Examining attentional avoidance in post-traumatic stress disorder: an exploratory ‘Face in the Crowd’ paradigm using eye-tracking
Background: Maladaptive patterns of attention to emotional stimuli are a clinical feature of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Using eye-tracking-based methodology, research points out the presence of sustained attention to threatening stimuli in individuals with PTSD. However, most eye-tracking...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
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| Series: | European Journal of Psychotraumatology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/20008066.2025.2462489 |
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| author | Wivine Blekic Mandy Rossignol Fabien D’Hondt |
| author_facet | Wivine Blekic Mandy Rossignol Fabien D’Hondt |
| author_sort | Wivine Blekic |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Maladaptive patterns of attention to emotional stimuli are a clinical feature of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Using eye-tracking-based methodology, research points out the presence of sustained attention to threatening stimuli in individuals with PTSD. However, most eye-tracking studies in this field used free-viewing tasks on negative stimuli.Methods: PTSD patients (n = 38), trauma-exposed healthy controls (TEHC; n = 30), and non-trauma-exposed healthy controls (HC; n = 33) performed a Face in the Crowd (FiC) task. The FiC task was chosen to explore specific responses to emotional stimuli within a competitive visual environment, thus providing insights into visual search patterns. Both reaction time and gaze patterns (dwell time, scanpath length, first fixation duration, and latency) were recorded.Results: Individuals with a provisional PTSD diagnosis presented decreased dwell time on both positive and negative targets in comparison with HC and TEHC, as well as shorter scanpath length for all matrixes when no targets were present. No evidence of attentional bias was observed in the TEHC group based on reaction times or eye-tracking measures in response to positive, negative, or neutral cues.Discussion: We found an attentional avoidance pattern among PTSD patients, along with indexes of lowered perceptual threshold for all emotional information. This study allows raising the question of cognitive load on the emergence of differential attentional strategies presented by PTSD participants. We discuss the generalization of fear processes across different emotional stimuli and underscore the need for incorporating a variety of emotional stimuli in PTSD research. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e4b1a0a13f5743c1a108bb4732ecd139 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2000-8066 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of Psychotraumatology |
| spelling | doaj-art-e4b1a0a13f5743c1a108bb4732ecd1392025-08-20T02:29:55ZengTaylor & Francis GroupEuropean Journal of Psychotraumatology2000-80662025-12-0116110.1080/20008066.2025.2462489Examining attentional avoidance in post-traumatic stress disorder: an exploratory ‘Face in the Crowd’ paradigm using eye-trackingWivine Blekic0Mandy Rossignol1Fabien D’Hondt2University of Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, U1172 – LilNCog – Lille Neuroscience & Cognition, Lille, FranceCognitive Psychology and Neuropsychology Lab, University of Mons, Mons, BelgiumUniversity of Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, U1172 – LilNCog – Lille Neuroscience & Cognition, Lille, FranceBackground: Maladaptive patterns of attention to emotional stimuli are a clinical feature of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Using eye-tracking-based methodology, research points out the presence of sustained attention to threatening stimuli in individuals with PTSD. However, most eye-tracking studies in this field used free-viewing tasks on negative stimuli.Methods: PTSD patients (n = 38), trauma-exposed healthy controls (TEHC; n = 30), and non-trauma-exposed healthy controls (HC; n = 33) performed a Face in the Crowd (FiC) task. The FiC task was chosen to explore specific responses to emotional stimuli within a competitive visual environment, thus providing insights into visual search patterns. Both reaction time and gaze patterns (dwell time, scanpath length, first fixation duration, and latency) were recorded.Results: Individuals with a provisional PTSD diagnosis presented decreased dwell time on both positive and negative targets in comparison with HC and TEHC, as well as shorter scanpath length for all matrixes when no targets were present. No evidence of attentional bias was observed in the TEHC group based on reaction times or eye-tracking measures in response to positive, negative, or neutral cues.Discussion: We found an attentional avoidance pattern among PTSD patients, along with indexes of lowered perceptual threshold for all emotional information. This study allows raising the question of cognitive load on the emergence of differential attentional strategies presented by PTSD participants. We discuss the generalization of fear processes across different emotional stimuli and underscore the need for incorporating a variety of emotional stimuli in PTSD research.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/20008066.2025.2462489PTSDvisual search taskFace in the Crowdavoidanceeye-trackingTEPT |
| spellingShingle | Wivine Blekic Mandy Rossignol Fabien D’Hondt Examining attentional avoidance in post-traumatic stress disorder: an exploratory ‘Face in the Crowd’ paradigm using eye-tracking European Journal of Psychotraumatology PTSD visual search task Face in the Crowd avoidance eye-tracking TEPT |
| title | Examining attentional avoidance in post-traumatic stress disorder: an exploratory ‘Face in the Crowd’ paradigm using eye-tracking |
| title_full | Examining attentional avoidance in post-traumatic stress disorder: an exploratory ‘Face in the Crowd’ paradigm using eye-tracking |
| title_fullStr | Examining attentional avoidance in post-traumatic stress disorder: an exploratory ‘Face in the Crowd’ paradigm using eye-tracking |
| title_full_unstemmed | Examining attentional avoidance in post-traumatic stress disorder: an exploratory ‘Face in the Crowd’ paradigm using eye-tracking |
| title_short | Examining attentional avoidance in post-traumatic stress disorder: an exploratory ‘Face in the Crowd’ paradigm using eye-tracking |
| title_sort | examining attentional avoidance in post traumatic stress disorder an exploratory face in the crowd paradigm using eye tracking |
| topic | PTSD visual search task Face in the Crowd avoidance eye-tracking TEPT |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/20008066.2025.2462489 |
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