University of Tübingen, Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Tübingen, Germany.
Psychiatry Res. 2013 Sep 30;209(2):180-5. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2012.11.011. Epub 2012 Dec 6.
There is a wealth of evidence demonstrating an attentional bias to threat-related information in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other anxiety disorders. However, there is an ongoing debate whether an enhanced identification of threatening information or rather difficulties to disengage from such signals of danger constitute this bias. The present study used a dual target rapid visual presentation paradigm to examine the temporal allocation of attention to facial expressions of anger and happiness in 16 Palestinian victims of torture with PTSD and 16 control subjects. Findings revealed that signals of threat seem to interfere with already processed information in individuals suffering from PTSD. In contrast, PTSD does not facilitate attention to threatening information. The data provide support for detrimental disengagement as an underlying mechanism of the attentional bias toward threat in PTSD, possibly contributing to symptom development and maintenance.
有大量证据表明，创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）和其他焦虑障碍患者存在对威胁相关信息的注意力偏向。然而，目前仍存在争议，即这种偏向是由于对威胁信息的识别能力增强，还是由于难以摆脱这种危险信号。本研究使用双重目标快速视觉呈现范式，在 16 名患有 PTSD 的巴勒斯坦酷刑受害者和 16 名对照受试者中，检查了对愤怒和幸福面部表情的注意力的时间分配。研究结果表明，威胁信号似乎会干扰 PTSD 患者已经处理过的信息。相比之下，PTSD 并不会促进对威胁信息的注意力。这些数据支持了有害脱离作为 PTSD 对威胁注意力偏向的潜在机制，这可能有助于症状的发展和维持。
