title: Fixation time is a sensitive measure of cocaine cue attentional bias.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Attentional bias has been demonstrated to a variety of substances. Evidence suggests that fixation time is a more direct measure of attentional bias than response time. The aims of this experiment were to demonstrate that fixation time during the visual probe task is a sensitive and stable measure of cocaine cue attentional bias in cocaine-using adults compared to controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  A between-subject, repeated-measures experiment.
  
  
  METHODS
  An out-patient research unit.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifteen cocaine using and 15 non-cocaine-using adults recruited from the community.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants completed a visual probe task with eye tracking and a modified Stroop during two experimental sessions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A significant interaction between cue type and group (F = 13.5; P < 0.05) indicated that cocaine users, but not controls, displayed an attentional bias to cocaine-related images as measured by fixation time. There were no changes in the magnitude of attentional bias across sessions (F = 3.4; P > 0.05) and attentional bias correlated with self-reported life-time cocaine use (r = 0.64, P < 0.05). Response time on the visual probe (F = 1.1; P > 0.05) as well as on the modified Stroop (F = 0.1; P > 0.05) failed to detect an attentional bias.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Fixation time on cocaine-related stimuli (propensity to remain focused on the stimulus) is a sensitive and stable measure of cocaine cue attentional bias in cocaine-using adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Psychology, Lexington, KY, USA.
authors.forename: Katherine R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Marks
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: William W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Stoops
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pike
authors.forename: Mark T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Fillmore
authors.forename: Craig R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Rush
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000187:drug effects*; D003042:Cocaine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D005403:Fixation, Ocular / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011930:Reaction Time; D057190:Stroop Test
chemical_list: D003042:Cocaine
keywords: Attentional bias; cocaine; cue reactivity; eye-tracking; stroop task; visual probe task