A Systematic Review of Eye-Tracking Studies of Gambling-Related Attentional Biases.

Previous research has identified attentional biases towards addiction-related stimuli, including gambling-related stimuli. Eye-tracking is considered the gold standard methodology for measuring attentional biases, yet no review to date has examined its use in measuring gambling-related attentional biases. This systematic review synthesized the literature using eye-tracking to examine attentional biases among people who gamble. We reviewed articles from Web of Science and PubMed that were published from 1990 to 2021. A total of 11 articles were included, with sample sizes ranging from 38 to 173 participants. Of these studies, seven examined attentional biases for gambling-related visual stimuli. These seven studies provided support that gambling can result in the development of an attentional bias for gambling-related stimuli. With respect to correlates of gambling-related attentional biases, there were mixed results. Some studies identified significant positive associations between gambling-related attentional biases and psychosocial variables, such as problem gambling severity, gambling expectancies, gambling cravings, gambling motives, depressive symptom severity, alcohol use severity, daily stress, affective impulsivity, and immersion. Four studies examined attentional biases for responsible gambling messaging and advertisements, finding that both people who do and do not gamble attend less to responsible gambling messaging compared to other types of information such as the betting odds. Research using eye-tracking to examine attentional biases among people who gamble is in its infancy. Yet, the preliminary results support the identification of attentional biases using the gold-standard methodology. Further studies are needed to examine the correlates and potential clinical utility of assessing gambling-related attentional biases using eye-tracking.

Disrupting Short-Term Memory Maintenance in Premotor Cortex Affects Serial Dependence in Visuomotor Integration.

Human behavior is biased by past experience. For example, when intercepting a moving target, the speed of previous targets will bias responses in future trials. Neural mechanisms underlying this so-called serial dependence are still under debate. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the previous trial leaves a neural trace in brain regions associated with encoding task-relevant information in visual and/or motor regions. We reasoned that injecting noise by means of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over premotor and visual areas would degrade such memory traces and hence reduce serial dependence. To test this hypothesis, we applied bursts of TMS pulses to right visual motion processing region hV5/MT+ and to left dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) during intertrial intervals of a coincident timing task performed by twenty healthy human participants (15 female). Without TMS, participants presented a bias toward the speed of the previous trial when intercepting moving targets. TMS over PMd decreased serial dependence in comparison to the control Vertex stimulation, whereas TMS applied over hV5/MT+ did not. In addition, TMS seems to have specifically affected the memory trace that leads to serial dependence, as we found no evidence that participants' behavior worsened after applying TMS. These results provide causal evidence that an implicit short-term memory mechanism in premotor cortex keeps information from one trial to the next, and that this information is blended with current trial information so that it biases behavior in a visuomotor integration task with moving objects.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Human perception and action are biased by the recent past. The origin of such serial bias is still not fully understood, but a few components seem to be fundamental for its emergence: the brain needs to keep previous trial information in short-term memory and blend it with incoming information. Here, we present evidence that a premotor area has a potential role in storing previous trial information in short-term memory in a visuomotor task and that this information is responsible for biasing ongoing behavior. These results corroborate the perspective that areas associated with processing information of a stimulus or task also participate in maintaining that information in short-term memory even when this information is no longer relevant for current behavior.

Attentional bias during emotional processing: Behavioral and electrophysiological evidence from an Emotional Flanker Task.

Threatening stimuli seem to capture attention more swiftly than neutral stimuli. This attention bias has been observed under different experimental conditions and with different types of stimuli. It remains unclear whether this adaptive behaviour reflects the function of automatic or controlled attention mechanisms. Additionally, the spatiotemporal dynamics of its neural correlates are largely unknown. The present study investigates these issues using an Emotional Flanker Task synchronized with EEG recordings. A group of 32 healthy participants saw response-relevant images (emotional scenes from IAPS or line drawings of objects) flanked by response-irrelevant distracters (i.e., emotional scenes flanked by line drawings or vice versa). We assessed behavioural and ERP responses drawn from four task conditions (Threat-Central, Neutral-Central, Threat-Peripheral, and Neutral-Peripheral) and subjected these responses to repeated-measures ANOVA models. When presented as response-relevant targets, threatening images attracted faster and more accurate responses. They did not affect response accuracy to targets when presented as response-irrelevant flankers. However, response times were significantly slower when threatening images flanked objects than when neutral images were shown as flankers. This result replicated the well-known Emotional Flanker Effect. Behavioural responses to response-relevant threatening targets were accompanied by significant modulations of ERP activity across all time-windows and regions of interest and displayed some meaningful correlations. The Emotional Flanker Effect was accompanied by a modulation over parietal and central-parietal regions within a time-window between 550-690ms. Such a modulation suggests that the attentional disruption to targets caused by response-irrelevant threatening flankers appears to reflect less neural resources available, which are seemingly drawn away by distracting threatening flankers. The observed spatiotemporal dynamics seem to concur with understanding of the important adaptive role attributed to threat-related attention bias.

