Can't Look Away: An Eye-Tracking Based Attentional Disengagement Training for Depression

Gina R A Ferrari, Martin Möbius, Amras van Opdorp, Eni S Becker, Mike Rinck, Gina R A Ferrari, Martin Möbius, Amras van Opdorp, Eni S Becker, Mike Rinck

Abstract

To address shortcomings of purely reaction-time based attentional bias modification (ABM) paradigms, we developed an ABM task that is controlled by eye-tracking. This task allows to assess and train both disengagement from negative pictures and maintained attention to positive pictures. As a proof-of-principle study with an unselected student sample, this positive training (PT; N = 44) was compared to a negative training (NT; N = 42), which reinforced the opposite attentional pattern. Importantly, training trials were completed only if participants performed the correct gaze patterns. Results showed that higher depression levels were associated with slower disengagement from negative stimuli at baseline. As expected, the PT induced longer fixations on positive pictures and faster disengagement from negative pictures. The NT showed no changes in attentional processes. The groups did not differ in mood reactivity and recovery from a stressor. Advantages of using eye-tracking in ABM and potential applications of the training are discussed.

Keywords: Attentional bias modification; Attentional disengagement; Depression; Eye-tracking; Stress.

Conflict of interest statement

Compliance with Ethical StandardsConflict of InterestGina R. A. Ferrari, Martin Möbius, Amras van Opdorp, Eni S. Becker, and Mike Rinck declare that they have no conflict of interest.Informed ConsentAll procedures performed in the study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee of the Behavioural Science Institute of Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.Animal RightsNo animal studies were carried out by the authors for this article.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Schematic overview of the task design. On each trial of the Positive Training (PT), a fixation cross is presented. Upon fixation (500 ms), two negative and two positive pictures appear. a On negative (PT: disengagement) trials, participants have to disengage their attention from the fixated negative picture and fixate one of the two positive pictures. b On positive (PT: maintained attention) trials, attention has to be maintained at the fixated positive picture or at the other positive picture. a, b Upon fixation of a positive picture for 1000 ms, all pictures disappear and an arrow replaces the fixated picture. Participants respond to arrow direction by pressing a key. The arrow then disappears and a new trial starts. During the Negative Training (NT) not shown here, exactly the opposite attentional patterns are reinforced. c The free viewing task (assessment) is similar to the training, however, all trials last 3000 ms and no probe is presented. Note. This figure contains sample images, which have not been used in the current study. All images were obtained from Flickr and were published under a Creative Commons license. The formats of the images were slightly adapted for this figure. Credits: top left, Joe deSousa, CC0 1.0; top right, West Point—The U.S. Military Academy, CC BY 2.0; bottom left, Steven Depolo, CC BY 2.0; bottom right, bettyx1138, CC BY 2.0. For license terms see, CC0 1.0 (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/); CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)

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