Does change in attention control mediate the impact of tDCS on attentional bias for threat? Limited evidence from a double-blind sham-controlled experiment in an unselected sample

in Psychologica Belgica (2019), 59(1), 16-32

Neurocognitive models of attentional bias for threat posit that attentional bias may result from a decreased activation of the left prefrontal cortex, and especially of its dorsolateral part (dlPFC ... [more ▼]

Neurocognitive models of attentional bias for threat posit that attentional bias may result from a decreased activation of the left prefrontal cortex, and especially of its dorsolateral part (dlPFC), resulting in an impaired attention control. Consequently, a transient increase of neural activity within the left dlPFC via non-invasive brain stimulation reduces attentional bias among both anxious and nonanxious participants. Yet, it is still unclear whether the impact of dlPFC activation on attentional bias is mediated by improvement in attention control. In this experiment, we sought to test this hypothesis in an unselected sample (n = 20). Accordingly, we adopted a double-blind within-subject protocol in which we delivered a single-session of anodal versus sham transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) over the left dlPFC during the completion of a task assessing attention control. We also assessed its subsequent impact on attentional bias. Neither attention control nor attentional bias did significantly improve following anodal tDCS. Although our results did not support our main hypothesis, we believe the present null results to be particularly useful for future meta-research in the field. We also formulated a series of methodological recommendations for future research aiming at testing the tDCS-induced modification of attentional bias. [less ▲]

Let’s Open the Decision-Making Umbrella: A Framework for Conceptualizing and Assessing Features of Impaired Decision Making in Addiction

in Neuropsychology Review (2019), 29(1), 27-51

Decision-making impairments play a pivotal role in the emergence and maintenance of addictive disorders. However, a sound conceptualization of decision making as an umbrella construct, encompassing its ... [more ▼]

Decision-making impairments play a pivotal role in the emergence and maintenance of addictive disorders. However, a sound conceptualization of decision making as an umbrella construct, encompassing its cognitive, affective, motivational, and physiological subcomponents, is still lacking. This prevents an efficient evaluation of the heterogeneity of decision-making impairments and the development of tailored treatment. This paper thus unfolds the various processes involved in decision making by adopting a critical approach of prominent dual- or triadic-process models, which postulate that decision making is influenced by the interplay of impulsive-automatic, reflective-controlled, and interoceptive processes. Our approach also focuses on social cognition processes, which play a crucial role in decision making and addictive disorders but were largely ignored in previous dual- or triadic-process models. We propose here a theoretical framework in which a range of coordinated processes are first identified on the basis of their theoretical and clinical relevance. Each selected process is then defined before reviewing available results underlining its role in addictive disorders (i.e., substance use, gambling, and gaming disorders). Laboratory tasks for measuring each process are also proposed, initiating a preliminary process-based decision-making assessment battery. This original approach may offer an especially informative view of the constitutive features of decision making impairments in addiction. As prior research has implicated these features as risk factors for the development and maintenance of addictive disorders, our processual approach sets the scene for novel and transdiagnostic experimental and applied research avenues [less ▲]

Behavioural Addiction Open Definition 2.0 – Using the open science framework for collaborative and transparent theoretical development

in Addiction (2017), 112(10), 1723-1724

Correlates of social exclusion in social anxiety Disorder: An fMRI study

in Scientific Reports (2017), 7

Cognitive models posit that social anxiety disorder (SAD) is maintained by biased informationprocessing vis-à-vis threat of social exclusion. However, uncertainty still abounds regarding the very nature ... [more ▼]

