Attentional Biases and Their Association with Substance-Use-Related Problems and Addictive Behaviors: The Utility of a Gamified Value-Modulated Attentional Capture Task.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Attentional biases towards reward stimuli have been implicated in substance use-related problems. The value-modulated attentional capture (VMAC) task assesses such reward-related biases. The VMAC task widely used in lab studies tends to be monotonous and susceptible to low effort. We therefore tested a gamified online version of the VMAC that aimed to increase participant engagement. Our goal was to examine how VMAC is associated with substance use-related problems and addictive behaviors, and whether this association is moderated by cognitive control.

Methods

We recruited 285 participants from an online community, including heavy alcohol users. All participants completed a novel gamified version of the VMAC task, measures of substance use and addictive behaviors

SUBMITTER: Freichel R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10885317 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature