Sleep-related attentional bias for tired faces in insomnia: evidence from a dot-probe paradigm

Akram, U., Beattie, L., Ypsilanti, A., Reidy, J., Robson, A., Chapman, A. J. and Barclay, N. L. (2018) Sleep-related attentional bias for tired faces in insomnia: evidence from a dot-probe paradigm. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 103, pp. 18-23. (doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2018.01.007) (PMID:29407198)

Abstract

People with insomnia often display an attentional bias for sleep-specific stimuli. However, prior studies have mostly utilized sleep-related words and images, and research is yet to examine whether people with insomnia display an attentional bias for sleep-specific (i.e. tired appearing) facial stimuli. This study aimed to examine whether individuals with insomnia present an attentional bias for sleep-specific faces depicting tiredness compared to normal-sleepers. Additionally, we aimed to determine whether the presence of an attentional bias was characterized by vigilance or disengagement. Forty-one individuals who meet the DSM-5 criteria for Insomnia Disorder and 41 normal-sleepers completed a dot-probe task comprising of neutral and sleep-specific tired faces. The results demonstrated that vigilance and disengagement scores differed significantly between the insomnia and normal-sleeper groups. Specifically, individuals with insomnia displayed difficulty in both orienting to and disengaging attention from tired faces compared to normal-sleepers. Using tired facial stimuli, the current study provides novel evidence that insomnia is characterized by a sleep-related attentional bias. These outcomes support cognitive models of insomnia by suggesting that individuals with insomnia monitor tiredness in their social environment.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This research was supported by the Department of Psychology, Sociology and Politics at Sheffield Hallam University.
• Keywords: Attention, cognitive bias, disengagement, faces, insomnia, tiredness, vigilance.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Beattie, Dr Louise
• Authors: Akram, U., Beattie, L., Ypsilanti, A., Reidy, J., Robson, A., Chapman, A. J., and Barclay, N. L.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Psychology
• Journal Name: Behaviour Research and Therapy
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 0005-7967
• ISSN (Online): 1873-622X
• Published Online: 03 February 2018
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd.
• First Published: First published in Behaviour Research and Therapy 103: 18-23
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy