A randomized controlled trial of supervised remotely-delivered attention bias modification for posttraumatic stress disorder.

BACKGROUND: Many individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have limited access to first-line treatments, warranting the development of remotely-delivered treatments. Attention bias modification (ABM), targeting perturbed threat-related attentional patterns, shows promise when delivered in-person. However, previous studies found ABM to be ineffective when delivered remotely. Randomized clinical trials usually applied two variations of ABM: ABM away from threat or attention control training (ACT) balancing attention between threat-related and neutral stimuli. We tested remotely-delivered ACT/ABM with tighter supervision and video-based interactions that resemble in-clinic protocols. We expected to replicate the results of in-clinic trials, in which ACT outperformed ABM for PTSD. METHODS: In this double-blinded, parallel-group randomized controlled trial, 60 patients diagnosed with PTSD were randomized (ABM n = 30; ACT n = 30). Patients performed eight bi-weekly remotely-delivered supervised ABM/ACT sessions. Symptoms were assessed pre- and post-treatment with Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale 5 (CAPS-5) severity score and PTSD diagnosis as the primary outcomes. Current depressive episode, current anxiety-related comorbidity, and time elapsed since the trauma were examined as potential moderators of treatment outcome. RESULTS: Significant decrease in CAPS-5 severity scores and PTSD diagnosis was observed following both ACT and ABM with no between-group difference. Patients without depression or whose trauma occurred more recently had greater symptom reduction in the ACT than the ABM group. CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to our expectation, symptoms decreased similarly following ACT and ABM. Moderator analyses suggest advantage for ACT in non-depressed patients and patients whose trauma occurred more recently. Further refinements in remotely-delivered ABM/ACT may be needed.

Validity of Attention Bias Variability Indices for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research: Evidence From Patient Data.

Although initial findings indicated that threat-related attention bias variability (ABV), an index designed to capture dynamic shifts in threat-related attention over time, was positively correlated with the severity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, a recent study relying on simulated data has raised questions regarding the validity and empirical utility of ABV. Specifically, the simulations suggested that core features of reaction time data distinct from threat-related attention bias, such as the reaction time standard deviation and mean, could explicate the reported elevated ABV among samples with PTSD. In the present study, we evaluated these suggestions in 95 PTSD-diagnosed participants. The results showed that ABV significantly and uniquely predicted PTSD symptom severity beyond the predictive value of core reaction time features, ΔR2 = .05-.23. Some of the predictions stemming from the simulated results were replicated, whereas others were not. Contrary to the conclusion drawn from the simulated data, the results from the current study suggest that ABV is a valid and replicable correlate of PTSD symptom severity.

Spanish Abstracts by Asociación Chilena de Estrés Traumático (ACET) La validez de los índices de variabilidad del sesgo de atención para la investigación del TEPT: Evidencia sobre los datos de los pacientes VALIDEZ DE LA VARIABILIDAD DEL SESGO ATENCIONAL EN EL TEPT Aunque los hallazgos iniciales indicaron que la variabilidad del sesgo de atención (ABV en su sigla en inglés) relacionada con la amenaza, un índice diseñado para capturar cambios dinámicos en la atención relacionada con la amenaza a lo largo del tiempo, que se correlacionó positivamente con la gravedad de los síntomas del trastorno de estrés postraumático (TEPT), un estudio reciente basado en datos simulados ha planteado preguntas sobre la validez y la utilidad empírica del ABV. Específicamente, las simulaciones sugirieron que las características centrales de los datos del tiempo de reacción distintas del sesgo de atención relacionado con la amenaza, como la desviación estándar y la media del tiempo de reacción, podrían explicar el aumento del ABV reportado entre las muestras con el TEPT. En el presente estudio, evaluamos estas sugerencias en 95 participantes con diagnóstico del TEPT. Los resultados mostraron que ABV predijo de manera significativa y única la gravedad de los síntomas del TEPT más allá del valor predictivo de las características centrales del tiempo de reacción, ΔR2 = .05 - .23. Algunas de las predicciones derivadas de los resultados simulados se replicaron, mientras que otras no. Contrariamente a la conclusión extraída de los datos simulados, los resultados del estudio actual sugieren que la ABV es un correlato válido y replicable de la gravedad de los síntomas del TEPT.

Eye-tracking indices of attention allocation and attention bias variability are differently related to trauma exposure and PTSD.

Amplified attention allocation to negative information in one's environment has been implicated in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Attention bias variability (ABV), the magnitude of attention fluctuation between negative and neutral cues, has also been found to be elevated in PTSD. While eye-tracking methodology has been used in research on attention allocation in PTSD, ABV was only explored using manual reaction-time-based indices. Thirty-seven participants with PTSD, 34 trauma-exposed healthy controls (TEHC), and 30 non-exposed healthy controls (HC) completed an eye-tracking free-viewing task in which matrices comprised of neutral and negatively-valenced faces were presented. Threat-related attention allocation was calculated as the proportion of dwell time (DT%) on negatively-valenced faces. Eye-tracking-based ABV was calculated as the standard deviation of DT% across matrices. DT% on negatively-valenced faces was greater in participants with PTSD compared to both TEHC (p = .036, d = 0.50) and HC (p < .001, d = 1.03), with TEHCs showing a greater attentional bias compared to HCs (p = .001, d = 0.84). Controlling for average fixation duration, ABV was higher in both the PTSD and TEHC groups relative to the HC group (p = .004, d = 0.40), with no difference between the two trauma-exposed groups. Biased attention allocation toward negative social information is related to PTSD pathology, whereas elevated ABV measured with eye-tracking appear to be related to trauma-exposure per-se.

Statistical learning as a predictor of attention bias modification outcome: A preliminary study among socially anxious patients.

Attention bias modification (ABM) is a novel therapy designed to modulate attentional biases towards threat typically observed among anxious individuals. Bias modification is allegedly achieved via extraction of a statistical regularity embedded within the treatment task. However, no prior study examined prediction of ABM therapeutic response in relation to patients' capacity to extract statistical properties from the environment, a capacity known as "statistical learning". Here, 30 treatment-seeking patients with social anxiety disorder completed a gold-standard statistical learning task at baseline and then received six sessions of ABM therapy. Results indicate that baseline statistical learning capacity predicts treatment outcome: the better patients' statistical learning capacity, the greater their reduction in clinician-rated and self-reported social anxiety symptoms. Restricted capacities for statistical learning could account for the moderate effect sizes of ABM therapy in clinical trials. Poor response may occur in patients who fail to extract the underlying contingency embedded in ABM.