Zhang Han, Xue Xinrong, Wen Jialin, Li Yongyi, Fan Chuan, Ma Lijun, Wang Huixue, Zhang Mi, Zhang Shuyu, Hu Die, Wang Kai, Li Xiaoming
Department of Medical Psychology, School of Mental Health and Psychological Science, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.
Department of Psychiatry, Chaohu Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China.
Front Psychiatry. 2024 Oct 16;15:1449946. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1449946. eCollection 2024.
Hypnotherapy has a potential role in modulating attention bias to treat social anxiety disorder (SAD). This study aimed to verify whether hypnotherapy can reduce social anxiety by changing attentional bias. The primary objective of our study is to explore the influence of hypnosis on various aspects of attention processes, specifically focusing on how it affects attention bias and social anxiety.
This study included 69 participants with SAD who were assigned to three groups based on their scores on the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS). The experimental group (n = 23) received a hypnosis treatment once a week, for a total of six sessions, while the control group (n = 23) and the baseline group (n = 23) did not receive any treatment. To evaluate whether hypnosis could alleviate SAD and attention bias towards threatening stimuli, we employed questionnaires and an odd-one-out task accompanied by electroencephalography (EEG) recordings.
Under the attention sensitivity conditions, the experimental group exhibited a reduced N170 and LPP at the posttest stage, and a similar N170 and LPP reduction under the attention disengagement conditions. Notably, the symptom improvements were positively correlated with the reduction in N170 and LPP amplitude across conditions.
Hypnosis treatment modulates the early face processing and late emotional evaluation of threat-related stimuli in SAD patients. These findings suggest that N170 and LPP are important biomarkers for the treatment of SAD.
催眠疗法在调节注意力偏向以治疗社交焦虑障碍（SAD）方面具有潜在作用。本研究旨在验证催眠疗法是否能通过改变注意力偏向来减轻社交焦虑。我们研究的主要目的是探讨催眠对注意力过程各个方面的影响，特别关注其如何影响注意力偏向和社交焦虑。
本研究纳入了69名患有社交焦虑障碍的参与者，他们根据莱博维茨社交焦虑量表（LSAS）的得分被分为三组。实验组（n = 23）每周接受一次催眠治疗，共六次，而对照组（n = 23）和基线组（n = 23）未接受任何治疗。为了评估催眠是否能减轻社交焦虑障碍以及对威胁性刺激的注意力偏向，我们采用了问卷调查和一项伴有脑电图（EEG）记录的奇一偶任务。
在注意力敏感条件下，实验组在测试后期表现出N170和LPP降低，在注意力脱离条件下也有类似的N170和LPP降低。值得注意的是，症状改善与不同条件下N170和LPP振幅的降低呈正相关。
催眠治疗可调节社交焦虑障碍患者对威胁相关刺激的早期面部处理和晚期情绪评估。这些发现表明，N170和LPP是治疗社交焦虑障碍的重要生物标志物。
