romper las barreras de creencias y promover un adecuado asesoramiento en las consultas de planificación familiar.

Attentional biases in dysphoria when happy and sad faces are simultaneously presented.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Difficulties to engage attention to positive stimuli and to disengage attention from negative stimuli are typically found in depression. Yet, most of the evidence supporting these attentional biases comes from experimental paradigms in which emotional information (e.g., happy or sad faces) is simultaneously presented with neutral information. Few studies have explored attentional biases when emotional stimuli of different valence are presented simultaneously. The aim of the present study was to assess visual scan patterns of non-dysphoric and dysphoric participants when emotional information is presented simultaneously. METHOD: Using an eye-tracker methodology, the gradient relation between attentional biases and depression scores as well as differences between groups in their attentional performance were assessed in non-dysphoric participants (N = 84) and dysphoric participants (N = 58). Three different pairs of faces were used: happy-neutral, neutral-sad, and happy-sad. RESULTS: First, we found that simultaneous presentation of emotional information (i.e., happy vs. negative faces) reduces the magnitude of attentional biases towards positive information. Second, we also found a significant negative relation between attentional biases towards positive information and depression scores. Finally, compared to non-dysphoric participants, dysphoric individuals marginally spent less time attending positive information in both happy-neutral and happy-sad trials. LIMITATIONS: The cross-sectional nature of our study does not allow us to make inferences about causality. Further, only one type of simultaneous emotional faces presentation (i.e., happy-sad) was used. CONCLUSIONS: These results support the need for further research on the processing of competing emotional stimuli in depression.

El análisis de redes en psicopatología: conceptos y metodología / Network analysis and psychopathology: Concepts and methodology

En las últimas décadas, la validez de los sistemas diagnósticos categoriales, como el DSM o la CIE, ha sido puesta en duda. Una alternativa conceptual es el análisis de redes (AR), que concibe los problemas psicológicos simplemente como cadenas de síntomas causalmente relacionados y no como elementos emergentes de un trastorno o una enfermedad latente. El AR utiliza herramientas estadísticas para analizar los patrones de síntomas y sus dinámicas lo que permite identificar los síntomas centrales y periféricos dentro de una red sintomática y el potencial papel causal de cada síntoma dentro de la red. El AR abre nuevas vías para abordar problemas clásicos de los sistemas categoriales tales como la comorbilidad, los factores de vulnerabilidad y el análisis de las variables diferentes a los síntomas (p. ej., eventos estresantes). En definitiva, el AR en psicopatología se presenta como una alternativa prometedora a las concepciones vigentes de la psicopatología aunque aún ha de demostrar que es una herramienta útil para la clínica y la investigación

In recent decades, the validity of categorical diagnostic systems, like the DSM or the ICD, has been seriously questioned. Network analysis (NA), which conceives of psychological problems simply as chains of causally related symptoms and not as emerging elements of a latent disorder or illness, has been proposed as a conceptual alternative to those traditional systems. NA uses statistical tools to analyze symptom patterns and their dynamics. These analytical tools allow to identify central and peripheral symptoms within a symptom network as well as the potential causal role of each symptom within the network. The network perspective opens new avenues to address classic challenges of categorical systems such as the definition of comorbidity and vulnerability factors. NA also allows to incorporate non-symptom factors (e.g., stressful life events) within the network of psychopathological elements. In short, NA can be considered as a promising alternative to current conceptualizations of psychopathology although it still has to demonstrate its utility for both research and clinical applications

Does repetitive negative thinking affect attention? Differential effects of worry and rumination on attention to emotional stimuli.

Worry and rumination, two cardinal responses to emotional events, are key for maintaining negative emotion and have been implicated in the etiology and maintenance of anxiety and depressive disorders. Though worry and rumination are highly correlated with one another and people who engage in one often engage in both, they may differentially affect emotion. Specifically, previous work suggests that worry helps people avoid (intense) emotion, while rumination provokes it. Examining the ways in which these two forms of repetitive negative thinking (RNT) influence cognitive processing of emotional material may help us better understand the emotional sequelae of worry and rumination. This study examines visual attention to emotional information, since attending to certain types of information opens the door for further processing of it. The current study induced worry and rumination and then used eye tracking to compare how each form of RNT influenced the allocation of attention to emotional scenes. Participants induced to worry, compared with those induced to ruminate, spent less time viewing positive (vs. neutral) scenes and were the only group to preferentially maintain their attention on negative images when they were paired with positive images. These findings suggest that worry, compared with rumination, leads to the relative avoidance of positive information. Implications of these findings for research on mood and anxiety disorders are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

CBT and positive psychology interventions for clinical depression promote healthy attentional biases: An eye-tracking study.

BACKGROUND: Although there is a growing interest in the role of attentional biases in depression, there are no studies assessing changes in these biases after psychotherapeutic interventions. METHODS: We used a validated eye-tracking procedure to assess pre-post therapy changes in attentional biases toward emotional information (i.e., happy, sad, and angry faces) when presented with neutral information (i.e., neutral faces). The sample consisted of 75 participants with major depression or dysthymia. Participants were blindly assigned to one of two 10 weekly sessions of group therapy: a cognitive behavior therapy intervention (N = 41) and a positive psychology intervention (N = 34). RESULTS: Both treatments were equally efficacious in improving depressive symptoms (p = .0001, η² = .68). A significant change in attentional performance after therapy was observed irrespective of the intervention modality. Comparison of pre-post attentional measures revealed a significant reduction in the total time of fixations (TTF) looking at negative information (i.e., sad and angry faces) and a significant increase in the TTF looking at positive information (i.e., happy faces)-all p < .02. CONCLUSIONS: Findings reveal for the first time that psychotherapeutic interventions are associated with a significant change in attentional biases as assessed by a direct measure of attention. Furthermore, these changes seem to operate in the same direction typically found in healthy populations (i.e., a bias away from negative information and a parallel bias toward positive information). These findings illustrate the importance of considering attentional biases as clinical markers of depression and suggest the viability of modifying these biases as a potential tool for clinical change.

Examining Facets of Depression and Social Anxiety: The Relation among Lack of Positive Affect, Negative Cognitions, and Emotion Dysregulation.

Depression and Social Anxiety Disorder are commonly conceptualized by the presence of negative affect. However, these disorders are also characterized by lack of positive affect, presence of negative cognitions, and emotion dysregulation which may play an important role in the onset and maintenance of these disorders. The present study explored differences among these variables in 189 clinical patients diagnosed with Major Depression, Social Anxiety Disorder, or both. Results showed differences in lack of positivity F(2, 185) = 18.92, p = .0001, η2 = .17, presence of negative cognitions F(2, 185) = 13.97, p = .0001, η2 = .13, and the use of rumination F(2, 185) = 14.63, p = .0001, η2 = .14 and punishment F(2, 181) = 7.64, p = .001, η2 = .08 among groups. Overall, lack of positivity, negative cognitions, and emotion dysregulation were elevated in the comorbid group, whereas lack of positivity and negative cognitions were specifically found for patients diagnosed with depression compared to socially anxious patients. In addition, the study examined the relation of both, lack of positivity and negative cognitions, to emotion regulation processes among groups. Overall, lack of positivity was associated with fear and avoidance in the social anxiety group (all r > .417, p .370, p < .01). Limitations of the present study and future directions are discussed.

Don't look at my teeth when I smile: Teeth visibility in smiling faces affects emotionality ratings and gaze patterns.

