Time course of attention for alcohol cues in abstinent alcoholic patients: the role of initial orienting.
OBJECTIVE
Addicted people are characterized by enhanced attention for drug cues leading to drug use. However, there is little research on the component processes of attention in individuals with alcoholism. Here, we examine 2 distinct components of attention in abstinent alcohol-dependent individuals and social drinkers of alcohol, that is to say, the initial orienting to alcohol-related cues, and the maintenance of attention to them.


METHODS
The present study used an "alcohol" version of the visual probe detection task with alcohol-related or neutral pictures being presented briefly (i.e., 50 ms), to assess initial orienting, or longer (i.e., 500 and 1,250 ms), to assess the maintenance of attention.


RESULTS
Only alcoholic patients were faster in detecting a probe displayed immediately after pictures related to alcohol presented for 50 ms than in detecting the same probe replacing non-alcohol-related pictures. However, when pictures were presented for 500 ms, only social alcohol drinkers were faster in detecting the probe replacing alcohol scenes. At a stimulus of 1,250 ms duration, no group showed attentional bias toward alcohol cues. In addition, the severity of alcoholism measured by the total number of prior detoxification treatments was positively correlated with the attentional bias (or "attraction") for alcohol pictures presented for 50 ms.


CONCLUSIONS
These results show that, subsequent to initial visual orienting to alcohol-related cues, abstinent patients' attention was disengaged from these stimuli, thus suggesting a visual approach-disengagement attentional pattern. The influence of these findings on relapse was discussed.
Noël
Xavier
X
Clinic of Addictions, Brugmann Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 4 place Van Gehuchten, 1020 Brussels, Belgium. xnoel@ulb.ac.be
Colmant
M
M
Van Der Linden
Marial
M
Bechara
Antoine
A
Bullens
Quentin
Q
Hanak
Catherine
C
Verbanck
Paul
P
D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000523:psychology*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000523:psychology*; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013695:Temperance