Visual attentional bias for food in adolescents with binge-eating disorder. (September 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Schmidt, Ricarda; Lüthold, Patrick; Kittel, Rebekka; Tetzlaff, Anne; Hilbert, Anja
• Is Part Of: Journal of psychiatric research. Volume 80(2016:Sep.)
• Page Start: 22
• Page End: 29
• Publication Date: 2016-09
• Subjects: Binge-eating disorder -- Adolescents -- Eye-tracking -- Attentional bias -- Information processing -- Food cues; Psychiatry -- Periodicals; Mental Disorders -- Periodicals; Maladies mentales -- Périodiques; Psychiatry; Electronic journals; Periodicals; 616.89005
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2016.05.016
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-3956

Abstract

Abstract: Evidence suggests that adults with binge-eating disorder (BED) are prone of having their attention interfered by food cues, and that food-related attentional biases are associated with calorie intake and eating disorder psychopathology. For adolescents with BED experimental evidence on attentional processing of food cues is lacking. Using eye-tracking and a visual search task, the present study examined visual orienting and disengagement processes of food in youth with BED. Eye-movement data and reaction times were recorded in 25 adolescents (12–20 years) with BED and 25 controls (CG) individually matched for sex, age, body mass index, and socio-economic status. During a free exploration paradigm, the BED group showed a greater gaze duration bias for food images than the CG. Groups did not differ in gaze direction biases. In a visual search task, the BED group showed a greater detection bias for food targets than the CG. Group differences were more pronounced for personally attractive than unattractive food images. Regarding clinical associations, only in the BED group the gaze duration bias for food was associated with increased hunger and lower body mass index, and the detection bias for food targets was associated with greater reward sensitivity. The study provided first evidence of an attentional bias to food in adolescents with BED. However, more research is needed for further specifying disengagement and orienting processes in adolescent BED, including overt and covert attention, and their prospective associations with binge-eating behaviors and associated psychopathology. Highlights: Evidence on attentional biases for food cues in youth with BED is lacking. Using eye-tracking, youth with BED showed delayed disengagement from food compared to controls. In a visual search task, youth with BED showed a detection bias for food. Attentional biases were influenced by participants' valence of food cues.