Cognitive models posit that social anxiety disorder (SAD) is maintained by biased informationprocessing vis-à-vis threat of social exclusion. However, uncertainty still abounds regarding the very nature of this sensitivity to social exclusion in SAD. Especially, brain alterations related to social exclusion have not been explored in SAD. Our primary purpose was thus to determine both the selfreport and neural correlates of social exclusion in this population. 23 patients with SAD and 23 matched nonanxious controls played a virtual game (“Cyberball”) during fMRI recording. Participants were frst included by other players, then excluded, and fnally re-included. At the behavioral level, patients with SAD exhibited signifcantly higher levels of social exclusion feelings than nonanxious controls. At the brain level, patients with SAD exhibited signifcantly higher activation within the left inferior frontal gyrus relative to nonanxious controls during the re-inclusion phase. Moreover, self-report of social exclusion correlates with the activity of this cluster among individuals qualifying for SAD diagnosis. Our pattern of fndings lends strong support to the notion that SAD may be better portrayed by a poor ability to recover following social exclusion than during social exclusion per se. These fndings value social neuroscience as an innovative procedure to gain new insight into the underlying mechanisms of SAD. [less ▲]

Differential impairments across attentional networks in binge drinking.

in Psychopharmacology (2017), 234

RATIONALE: The cognitive deficits observed in young binge drinkers have been largely documented during the last decade. Yet, these earlier studies have mainly focused on high-level cognitive abilities ... [more ▼]

RATIONALE: The cognitive deficits observed in young binge drinkers have been largely documented during the last decade. Yet, these earlier studies have mainly focused on high-level cognitive abilities (particularly memory and executive functions), and uncertainty thus still abounds regarding the integrity of less complex cognitive processes in binge drinking. This is particularly true for attentional abilities, which play a crucial role in behavior regulation and are impaired in other alcohol-related disorders. OBJECTIVES AND METHODS: To specify the attentional deficits associated with binge drinking, two groups of university students (40 binge drinkers and 40 matched controls) performed the Attention Network Task, a theoretically grounded test assessing three independent attentional networks: alerting, orienting, and executive control. RESULTS: Binge drinkers displayed preserved orienting performance but impaired alerting and executive control. Binge drinking is thus not related to a general attentional impairment but rather to specific impairments of the alerting and executive control networks. CONCLUSIONS: These results underline that, beyond the already explored high-level deficits, binge drinking is also related to impairments for attentional abilities. In view of the role played by attentional impairments in alcohol dependence, the present data also suggest that rehabilitation programs should be developed to improve attentional abilities at the early stages of alcohol-related disorders. [less ▲]

Abstract and concrete repetitive thinking modes in alcohol-dependence.

in Journal of addictive diseases (2016), 35(4), 238-243

Emotional and interpersonal deficits play a crucial role in alcohol-related disorders as they predict alcohol consumption and relapse. Recent models of emotion regulation in psychopathology postulate that ... [more ▼]

Emotional and interpersonal deficits play a crucial role in alcohol-related disorders as they predict alcohol consumption and relapse. Recent models of emotion regulation in psychopathology postulate that these deficits are centrally related to increased abstract/analytic repetitive thinking, combined with reduced concrete/experiential repetitive thinking. As this assumption has not been tested in addictions, this study aimed at investigating repetitive thinking modes in a large sample of alcohol-dependent individuals. One hundred recently detoxified alcohol-dependent individuals (29 females; mean age = 49.51-years-old) recruited during the 3rd week of their treatment in a detoxification center were compared to 100 healthy controls (29 females; mean age = 48.51-years-old) recruited in the experimenters' social network, matched at the group level for age, gender, and educational level. All participants completed the Mini Cambridge Exeter Repetitive Thought Scale measuring abstract/analytic and concrete/experiential repetitive thinking modes as well as complementary psychopathological measures (Beck Depression Inventory and State/Trait Anxiety Inventory). Alcohol-dependent individuals have similar levels of concrete repetitive thinking as controls but report significantly higher levels of abstract repetitive thinking (p < 0.001; d = 1.28). This effect remains significant after controlling for depression and anxiety. Relative to healthy controls, alcohol-dependent patients report more frequent use of abstract/analytic repetitive thinking, with preserved concrete/experiential thinking. Despite the cross-sectional nature of the study, the frequent use of abstract repetitive thinking thus appears to constitute a main feature of alcohol-dependence. [less ▲]

Are we overpathologizing everyday life? A tenable blueprint for behavioral addiction research.

