Cocaine-dependent (CD) subjects show evidence of attentional bias toward cocaine-related cues, and this measure of cue-reactivity is predictive of craving and relapse. In previous work, cue-reactivity and attentional bias have been assessed by models that present drug-relevant stimuli (e.g., cocaine-specific Stroop task) and measure physiological and behavioral reactivity (e.g., heart rate, reaction times). Studies have indicated competition between the higher-order cortical processes (frontal eye-fields, DLPFC) in voluntary eye control (i.e., anti-saccades) and more reflexive saccades driven by involuntary midbrain (superior colliculus) perceptual input (i.e., pro-saccades). In addition, neuroimaging studies in patients with cocaine dependence have shown activation in frontal regions during craving and intoxication, in which reaction time (RT) was used as a key index of cognitive and motivational processing. In the present project, we developed a novel attentional-bias task using eye-tracking based measurement of saccadic eye movements towards cocaine and neutral cues. We sought to further understand processes involved in attentional bias in CD users and voluntary/involuntary processes that modulate attention toward and away from drug cues. CD subjects and healthy controls were tested using eye-tracking technology to measure performance on counterbalanced blocks of pro- and anti-saccade trials featuring cocaine and neutral stimuli (pictures). Dependent measures include error rates during pro-/anti- saccade trials as well as saccadic latencies. Analysis of the eye-tracking data in 81 completed subjects (46 CD, 35 control) indicate higher attentional bias in CD subjects as measured by anti-saccade errors (i.e., looking toward the stimulus), both across all stimuli (35% vs. 19% anti-saccade errors), and specifically in the presence of cocaine-related stimuli (41% vs. 20% anti-saccade errors). During pro-saccade trials, in the presence of cocaine cues the CD subjects displayed significantly faster reaction times (μ=347.07ms) than controls (μ=387.19ms), but no between-group differences were observed in the presence of neutral cues. The data demonstrate increased saliency and differential attentional to cocaine cues, providing a sensitive index of cue-reactivity – a strong predictor of relapse in addiction. This novel saccade-based measure of attentional bias is expected to provide a productive method by which to assess reactivity to drug cues, and eventually to screen for potential relapse prevention interventions.
","abstract_html":"<p>Cocaine-dependent (CD) subjects show evidence of attentional bias toward cocaine-related cues, and this measure of cue-reactivity is predictive of craving and relapse. In previous work, cue-reactivity and attentional bias have been assessed by models that present drug-relevant stimuli (e.g., cocaine-specific Stroop task) and measure physiological and behavioral reactivity (e.g., heart rate, reaction times). Studies have indicated competition between the higher-order cortical processes (frontal eye-fields, DLPFC) in voluntary eye control (i.e., anti-saccades) and more reflexive saccades driven by involuntary midbrain (superior colliculus) perceptual input (i.e., pro-saccades). In addition, neuroimaging studies in patients with cocaine dependence have shown activation in frontal regions during craving and intoxication, in which reaction time (RT) was used as a key index of cognitive and motivational processing. In the present project, we developed a novel attentional-bias task using eye-tracking based measurement of saccadic eye movements towards cocaine and neutral cues. We sought to further understand processes involved in attentional bias in CD users and voluntary/involuntary processes that modulate attention toward and away from drug cues. CD subjects and healthy controls were tested using eye-tracking technology to measure performance on counterbalanced blocks of pro- and anti-saccade trials featuring cocaine and neutral stimuli (pictures). Dependent measures include error rates during pro-/anti- saccade trials as well as saccadic latencies. Analysis of the eye-tracking data in 81 completed subjects (46 CD, 35 control) indicate higher attentional bias in CD subjects as measured by anti-saccade errors (i.e., looking toward the stimulus), both across all stimuli (35% vs. 19% anti-saccade errors), and specifically in the presence of cocaine-related stimuli (41% vs. 20% anti-saccade errors). During pro-saccade trials, in the presence of cocaine cues the CD subjects displayed significantly faster reaction times (μ=347.07ms) than controls (μ=387.19ms), but no between-group differences were observed in the presence of neutral cues. The data demonstrate increased saliency and differential attentional to cocaine cues, providing a sensitive index of cue-reactivity – a strong predictor of relapse in addiction. This novel saccade-based measure of attentional bias is expected to provide a productive method by which to assess reactivity to drug cues, and eventually to screen for potential relapse prevention interventions.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Dias, Nadeeka"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation (PhD)","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Scott D. Lane, PhD","Anne Sereno, PhD","Joy Schmitz, PhD"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2014-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:50:24Z","subjects":["Cocaine Addiction","Anti-saccade","Attentional Bias","Eye-tracking","Relapse","Eye-movements","Behavioral Neuroscience","Substance Abuse","Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms","Medicine and Health Sciences","Neurosciences","Psychiatry and Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/utgsbs_dissertations/446","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Scott D. Lane, PhD","Anne Sereno, PhD","Joy Schmitz, PhD"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Dias, Nadeeka"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2015-05-01T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation (PhD)"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Cocaine Addiction","Anti-saccade","Attentional Bias","Eye-tracking","Relapse","Eye-movements","Behavioral