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Direct and Indirect Measures of Attention Indicating a Bias Toward Cues in Methamphetamine Users Publisher



Mirtorabi SD1 ; Saleki S2 ; Rahmanian MS3 ; Hadizadeh H4 ; Rostami R5 ; Yoonessi A1
Authors
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Authors Affiliations
  1. 1. Department of Neurosciences and Addiction Studies, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  2. 2. Brain and Behavior Studies Laboratory, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran
  3. 3. Legal Medicine Research Center, Legal Medicine Organization, Tehran, Iran
  4. 4. Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Quchan University of Technology, Quchan, Iran
  5. 5. Department of Psychology, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Source: Basic and Clinical Neuroscience Published:2022


Abstract

Introduction: This study aims to investigate the attentional bias toward drug-related stimuli along with subjective craving after encountering such stimuli in methamphetamine users. Studies of cue reactivity have confirmed a bias in attention and gaze toward drugrelated stimuli for most substances; however, methamphetamine drugs are less studied through a direct measure, such as eye tracking. Methods: A total of 30 male subjects in the case group (methamphetamine users) and 36 subjects in the control group (no prior drug use) participated in this study. The participant's eye movement data were collected while they were viewing pairs of drug-related and nondrug images in a dot-probe paradigm. Craving was assessed via a self-report questionnaire on a scale of 0 to 10 before and after the psychophysical task. Results: The analysis of eye-movement data showed a meaningful gaze bias toward cue images (drug-related) in the case group. Additionally, the gaze duration on cue images was significantly higher in the case group, in contrast to the control group. The same effect was observed in analyzing the dot-probe task; that is, the mean reaction time to a probe that replaced a cue image was significantly lower. The mean of the first-fixation measure in the control group was not significantly higher than chance; however, the percentage of the first-fixation on cue images in the drug users was meaningfully biased. Reported craving was significantly greater after performing the task compared to before. Conclusion: Our results indicated an attentional bias toward drug-related cues in methamphetamine users as well as subjective craving after encountering such cues. © 2022 Iran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved.
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