Eye Movement Study Of Self-focused Attention In Patients With Social Anxiety Disorder

Objectives:This research intended to study the abnormal self-face attention of patients with social anxiety disorder(SAD),and to explore the expression of abnormal self-face attention in SAD and its relationship with the incidence of SAD,so as to provide new ideas for the pathogenesis and treatment of SAD.Methods:The study included 38 patients with SAD and 22 healthy controls.The self-designed demographic scale,Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale,Self-Attention Questionnaire,Beck Depression and Anxiety Scale were used to test the two groups.The research used the visual search paradigm and asked subjects to search target stimuli from the interference stimulus in a 4*4 face matrix composed of self-faces and unfamiliar faces.Using eye tracking to investigate the eye movement attention of two groups of subjects to different emotional pairs of self-faces.Symptoms and eye movement characteristics of SAD patients were followed up for 4 weeks.Results:1.The scores of Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale,Self-Attention Questionnaire,Beck Depression and Anxiety Scale in SAD patients were significantly higher than those in healthy controls[(77.610±24.00)vs(9.950±4.87),(60.080±10.40)vs(54.270±9.50),(21.900±10.37)vs(1.770±2.58),(21.610±11.14)vs(1.140±1.78)].2.When the target stimulus of visual search was self-face,the interest area(IA)dwell time of SAD patients was significantly shorter than that of healthy controls(p=0.006).When the target stimulus was like face,the IA dwell time and IA fixation count of SAD patients were significantly shorter than those of healthy controls(p<0.001),and the IA first fixation time and IA fisrt fixation index for fear of self-face were significantly shorter than those of healthy controls.The IA first fixation time and index were significantly larger than that for fear faces,while significantly smaller than that for happy faces.When the target stimulus of visual search was ugly face,the IA dwell time,fixation count,first fixation time and index of SAD patients were significantly shorter than those in healthy control.The order of observation was significantly lower than that of healthy controls(p<0.001).3.The level of social anxiety,depression and anxiety in SAD patients decreased significantly only in the fourth week,but there was no significant change in self-focused attention.The results of eye movement research changed.When the visual search target was self-face,the IA first fixation index increased significantly in 4 weeks;when the visual search target was like face,the IA dwell time and IA fixation count increased significantly in 4 weeks follow-up,while the IA first fixation time and index decreased significantly.4.Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale and Self-Attention Questionnaire scores were significantly positively correlated,and high significantly correlated with Beck depression and anxiety(p<0.001),but not with selfface eye movement indicators.Conclusions : SAD patients have increased negative self-focused attention and low self evaluation.After treatment,the self evaluation of SAD patients improved.Social anxiety symptoms were significantly correlated with depression,anxiety level and self-focused attention,but not with eye movement characteristics of self-faces.