title: Anti-saccade error rates as a measure of attentional bias in cocaine dependent subjects.
abstract: Cocaine-dependent (CD) subjects show attentional bias toward cocaine-related cues, and this form of cue-reactivity may be predictive of craving and relapse. Attentional bias has previously been assessed by models that present drug-relevant stimuli and measure physiological and behavioral reactivity (often reaction time). Studies of several CNS diseases outside of substance use disorders consistently report anti-saccade deficits, suggesting a compromise in the interplay between higher-order cortical processes in voluntary eye control (i.e., anti-saccades) and reflexive saccades driven more by involuntary midbrain perceptual input (i.e., pro-saccades). Here, we describe a novel attentional-bias task developed by using measurements of saccadic eye movements in the presence of cocaine-specific stimuli, combining previously unique research domains to capitalize on their respective experimental and conceptual strengths. CD subjects (N = 46) and healthy controls (N = 41) were tested on blocks of pro-saccade and anti-saccade trials featuring cocaine and neutral stimuli (pictures). Analyses of eye-movement data indicated (1) greater overall anti-saccade errors in the CD group; (2) greater attentional bias in CD subjects as measured by anti-saccade errors to cocaine-specific (relative to neutral) stimuli; and (3) no differences in pro-saccade error rates. Attentional bias was correlated with scores on the obsessive-compulsive cocaine scale. The results demonstrate increased saliency and differential attentional to cocaine cues by the CD group. The assay provides a sensitive index of saccadic (visual inhibitory) control, a specific index of attentional bias to drug-relevant cues, and preliminary insight into the visual circuitry that may contribute to drug-specific cue reactivity.
authors.affiliation: The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 1941 East Rd, Houston, TX 77054, United States. Electronic address: ndias@mclean.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Nadeeka R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Dias
authors.affiliation: The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 1941 East Rd, Houston, TX 77054, United States.
authors.forename: Joy M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Schmitz
authors.affiliation: The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 1941 East Rd, Houston, TX 77054, United States.
authors.forename: Nuvan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rathnayaka
authors.affiliation: The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 1941 East Rd, Houston, TX 77054, United States.
authors.forename: Stuart D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Red
authors.affiliation: The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 1941 East Rd, Houston, TX 77054, United States.
authors.forename: Anne B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Sereno
authors.affiliation: VCU School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, 203 East Cary Street, Suite 202, Richmond, VA 23219, United States.
authors.forename: F Gerard
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Moeller
authors.affiliation: The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 1941 East Rd, Houston, TX 77054, United States.
authors.forename: Scott D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Lane
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D003192:Compulsive Behavior; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009770:Obsessive Behavior; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D012438:Saccades
keywords: Anti-saccades; Attentional Bias; Cocaine Dependence; Cue-Reactivity; Eye-tracking