Hallazgos neuropsicológicos de una muestra de niños con epilepsias focales de etiología genética y desconocida / Neuropsychological Discoveries in a Sample of Children with Focal Epilepsies of Genetic and Unkown Etiologies / Descobertas neuropsicológicas de uma amostra de crianças com epilepsias focais de etiologia genética e desconhecida

Resumen Objetivo. Caracterizar el perfil cognitivo de un grupo de niños con epilepsias focales de etiología genética y desconocida y control de crisis epilépticas. Método. Se realizó una evaluación neuropsicológica con subpruebas de la batería Evaluación Neuropsicológica Infantil (ENI), a 35 niños entre los 7 y los 15 años de edad, con diagnóstico de epilepsias focales de etiología genética o desconocida, tratamiento farmacológico y coeficiente intelectual ≥ 80. Resultados. El grupo de pacientes evidenció déficit significativo en atención auditiva, al comparar su desempeño con los datos normativos de la ENI para población colombiana. No se encontraron diferencias significativas en el desempeño de pacientes con o sin crisis epilépticas durante el último año, etiología genética o desconocida, foco epiléptico en región cerebral frontal o centro-temporal, con o sin diagnóstico previo de trastorno por déficit con o sin hiperactividad (TDAH/TDA). Conclusión. La dificultad atencional observada puede requerir mayor manejo terapéutico, al plantearles una mayor susceptibilidad para desatender a los contenidos de clase que requieren una focalización rápida y efectiva, implicando también tareas de conteo numérico auditivo (como dictados y operaciones matemáticas sencillas), que dependen del adecuado funcionamiento de la atención auditiva.

Abstract Objective. Characterize the cognitive profile of a group of children with focal epilepsies of genetic and unknown etiologies and control of epileptic seizures. Method. This study carried out a neuropsychological assessment using tests from the Evaluación Neuropsicológica Infantil (Neurspsychological Infantile Assessment) (ENI) battery to 35 children between 7 and 15 years old, diagnosed with focal epilepsies of genetic or unknown etiology, pharmacological treatment, and intelligence quotient ≥ 80. Results. Comparing their performance to normative ENI values for the Colombian population and using the percentiles assessment parameters of the test, the group of patients showed a significant deficit in auditory selective attention. No relevant differences were found in the performance of patients with or without seizures during the last year, genetic or unknown etiology, epileptic activity on frontal or centro-temporal brain regions, and the presence or absence of a previous diagnosis of Attention Deficit with or without Hyperactivity (ADHD/ADD). Conclusion. It is possible that this deficit requires more therapeutic management and has negative effects over scholar performance for the assessed children, who demonstrate a greater susceptibility to neglect class contents that require fast and effective attentional focalization, including auditory numeric counting tasks (like dictation and simple mathematic operations).

Resumo Escopo. Caracterizar o perfil cognitivo de um grupo de crianças com epilepsias focais de etiologia genética e desconhecida e controle de crises epilépticas. Metodologia. Foi feita uma avaliação neuropsicológica com sub provas da bateria Avaliação Neuropsicológica Infantil (ANI), a 35 crianças entre os 7 e os 15 anos de idade, com diagnóstico de epilepsias focais de etiologia genética ou desconhecida, tratamento farmacológico e coeficiente intelectual ≥ 80. Resultados. O grupo de pacientes evidenciou déficit significativo em atenção auditiva, ao comparar seu desempenho com os dados normativos da ANI para população colombiana. Não foram achadas diferencias significativas no desempenho de pacientes com ou sem crises epilépticas durante o último ano, etiologia genética ou desconhecida, foco epiléptico em região cerebral frontal ou centro-temporal, com ou sem diagnóstico prévio de Transtorno por Déficit com ou sem Hiperatividade (TDAH/TDA). Conclusão. A dificuldade de atenção observada pode requerer maior gestão terapêutica, ao abordar uma maior susceptibilidade para desatender aos conteúdos de classe que requerem uma focalização rápida e efetiva, implicando também tarefas de contar números de forma auditiva (como ditados e operações matemáticas simples), que dependem do adequado funcionamento da atenção auditiva.