in Journal of Behavioral Addictions (2015), 4(3), 119-23

Background Behavioral addiction research has been particularly flourishing over the last two decades. However, recent publications have suggested that nearly all daily life activities might lead to a ... [more ▼]

Background Behavioral addiction research has been particularly flourishing over the last two decades. However, recent publications have suggested that nearly all daily life activities might lead to a genuine addiction. Methods and aim In this article, we discuss how the use of atheoretical and confirmatory research approaches may result in the identification of an unlimited list of "new" behavioral addictions. Results Both methodological and theoretical shortcomings of these studies were discussed. Conclusions We suggested that studies overpathologizing daily life activities are likely to prompt a dismissive appraisal of behavioral addiction research. Consequently, we proposed several roadmaps for future research in the field, centrally highlighting the need for longer tenable behavioral addiction research that shifts from a mere criteria-based approach toward an approach focusing on the psychological processes involved. [less ▲]

Attentional alterations in alcohol dependence are underpinned by specific executive control deficits.

in Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research (2014), 38(7), 2105-12

BACKGROUND: Attentional biases and deficits play a central role in the development and maintenance of alcohol dependence, but the underlying attentional processes accounting for these deficits have been ... [more ▼]

BACKGROUND: Attentional biases and deficits play a central role in the development and maintenance of alcohol dependence, but the underlying attentional processes accounting for these deficits have been very little explored. Importantly, the differential alterations across the 3 attentional networks (alerting, orienting, and executive control) remain unclear in this pathology. METHODS: Thirty recently detoxified alcohol-dependent individuals and 30 paired controls completed the Attention Network Test, which allow exploring the attentional alterations specifically related to the 3 attentional networks. RESULTS: Alcohol-dependent individuals presented globally delayed reaction times compared to controls. More centrally, they showed a differential deficit across attention networks, with a preserved performance for alerting and orienting networks but impaired executive control (p < 0.001). This deficit was not related to psychopathological comorbidities but was positively correlated with the duration of alcohol-dependence habits, the number of previous detoxification treatments and the mean alcohol consumption before detoxification. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that attentional alterations in alcohol dependence are centrally due to a specific alteration of executive control. Intervention programs focusing on executive components of attention should be promoted, and these results support the frontal lobe hypothesis. [less ▲]

Is there an all-embracing construct of emotion reactivity? Adaptation and validation of the emotion reactivity scale among a French-speaking community sample.

in Comprehensive psychiatry (2014), 55(8), 1960-7

BACKGROUND: Emotion reactivity is defined as the extent to which an individual experiences emotions in response to a wide array of stimuli, intensely, and for a prolonged period. This construct is a key ... [more ▼]

BACKGROUND: Emotion reactivity is defined as the extent to which an individual experiences emotions in response to a wide array of stimuli, intensely, and for a prolonged period. This construct is a key psychological factor in the development and maintenance of psychopathological disorders. The aim of the current study was to develop and validate a French version of the Emotion Reactivity Scale (ERS), which gauges three aspects of emotion reactivity: (1) emotional sensitivity, (2) emotional intensity, and (3) emotional persistence. METHOD: The French ERS and both concurrent and divergent validated scales were administered to 258 participants from the community. RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analyses revealed good fit indices for: (1) a single-factor model, (2) a three-factor model, and (3) a hierarchical three-factor solution with a single-factor solution as a second-order latent variable for a generic construct of emotion reactivity. The French version of the Emotion Reactivity Scale also exhibits acceptable internal scale score reliability (total scale and subscales). Eventually, meaningful relationships were found between factors of emotion reactivity and depression, distinct aspects of impulsive behaviors, and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies. CONCLUSION: Findings of the confirmatory factor analyses are consistent with previous studies suggesting that the ERS is mainly captured by a single major construct of emotion reactivity. [less ▲]

Assessment and treatment of Tourette Syndrome: An evidence-based review.

in Revue Francophone de Clinique Comportementale et Cognitive (2012)