title: Attention to beds in natural scenes by observers with insomnia symptoms.
abstract: Attention biases to sleep-related stimuli are held to play a key role in the development and maintenance of insomnia, but such biases have only been shown with controlled visual displays. This study investigated whether observers with insomnia symptoms allocate attention to sleep-related items in natural scenes, by recording eye movements during free-viewing of bedrooms. Participants with insomnia symptoms and normal sleepers were matched in their visual exploration of these scenes, and there was no evidence that the attention of those with insomnia symptoms was captured more quickly by sleep-related stimuli than that of normal sleepers. However, the insomnia group fixated bed regions on more trials and, once fixated on a bed, also remained there for longer. These findings indicate that sleep stimuli are particularly effective in retaining visual attention in complex natural scenes.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Glasgow, UK. Electronic address: louise.beattie@glasgow.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Louise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Beattie
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Kent, UK.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bindemann
authors.affiliation: Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Simon D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Kyle
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Glasgow, UK.
authors.forename: Stephany M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Biello
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001513:Beds; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005133:Eye Movements / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005403:Fixation, Ocular / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Attention; Eye movements; Fixation; Insomnia symptoms; Natural scenes