ISSN 1671-3710
CN 11-4766/R
主办:中国科学院心理研究所
出版:科学出版社

Advances in Psychological Science ›› 2014, Vol. 22 ›› Issue (7): 1129-1138.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2014.01129

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Attentional Bias towards Threat: Facilitated Attentional Orienting or Impaired Attentional Disengagement?

ZHANG Yu;LUO Yu;ZHAO Shouying;CHEN Wei;LI Hong   

  1. (1 School of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China) (2 School of Eudcation Science, Guizhou Normal University, Guizhou 550001, China) (3 School of Psychology, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116021, China)
  • Received:2013-10-15 Online:2014-07-15 Published:2014-07-15
  • Contact: LI Hong

Abstract:

attentional bias towards threat is a common phenomenon in anxious as well as healthy individuals. There are two potential cognitive mechanisms of attentional bias. The facilitated attentional orienting is known as threat stimuli are detected faster than neutral stimuli. The impaired attentional disengagement is defined as harder to disengage attention from threat stimuli compare to neutral stimuli. The amygdala- anterior cingulate cortex network is the potential neural base of facilitated attentional orienting, while the orbitofrontal cortex is the key area of attentional disengagement. The properties of threat stimuli and characteristic of participants are main factors which affect attentional bias. The future studies should focus on the relationship between attentional orienting and attentional disengagement as well as the neural base of attentional bias.

Key words: attentional bias toward threat, attentional orienting, attentional disengagement, amygdala, orbitofrontal cortex