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Attention bias variability may be useful biomarker of PTSD

Attention bias variability may be a useful cognitive biomarker of PTSD, according to study findings in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

“Recent research suggests that greater attention bias variability, that is, attention fluctuations alternating toward and away from threat, occurs in participants with PTSD relative to healthy comparison subjects who were either exposed or not exposed to traumatic events. The current study extends findings on attention bias variability in PTSD,” Reut Naim, MA, of Tel Aviv University, and colleagues wrote.

Attention bias variability of PTSD was assessed among seven independent data sets: 37 individuals with combat PTSD from the Israel Defense Forces post-trauma treatment unit (mean age, 36.1 years); 28 with PTSD related to motor vehicle accidents (mean age, 34.8 years); 41 Israel Defense Forces male infantry soldiers with combat acute stress disorder (mean age, 18.4 years); 83 U.S. Army soldiers without PTSD but exposed to traumatic events during deployment (aged 18 to more than 30 years); 91 individuals with social anxiety disorder (mean age, 31.7 years); 70 undergraduate students with normative anxiety levels (mean age, 22.9 years); and 21 students with high trait anxiety levels (mean age, 23.3 years). Data on attention bias variability were collected via dot-probe tasks and researchers used a moving average technique to measure variability.

Participants with PTSD following various types of traumatic events exhibited greater attention bias variability compared with healthy participants and participants with social anxiety disorder or acute stress disorder.

Threat-related attention bias variability, as opposed to positive attention bias variability, was associated with PTSD severity.

“Our findings offer a new perspective on threat-related attention processes in PTSD, suggesting elevated attention bias variability as a marker of this psychopathology. Furthermore, attention bias variability can be easily calculated and offers a new approach to data analysis of attention bias tasks, looking at fluctuations in attention while monitoring threat over time in addition to giving a single read of attention bias directionality,” the researchers wrote. “Importantly, attention bias variability could be calculated by using extant dot-probe data in order to address a variety of critical questions related to PTSD as well as other psychopathologies.”– by Amanda Oldt

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.