Fabian Breuer , Anne Sophie Hildebrand , Johannes B. Finke , Leandra Bucher , Udo Dannlowski , Tim Klucken , Kati Roesmann , Elisabeth Johanna Leehr
{"title":"蜘蛛恐惧症的反眼跳表现及其与多模态相关恐惧的关系。","authors":"Fabian Breuer , Anne Sophie Hildebrand , Johannes B. Finke , Leandra Bucher , Udo Dannlowski , Tim Klucken , Kati Roesmann , Elisabeth Johanna Leehr","doi":"10.1016/j.janxdis.2025.103078","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>This study explored inhibitory control in spider phobic (SP) and healthy control (HC) individuals using an emotional antisaccade task. Attentional control theory (ACT) suggests anxiety related deficits in inhibitory control, yet studies on antisaccade performance in anxiety disordered patients are sparse. This study addressed this research gap and additionally aimed to explore putative associations of antisaccade performance with multimodal measures of fear of spiders.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A sample of 76 participants (41 SP, 35 HC) completed an antisaccade task, employing schematic pictures of spiders and flowers. We measured antisaccade latencies and error rates, respectively. In a free-viewing task, we obtained psychophysiological and subjective fear responses to pictures of spiders. Self-rated fear of spiders was assessed via questionnaires and avoidance behavior was assessed in a behavioral avoidance test.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Contrary to ACT predictions, SP exhibited shorter antisaccade latencies irrespective of stimulus category, indexing more efficient inhibitory control, while showing no differences in antisaccade error rates when compared to HC. Consistent with prior findings, SP participants showed elevated psychophysiological responding, fear ratings and avoidance behavior. No significant associations emerged between inhibitory control performance and these measures of fear.</div></div><div><h3>Discussion</h3><div>Our findings suggest enhanced inhibitory control efficiency in SP compared to HC, contrasting impairments predicted by ACT and observed in subclinical anxiety. These findings may indicate a compensatory adaptation in anxiety disorders, enabling rapid attentional avoidance of threat. Our results also imply that inhibitory control may be differentially affected across various anxiety disorders, depending on their predisposition towards fear or anxiety, while also being independent from diverse measures of fear and anxiety.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48390,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Anxiety Disorders","volume":"116 ","pages":"Article 103078"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Antisaccade performance in spider phobia and its association with multimodal correlates of fear\",\"authors\":\"Fabian Breuer , Anne Sophie Hildebrand , Johannes B. Finke , Leandra Bucher , Udo Dannlowski , Tim Klucken , Kati Roesmann , Elisabeth Johanna Leehr\",\"doi\":\"10.1016/j.janxdis.2025.103078\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>This study explored inhibitory control in spider phobic (SP) and healthy control (HC) individuals using an emotional antisaccade task. Attentional control theory (ACT) suggests anxiety related deficits in inhibitory control, yet studies on antisaccade performance in anxiety disordered patients are sparse. This study addressed this research gap and additionally aimed to explore putative associations of antisaccade performance with multimodal measures of fear of spiders.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A sample of 76 participants (41 SP, 35 HC) completed an antisaccade task, employing schematic pictures of spiders and flowers. We measured antisaccade latencies and error rates, respectively. In a free-viewing task, we obtained psychophysiological and subjective fear responses to pictures of spiders. Self-rated fear of spiders was assessed via questionnaires and avoidance behavior was assessed in a behavioral avoidance test.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Contrary to ACT predictions, SP exhibited shorter antisaccade latencies irrespective of stimulus category, indexing more efficient inhibitory control, while showing no differences in antisaccade error rates when compared to HC. Consistent with prior findings, SP participants showed elevated psychophysiological responding, fear ratings and avoidance behavior. No significant associations emerged between inhibitory control performance and these measures of fear.</div></div><div><h3>Discussion</h3><div>Our findings suggest enhanced inhibitory control efficiency in SP compared to HC, contrasting impairments predicted by ACT and observed in subclinical anxiety. These findings may indicate a compensatory adaptation in anxiety disorders, enabling rapid attentional avoidance of threat. Our results also imply that inhibitory control may be differentially affected across various anxiety disorders, depending on their predisposition towards fear or anxiety, while also being independent from diverse measures of fear and anxiety.</div></div>\",\"PeriodicalId\":48390,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Journal of Anxiety Disorders\",\"volume\":\"116 \",\"pages\":\"Article 103078\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":4.5000,\"publicationDate\":\"2025-10-03\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Journal of Anxiety Disorders\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"3\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0887618525001148\",\"RegionNum\":2,\"RegionCategory\":\"医学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q1\",\"JCRName\":\"PSYCHIATRY\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Anxiety Disorders","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0887618525001148","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PSYCHIATRY","Score":null,"Total":0}
Antisaccade performance in spider phobia and its association with multimodal correlates of fear
Introduction
This study explored inhibitory control in spider phobic (SP) and healthy control (HC) individuals using an emotional antisaccade task. Attentional control theory (ACT) suggests anxiety related deficits in inhibitory control, yet studies on antisaccade performance in anxiety disordered patients are sparse. This study addressed this research gap and additionally aimed to explore putative associations of antisaccade performance with multimodal measures of fear of spiders.
Methods
A sample of 76 participants (41 SP, 35 HC) completed an antisaccade task, employing schematic pictures of spiders and flowers. We measured antisaccade latencies and error rates, respectively. In a free-viewing task, we obtained psychophysiological and subjective fear responses to pictures of spiders. Self-rated fear of spiders was assessed via questionnaires and avoidance behavior was assessed in a behavioral avoidance test.
Results
Contrary to ACT predictions, SP exhibited shorter antisaccade latencies irrespective of stimulus category, indexing more efficient inhibitory control, while showing no differences in antisaccade error rates when compared to HC. Consistent with prior findings, SP participants showed elevated psychophysiological responding, fear ratings and avoidance behavior. No significant associations emerged between inhibitory control performance and these measures of fear.
Discussion
Our findings suggest enhanced inhibitory control efficiency in SP compared to HC, contrasting impairments predicted by ACT and observed in subclinical anxiety. These findings may indicate a compensatory adaptation in anxiety disorders, enabling rapid attentional avoidance of threat. Our results also imply that inhibitory control may be differentially affected across various anxiety disorders, depending on their predisposition towards fear or anxiety, while also being independent from diverse measures of fear and anxiety.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Anxiety Disorders is an interdisciplinary journal that publishes research papers on all aspects of anxiety disorders for individuals of all age groups, including children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly. Manuscripts that focus on disorders previously classified as anxiety disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder, as well as the new category of illness anxiety disorder, are also within the scope of the journal. The research areas of focus include traditional, behavioral, cognitive, and biological assessment; diagnosis and classification; psychosocial and psychopharmacological treatment; genetics; epidemiology; and prevention. The journal welcomes theoretical and review articles that significantly contribute to current knowledge in the field. It is abstracted and indexed in various databases such as Elsevier, BIOBASE, PubMed/Medline, PsycINFO, BIOSIS Citation Index, BRS Data, Current Contents - Social & Behavioral Sciences, Pascal Francis, Scopus, and Google Scholar.