No evidence of attentional bias toward angry faces in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder

Objective: Although attentional bias (AB) toward angry faces is well established in patients with anxiety disorders, it is still poorly studied in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). We investigated whether OCD patients present AB toward angry faces, whether AB is related to symptom severity and whether AB scores are associated with specific OCD symptom dimensions. Method: Forty-eight OCD patients were assessed in clinical evaluations, intelligence testing and a dot-probe AB paradigm that used neutral and angry faces as stimuli. Analyses were performed with a one-sample t-test, Pearson correlations and linear regression. Results: No evidence of AB was observed in OCD patients, nor was there any association between AB and symptom severity or dimension. Psychiatric comorbidity did not affect our results. Conclusion: In accordance with previous studies, we were unable to detect AB in OCD patients. To investigate whether OCD patients have different brain activation patterns from anxiety disorder patients, future studies using a transdiagnostic approach should evaluate AB in OCD and anxiety disorder patients as they perform AB tasks under functional neuroimaging protocols.

No evidence of attentional bias toward angry faces in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

OBJECTIVE: Although attentional bias (AB) toward angry faces is well established in patients with anxiety disorders, it is still poorly studied in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). We investigated whether OCD patients present AB toward angry faces, whether AB is related to symptom severity and whether AB scores are associated with specific OCD symptom dimensions. METHOD: Forty-eight OCD patients were assessed in clinical evaluations, intelligence testing and a dot-probe AB paradigm that used neutral and angry faces as stimuli. Analyses were performed with a one-sample t-test, Pearson correlations and linear regression. RESULTS: No evidence of AB was observed in OCD patients, nor was there any association between AB and symptom severity or dimension. Psychiatric comorbidity did not affect our results. CONCLUSION: In accordance with previous studies, we were unable to detect AB in OCD patients. To investigate whether OCD patients have different brain activation patterns from anxiety disorder patients, future studies using a transdiagnostic approach should evaluate AB in OCD and anxiety disorder patients as they perform AB tasks under functional neuroimaging protocols.

Overcoming obstacles to creativity in science / Superando obstáculos à criatividade na ciência

Creativity is a crucial issue in science. Scientific research should not be restricted to the logical development and application of known ideas, but should promote new ideas to expand knowledge beyond the existing frontiers. Stimulating scientific creativity means not only giving a boost to creative thinking, but also taking into account the factors that put a brake on creativity. This article is devoted to factors that keep scientific creativity in check and how we could address them. We analyze several obstacles lying inside and outside the researcher's mind. The most important obstacles inside the researcher's mind are epistemological obstacles and cognitive bias (confirmation bias). While the most important obstacle outside are the social norms, i.e. the pressure for the scientific community and, sometimes, the whole society, to conform to the dominant scientific model. We conclude with some proposals to overcome these obstacles.

A criatividade é uma questão crucial na ciência. Sua pesquisa científica não deve se restringir ao desenvolvimento e aplicação lógica de ideias já conhecidas, mas deve promover novas ideias para expandir o conhecimento além das fronteiras existentes. Estimular a criatividade científica significa não apenas estimular o pensamento criativo, mas também levar em conta os fatores que dificultam a criatividade. Este artigo é dedicado aos fatores que mantêm a criatividade científica sob controle e como podemos resolvê-los. Analisamos diversos obstáculos dentro e fora da mente do pesquisador. Os obstáculos mais importantes dentro da mente do pesquisador são os obstáculos epistemológicos e o viés cognitivo (viés de confirmação). Enquanto o obstáculo externo mais importante é composto pelas normas sociais, ou seja, a pressão por parte da comunidade científica e, por vezes, por parte de toda a sociedade, para se adequar ao modelo científico dominante. Concluímos com algumas propostas sobre como superar esses obstáculos.