Research on facial emotion processing has offered inconclusive results on whether certain emotional expressions, like happiness, are detected faster over others. A source of discrepancy among studies could stem from differences in physically salient features (e.g., teeth visibility), which are often left uncontrolled in this field of research. In Study 1, happy faces from the Karolinska Database Emotional Databse with visible, normal teeth unexpectedly obtained lower scores on intensity and prototypicality than the same faces with covered teeth. In Study 2, an eye-tracking methodology revealed that although faces with normal teeth drew participants' initial attention, participants spent more time looking at the eye region in faces with covered teeth, a region that previous research had found to be more informative of emotion than the mouth region. Overall, these results suggest that advantages often associated with certain emotional faces might be partially due to artifacts that should be systematically controlled for in future studies. (PsycINFO Database Record

Examining facets of depression and social anxiety: the relation among lack of positive affect, negative cognitions, and emotion dysregulation

Depression and Social Anxiety Disorder are commonly conceptualized by the presence of negative affect. However, these disorders are also characterized by lack of positive affect, presence of negative cognitions, and emotion dysregulation which may play an important role in the onset and maintenance of these disorders. The present study explored differences among these variables in 189 clinical patients diagnosed with Major Depression, Social Anxiety Disorder, or both. Results showed differences in lack of positivity F(2, 185) = 18.92, p = .0001, η2 = .17, presence of negative cognitions F(2, 185) = 13.97, p = .0001, η2 = .13, and the use of rumination F(2, 185) = 14.63, p = .0001, η2 = .14 and punishment F(2, 181) = 7.64, p = .001, η2 = .08 among groups. Overall, lack of positivity, negative cognitions, and emotion dysregulation were elevated in the comorbid group, whereas lack of positivity and negative cognitions were specifically found for patients diagnosed with depression compared to socially anxious patients. In addition, the study examined the relation of both, lack of positivity and negative cognitions, to emotion regulation processes among groups. Overall, lack of positivity was associated with fear and avoidance in the social anxiety group (all r > .417, p < .01), whereas lack of positivity and negative cognitions were associated with rumination across the three groups (all r > .370, p < .01). Limitations of the present study and future directions are discussed (AU)

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Attentional bias modification in depression through gaze contingencies and regulatory control using a new eye-tracking intervention paradigm: study protocol for a placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Attentional biases, namely difficulties both to disengage attention from negative information and to maintain it on positive information, play an important role in the onset and maintenance of the disorder. Recently, researchers have developed specific attentional bias modification (ABM) techniques aimed to modify these maladaptive attentional patterns. However, the application of current ABM procedures has yielded, so far, scarce results in depression due, in part, to some methodological shortcomings. The aim of our protocol is the application of a new ABM technique, based on eye-tracker technology, designed to objectively train the specific attentional components involved in depression and, eventually, to reduce depressive symptoms. METHODS: Based on sample size calculations, 32 dysphoric (BDI ≥13) participants will be allocated to either an active attentional bias training group or a yoked-control group. Attentional training will be individually administered on two sessions in two consecutive days at the lab. In the training task series of pairs of faces (i.e. neutral vs. sad; neutral vs. happy; happy vs. sad) will be displayed. Participants in the training group will be asked to localize as quickly as possible the most positive face of the pair (e.g., the neutral face in neutral vs. sad trials) and maintain their gaze on it for 750 ms or 1500 ms, in two different blocks, to advance to the next trial. Participants' maintenance of gaze will be measured by an eye-tracking apparatus. Participants in the yoked-control group will be exposed to the same stimuli and the same average amount of time than the experimental participants but without any instruction to maintain their gaze or any feedback on their performance. Pre and post training measures will be obtained to assess cognitive and emotional changes after the training. DISCUSSION: The findings from this research will provide a proof-of-principle of the efficacy of eye-tracking paradigms to modify attentional biases and, consequently, to improve depressed mood. If the findings are positive, this new training approach may result in the improvement of cognitive bias modification procedures in depression. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial was retrospectively registered on July 28, 2016 with the ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02847793 registration number and the title 'Attentional Bias Modification Through Eye-tracker Methodology (ABMET)'.