Attention and Anxiety

doi:10.1177/0956797609359624

Paper

Attention and Anxiety

Published Jan 22, 2010 · A. Pacheco-Unguetti, A. Acosta, Alicia Callejas

Psychological Science

Q1 SJR score

274

Citations

9

Influential Citations

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Semantic Scholar

Abstract

Anxiety modulates the functioning of attention. Although the existence of this relationship is clear, its nature is still poorly defined. Added are the facts that different types of anxiety—state or trait—may influence attention differently and that attention is not a unitary system. We studied the influence of such types of anxiety by means of a task that, using emotionally neutral information, assesses the efficiency of three attentional networks: orienting, alerting, and executive control. Results showed a double dissociation. Trait anxiety was related to deficiencies in the executive control network, but state anxiety was associated with an overfunctioning of the alerting and orienting networks.

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Key takeawayAnxiety influences attention differently, with trait anxiety affecting executive control and state anxiety overworking alerting and orienting networks.

PopulationOlder adults (50-71 years)

Sample size24

MethodsObservational

OutcomesBody Mass Index projections

ResultsSocial networks mitigate obesity in older groups.

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Paper

Attention and Anxiety

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References

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The reorienting system of the human brain, which involves a right hemisphere dominant ventral frontoparietal network, plays a crucial role in survival and may play a role in social cognition.

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Anxiety modulates neural processing of fearful faces, with state and trait anxiety having distinct effects on threat evaluation and "top-down" control mechanisms.

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Anxiety impairs efficient functioning of the goal-directed attentional system and increases stimulus-driven attention, but may not impair performance effectiveness when it leads to compensatory strategies.

Probing the Mechanisms of Attention

Attcntion is a complex organ system with its own anatomy and circuitry, which develops in early life under the control of genes and experience.

Citations