Tiene género la creatividad? Obstáculos a la excelencia en mujeres / Does creativity have a gender? Obstacles to excellence in women

Es un reto social para la cultura de comienzo del milenio conseguir cuanto antes la presencia, en condiciones de igualdad,de mujeres en actividades de producción creativa. Sin embargo, hasta ahora han sido pocos los trabajos que han abordado la cuestión de la reducida presencia de mujeres en actividades relacionadas con la llamada "big-creativity". En el artículo se analizan los condicionantes sociales que dificultan a las mujeres alcanzar el nivel de excelencia en el desarrollo de sus carreras creativas. Desde el constructo "locus de la creatividad" de Csikszentmihalyi, se argumenta sobre las razones de la dificultad de las mujeres para estar en ese "locus" por la dificultad de acceder a los campos o disciplinas y por la ausencia de reconocimiento de sus aportaciones por parte de los ámbitos, es decir, los responsables de admitir en los campos los nuevas aportaciones, al estar ausentes generalmente las mujeres de los mismos. Se analizan también las formas que toma la discriminación como "el techo de cristal o el efecto tijera". Finalmente se argumenta sobre las dificultades de alcanzar la excelencia debido también a la incorporación que las propias mujeres hacen de los prejuicios que las limitan desde la infancia donde comienza la socialización diferencial entre niños y niñas.

It is a social challenge for the culture of the beginning of the millennium to get as soon as possible the presence, under conditions of equality, of women in activities of creative production. However, until now there have been few works that have addressed the issue of the reduced presence of women in activities related to the so-called "big-creativity". The article analyzes the social constraints that make it difficult for women to reach the level of excellence in the development of their creative careers. From the construct "locus of creativity" of Csikszentmihalyi, it is argued about the reasons for the difficulty of women to be in that "locus" due to the difficulty of accessing domains or disciplines and the lack of recognition of their contributions by the fields, that is, those people responsible for admitting the new contributions in the domain, since women are usually absent from them. The forms taken by discrimination such as the "glass roof" or the "scissors effect" are also analyzed. Finally, it is argued about the difficulties of achieving excellence due also to the incorporation that women themselves make of the prejudices that limit them from childhood, where the differential socialization between boys and girls begins.

Effects of Threat Conditioning on the Negative Valanced Systems and Cognitive Systems.

Threat conditioning is held as a model of anxiety disorders. However, this approach is focused on implicit responses evaluated in a single day. Here, we evaluated negative-valence, positive-valence and cognitive-systems in order to evaluate the extent to which threat conditioning models anxiety disorders. Subjects underwent threat conditioning and five-minutes (Short-term evaluation) or 48 hs (Long-term evaluation) later, both groups performed several tasks targeting cognitive-systems and valenced-systems. In the short-term evaluation, successful conditioning maintained state-anxiety and increased the aversiveness representation of the CS+ and the valuation for negative events. Reaction-times for the CS+ were faster, reflecting an attentional bias toward threat. In the long-term evaluation, participants represented the CS+ as more aversive and generalized to all stimuli. Reaction-times showed a more restricted attentional bias. Threat conditioning alters the negative-valence systems and creates a cognitive bias, which is transformed by memory consolidation, suggesting that this protocol could be a useful resource to understand the deficits associated with anxiety disorders.

Group Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Attention Bias Modification for Childhood Anxiety Disorders: A Factorial Randomized Trial of Efficacy.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study is to assess group differences in symptom reduction between individuals receiving group cognitive behavioral therapy (G-CBT) and attention bias modification (ABM) compared to their respective control interventions, control therapy (CT), and attention control training (ACT), in a 2 × 2 factorial design. METHODS: A total of 310 treatment-naive children (7-11 years of age) were assessed for eligibility and 79 children with generalized, separation or social anxiety disorder were randomized and received G-CBT (n = 42) or CT (n = 37). Within each psychotherapy group, participants were again randomized to ABM (n = 38) or ACT (n = 41) in a 2 × 2 factorial design resulting in four groups: G-CBT + ABM (n = 21), G-CBT + ACT (n = 21), CT + ABM (n = 17), and CT + ACT (n = 20). Primary outcomes were responder designation as defined by Clinical Global Impression-Improvement (CGI-I) scale (≤2) and change on the Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale (PARS). RESULTS: There were significant improvements of symptoms in all groups. No differences in response rates or mean differences in PARS scores were found among groups: G-CBT + ABM group (23.8% response; 3.9 points, 95% confidence interval [CI] -0.3 to 8.1), G-CBT + ACT (42.9% response; 5.6 points, 95% CI 2.2-9.0), CT + ABM (47.1% response; 4.8 points 95% CI 1.08-8.57), and CT + ACT (30% response; 0.8 points, 95% CI -3.0 to 4.7). No evidence or synergic or antagonistic effects were found, but the combination of G-CBT and ABM was found to increase dropout rate. CONCLUSIONS: We found no effect of G-CBT or ABM beyond the effects of comparison groups. Results reveal no benefit from combining G-CBT and ABM for anxiety disorders in children and suggest potential deleterious effects of the combination on treatment acceptability.