Neuroscience","Substance Abuse","Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms","Medicine and Health Sciences","Neurosciences","Psychiatry and Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/utgsbs_dissertations/446"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Cocaine-dependent (CD) subjects show evidence of attentional bias toward cocaine-related cues, and this measure of cue-reactivity is predictive of craving and relapse. In previous work, cue-reactivity and attentional bias have been assessed by models that present drug-relevant stimuli (e.g., cocaine-specific Stroop task) and measure physiological and behavioral reactivity (e.g., heart rate, reaction times). Studies have indicated competition between the higher-order cortical processes (frontal eye-fields, DLPFC) in voluntary eye control (i.e., anti-saccades) and more reflexive saccades driven by involuntary midbrain (superior colliculus) perceptual input (i.e., pro-saccades). In addition, neuroimaging studies in patients with cocaine dependence have shown activation in frontal regions during craving and intoxication, in which reaction time (RT) was used as a key index of cognitive and motivational processing. In the present project, we developed a novel attentional-bias task using eye-tracking based measurement of saccadic eye movements towards cocaine and neutral cues. We sought to further understand processes involved in attentional bias in CD users and voluntary/involuntary processes that modulate attention toward and away from drug cues. CD subjects and healthy controls were tested using eye-tracking technology to measure performance on counterbalanced blocks of pro- and anti-saccade trials featuring cocaine and neutral stimuli (pictures). Dependent measures include error rates during pro-/anti- saccade trials as well as saccadic latencies. Analysis of the eye-tracking data in 81 completed subjects (46 CD, 35 control) indicate higher attentional bias in CD subjects as measured by anti-saccade errors (i.e., looking toward the stimulus), both across all stimuli (35% vs. 19% anti-saccade errors), and specifically in the presence of cocaine-related stimuli (41% vs. 20% anti-saccade errors). During pro-saccade trials, in the presence of cocaine cues the CD subjects displayed significantly faster reaction times (μ=347.07ms) than controls (μ=387.19ms), but no between-group differences were observed in the presence of neutral cues. The data demonstrate increased saliency and differential attentional to cocaine cues, providing a sensitive index of cue-reactivity – a strong predictor of relapse in addiction. This novel saccade-based measure of attentional bias is expected to provide a productive method by which to assess reactivity to drug cues, and eventually to screen for potential relapse prevention interventions.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Eye-Tracking Measures of Attentional Bias In Cocaine Dependent Subjects"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Scott D. Lane, PhD","Anne Sereno, PhD","Joy Schmitz, PhD"],"dc:creator":["Dias, Nadeeka"],"dc:date.available":["2015-05-01T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Cocaine-dependent (CD) subjects show evidence of attentional bias toward cocaine-related cues, and this measure of cue-reactivity is predictive of craving and relapse. In previous work, cue-reactivity and attentional bias have been assessed by models that present drug-relevant stimuli (e.g., cocaine-specific Stroop task) and measure physiological and behavioral reactivity (e.g., heart rate, reaction times). Studies have indicated competition between the higher-order cortical processes (frontal eye-fields, DLPFC) in voluntary eye control (i.e., anti-saccades) and more reflexive saccades driven by involuntary midbrain (superior colliculus) perceptual input (i.e., pro-saccades). In addition, neuroimaging studies in patients with cocaine dependence have shown activation in frontal regions during craving and intoxication, in which reaction time (RT) was used as a key index of cognitive and motivational processing. In the present project, we developed a novel attentional-bias task using eye-tracking based measurement of saccadic eye movements towards cocaine and neutral cues. We sought to further understand processes involved in attentional bias in CD users and voluntary/involuntary processes that modulate attention toward and away from drug cues. CD subjects and healthy controls were tested using eye-tracking technology to measure performance on counterbalanced blocks of pro- and anti-saccade trials featuring cocaine and neutral stimuli (pictures). Dependent measures include error rates during pro-/anti- saccade trials as well as saccadic latencies. Analysis of the eye-tracking data in 81 completed subjects (46 CD, 35 control) indicate higher attentional bias in CD subjects as measured by anti-saccade errors (i.e., looking toward the stimulus), both across all stimuli (35% vs. 19% anti-saccade errors), and specifically in the presence of cocaine-related stimuli (41% vs. 20% anti-saccade errors). During pro-saccade trials, in the presence of cocaine cues the CD subjects displayed significantly faster reaction times (μ=347.07ms) than controls (μ=387.19ms), but no between-group differences were observed in the presence of neutral cues. The data demonstrate increased saliency and differential attentional to cocaine cues, providing a sensitive index of cue-reactivity – a strong predictor of relapse in addiction. This novel saccade-based measure of attentional bias is expected to provide a productive method by which to assess reactivity to drug cues, and eventually to screen for potential relapse prevention interventions.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/utgsbs_dissertations/446"],"dc:subject":["Cocaine Addiction","Anti-saccade","Attentional Bias","Eye-tracking","Relapse","Eye-movements","Behavioral Neuroscience","Substance Abuse","Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms","Medicine and Health Sciences","Neurosciences","Psychiatry and Psychology"],"dc:title":["Eye-Tracking Measures of Attentional Bias In Cocaine Dependent Subjects"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation (PhD)"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:50:24Z"}