State and trait attentional biases and the role of attentional control in obsessive-compulsive disorder: An eye-tracking study using idiosyncratic material
Final Report Abstract
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a heterogenous disorder, as obsessions and compulsions often vary greatly from person to person. OCD is thought to be associated with certain attentional biases, which may play a role in the development and maintenance of the disorder. Yet, previous studies on attentional biases in OCD have produced mixed results. These inconsistencies may be related to various methodological limitations in previous studies, e.g., low reliability and validity of measures and material, limitation to just one subtype in OCD, no clinical control group. To overcome those limitations, the present study used eye-tracking technology to capture reliable patterns of attention over longer periods of time. We included individuals with OCD with very different OCD symptoms and analyzed the attentional biases in relation to the images that were relevant to the individual’s OCD symptoms (idiosyncratic material). In addition, we included a non-clinical control group and a group with spider phobia (or high anxiety of spiders) to investigate the specificity of the attentional biases for OCD. In addition, we assessed whether the relationship between OCD symptoms and attentional biases is influenced by the ability to control attention and the current experience of stress. Our results did not support the presence of attentional biases in participants with OCD, when idiosyncratically OCD-relevant stimuli are compared to negative or neutral stimuli. Furthermore, no between-group difference emerged between participants with OCD and non-clinical controls. Participants with spider phobia (or high anxiety of spiders) showed the expected biases that have also been demonstrated in previous studies. They attended to spider material quicker and looked away quicker compared to negative and neutral material. Thereby, the participants with spider phobia (or high anxiety of spiders) differed from participants with OCD. Of note, only ~20% of pictures that were considered as OCD-related (i.e., derived from image databases depicting OCD-related scenes) were considered idiosyncratically relevant by the participants with OCD. The analyses for the moderating effect of attentional control and the current experience of stress are not yet completed. In summary, by overcoming limitations of previous studies, our study used a reliable paradigm with idiosyncratic stimulus material to assess attentional biases in participants with OCD presenting with diverse subtypes. Other than expected, no attentional biases on idiosyncratically disorder-relevant material was evident. This raises questions about the assumption that attentional biases play a critical role in OCD’s development or maintenance in general. Future research could investigate whether attentional biases are more relevant in specific subtypes of OCD. Considering that only ~20% of pictures were relevant for the individual OCD symptoms, underscores the importance of individualized stimuli for future research.
Publications
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Validation of a German Version of the 12-Item Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (OCI-12). Poster presentation at the „1. Deutschen Psychotherapiekongress“, Berlin, 2022.
Müller, C. L., Fink-Lamotte, J., Lohse, L., Wahl-Kordon, A., Borgelt, J., McKay, D., Abramowitz, J. S., Ehring, T., Abramovitch, A., Jelinek, L. & Cludius, B.
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Deciphering Attentional Biases in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: An Eye-Tracking Study With Idiosyncratic Material. Poster presentation at the Eye-Movement Summer School, Athens, 2024.
Müller, C. L., Ehinger, B. V., Ehring, T. & Cludius, B.
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„Diagnostik und Behandlung der Zwangsstörung: Perspektiven der Verhaltenstherapie und Psychodynamischen Verfahren.“ 3. Deutscher Psychotherapiekongress, Berlin, 2024.
Barbara Cludius