Atención Selectiva y sostenida de trabajadores en dos jornadas del día / Selective and sustained attention of workers of two different shifts in the day

Resumen Aun cuando se ha reconocido la importancia del proceso psicológico de la atención por contribuir a la capacidad productiva y la consecución de resultados eficientes y eficaces durante el desarrollo de diversas tareas cotidianas, no ha sido suficientemente estudiado en trabajadores de empresas u organizaciones. Esta investigación buscó identificar cómo es la atención selectiva y sostenida de los trabajadores en dos jornadas diferentes del día (mañana y tarde); adicionalmente, se exploró si variables como la edad, escolaridad y género afectan el desempeño. Se aplicó el programa computarizado Vienna Test System subprueba cognitron forma S1 a 184 trabajadores de una universidad. Los datos fueron analizados mediante un modelo de regresión y prueba t para muestras independientes. Los hallazgos mostraron que la atención selectiva es mayor en horas de la mañana, mientras que la atención sostenida se mantiene a lo largo del día. En cuanto a las otras variables analizadas, se evidenció que la edad fue la única predictora del rendimiento, por cuanto a menor edad mejores desempeños. Estos resultados aportan para la planeación de actividades en el ámbito laboral y complementa los estudios en el área de los procesos psicológicos básicos.

Abstract Although the importance of the psychological process of attention and how it to contributes productive capacity and achieving efficient and effective results during the development of daily tasks has been recognized, it has not been sufficiently studied in workers of companies or organizations. This research sought to identify what selective and sustained attention is like in the workers to two different shifts in the day (morning and afternoon); Additional variables such as age, schooling and gender were investigated to see if they affected performance. We applied the computer program Vienna Test System sub-test cognition form S1 to 184 university workers. Data was analyzed using a regression model and t-test for independent samples. The findings showed that selective attention is greater in the morning, while sustained attention is maintained throughout the day. As for the other variables analyzed, it was evidenced that age was the only predictor of performance, as workers of a younger age performed better. These results contribute to the planning of activities in the workplace and complements the studies in the area of the basic psychological processes.

Less is more: Patient-level meta-analysis reveals paradoxical dose-response effects of a computer-based social anxiety intervention targeting attentional bias.

BACKGROUND: The past decade of research has seen considerable interest in computer-based approaches designed to directly target cognitive mechanisms of anxiety, such as attention bias modification (ABM). METHODS: By pooling patient-level datasets from randomized controlled trials of ABM that utilized a dot-probe training procedure, we assessed the impact of training "dose" on relevant outcomes among a pooled sample of 693 socially anxious adults. RESULTS: A paradoxical effect of the number of training trials administered was observed for both posttraining social anxiety symptoms and behavioral attentional bias (AB) toward threat (the target mechanism of ABM). Studies administering a large (>1,280) number of training trials showed no benefit of ABM over control conditions, while those administering fewer training trials showed significant benefit for ABM in reducing social anxiety (P = .02). These moderating effects of dose were not better explained by other examined variables and previously identified moderators, including patient age, training setting (laboratory vs. home), or type of anxiety assessment (clinician vs. self-report). CONCLUSIONS: Findings inform the optimal dosing for future dot-probe style ABM applications in both research and clinical settings, and suggest several novel avenues for further research.

Attentional bias toward infant faces - Review of the adaptive and clinical relevance.

Human survival depends on care received early in life. Infants need to capture adults' attention to have their basic needs met. Therefore, infant stimuli are prioritized by the attention system in adults, resulting in an attentional bias toward infant faces. We conducted a systematic review of the literature on behavioral measures of attentional bias toward infant faces. PubMed, PsycINFO, and ISI Web of Knowledge databases were used. The review suggests the existence of a measurable attentional bias toward infant faces and a positive correlation between attentional bias toward infant distress and the quality of mother-infant relationship. Depressive symptoms and breastfeeding modulate this behavior in women. Parental status and sex also influence the attentional prioritization of infant faces. Evidence indicates that differences in attentional bias are associated with clinical symptoms and variations in maternal behavior, reinforcing the potential use of attentional bias as a behavioral marker of clinical outcomes.

Attentional bias to unhealthy food in individuals with severe obesity and binge eating.

Attentional bias is an implicit cognition relevant to development and maintenance of obesity, but little is known of how binge eating modulates attentional bias in severe obesity. This study investigated attentional bias towards unhealthy foods at different stages of attentional processing in a clinical sample, comparing obese patients (Body Mass Index, BMI>35 kg/m2) with and without binge eating behaviors. Participants were separated into two groups according to their score on the Binge Eating Scale (BES): no binge eating (NB; score ≤17; n = 23) and binge eating (BE; score > 17; n = 19). Participants performed a computerized visual probe task designed to evaluate attentional bias in different stages of attentional process; matching pairs of unhealthy food and matching non-food pictures concealed a target for 100, 500 or 2000 ms. Reduced reaction times to targets following food-related images are indicative of attentional bias towards food images. BE group exhibited a greater bias towards food than NB. Both groups showed positive attentional bias to food in the initial orientation stage (100 ms), whereas bias was close to zero in the maintenance of attention stage (2000 ms), suggesting ambivalent approach-avoidance responses to food stimuli. Only the BE group showed a bias towards food images when displayed for 500 ms, indicating disengaging from food-related stimuli was faster in NB group. Although both groups were ambivalent about attending to food cues, slower attentional disengagement from unhealthy food might be a cognitive marker of binge eating behavior in severe obesity.

Association between irritability and bias in attention orienting to threat in children and adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Irritability, a frequent complaint in children with psychiatric disorders, reflects increased predisposition to anger. Preliminary work in pediatric clinical samples links irritability to attention bias to threat, and the current study examines this association in a large population-based sample. METHODS: We studied 1,872 children (ages 6-14) using the Development and Well-Being Assessment (DAWBA), Childhood Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and dot-probe tasks. Irritability was defined using CBCL items that assessed temper tantrums and hot temper. The dot-probe task assessed attention biases for threat-related (angry face) stimuli. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess specificity of associations to irritability when adjusting for demographic variables and co-occurring psychiatric traits. Propensity score matching analysis was used to increase causal inference when matching for demographic variables and co-occurring psychiatric traits. RESULTS: Irritability was associated with increased attention bias toward threat-related cues. Multiple regression analysis suggests associations between irritability and threat bias are independent from demographic variables, anxiety, and externalizing traits (attention-deficit/hyperactivity, conduct, and headstrong/hurtful), but not from broad internalizing symptoms. Propensity score matching analysis indicated that this association was found for irritable versus nonirritable groups matched on demographic and co-occurring traits including internalizing symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Irritability in children is associated with biased attention toward threatening information. This finding, if replicated, warrants further investigation to examine the extent to which it contributes to chronic irritability and to explore possible treatment implications.

Attentional bias to threat in children at-risk for emotional disorders: role of gender and type of maternal emotional disorder.

Previous studies suggested that threat biases underlie familial risk for emotional disorders in children. However, major questions remain concerning the moderating role of the offspring gender and the type of parental emotional disorder on this association. This study addresses these questions in a large sample of boys and girls. Participants were 6-12 years old (at screening) typically developing children participating in the High Risk Cohort Study for Psychiatric Disorders (n = 1280; 606 girls, 674 boys). Children were stratified according to maternal emotional disorder (none; mood disorder; anxiety disorder; comorbid anxiety/mood disorder) and gender. Attention biases were assessed using a dot-probe paradigm with threat, happy and neutral faces. A significant gender-by-parental emotional disorder interaction predicted threat bias, independent of anxiety and depression symptoms in children. Daughters of mothers with an emotional disorder showed increased attention to threat compared with daughters of disorder-free mothers, irrespective of the type of maternal emotion disorder. In contrast, attention bias to threat in boys only occurred in mothers with a non-comorbid mood disorder. No group differences were found for biases for happy-face cues. Gender and type of maternal emotional disorder predict attention bias in disorder-free children. This highlights the need for longitudinal research to clarify whether this pattern of threat-attention bias in children relates to the risk of developing anxiety and mood disorders later in life.