What is abnormal about addiction-related attentional biases?

Abstract

Background: The phenotype of addiction includes prominent attentional biases for drug cues, which play a role in motivating drug-seeking behavior and contribute to relapse. In a separate line of research, arbitrary stimuli have been shown to automatically capture attention when previously associated with reward in non-clinical samples. Methods and Results: Here, I argue that these two attentional biases reflect the same cognitive process. I outline five characteristics that exemplify attentional biases for drug cues: resistant to conflicting goals, robust to extinction, linked to dorsal striatal dopamine and to biases in approach behavior, and can distinguish between individuals with and without a history of drug dependence. I then go on to describe how attentional biases for arbitrary reward-associated stimuli share all of these features, and conclude by arguing that the attentional components of addiction reflect a normal cognitive process that promotes reward-seeking behavior.

On the value-dependence of value-driven attentional capture

“…Value-driven attentional capture has been shown to be more robust in individuals who are more impulsive (Anderson et al, 2011b, 2016b; see also Anderson et al, 2013a; Qi et al, 2013), including individuals with substance abuse issues (see Anderson, 2016d, for a review), and much less robust in individuals who are depressed (Anderson et al, 2014b). It might be useful for studies of value-driven attention to measure and account for such variability, potentially as a covariate.…”

“…This can be prominently seen in the case of drug addiction, in which drug use is initially a voluntary and goal-directed behavioral process. Attentional biases for drug cues mirror value-driven attentional biases following non-drug reward learning very closely (Anderson, 2016d). …”

The ability for cocaine and cocaine-associated cues to compete for attention

“…In humans, reward cues are particularly effective in biasing attention towards them, to the extent they can impair ongoing task performance and, in the case of drug cues in those experiencing addiction, evoke drug-seeking behavior (Cox et al, 2002; Waters et al, 2003; Marissen et al, 2006; Field and Cox, 2008; Hickey et al, 2010; Anderson et al, 2011a, b; Anderson, 2016). To ultimately investigate the neuronal mechanisms by which drug cues shift individuals away from performing tasks that meet basic needs (e.g., obtaining food or water), we set out to develop a behavioral paradigm for such research in rats.…”

“…Humans find it difficult to resist attending to reward cues despite negative consequences, including interference with their ability to perform an ongoing task (for review (Anderson, 2016)). Although there is a large literature on attentional biases for reward cues, including drug cues, in humans, this has rarely been studied in animals.…”

“…Cues that have been associated with rewards are especially efficacious in drawing attention towards them, to the extent they can disrupt ongoing task performance, and there is considerable individual variation in their ability to do so (Hickey et al, 2010; Anderson, 2016). Indeed, even under conditions in which participants are aware that reward cues are irrelevant to the current task, and should be ignored, such cues remain capable of capturing attention, distracting the individual, and consequently, impairing task performance (Hickey et al, 2010; Anderson et al, 2011a, b).…”