Attentional bias to negative stimuli (None)

Attentional bias to negative stimuli is a well-established cognitive phenomenon in which individuals disproportionately allocate their attentional resources to negative, aversive, or threat-related information in their environment[1][2][4][5][6][7]. This bias can manifest as faster orienting, longer maintenance (sustained attention), or difficulty disengaging from such stimuli, especially in individuals with anxiety or depressive disorders[1][2][4][5][7]. Attentional bias is typically measured by tasks such as the dot-probe paradigm or eye-tracking, revealing that anxious or depressed individuals are more likely to focus on negative cues, which may contribute to symptom development and persistence[1][2][4][5][7]. This is a cognitive construct rather than a biological entity, and while it is a target for behavioral therapy (attention bias modification), it is not considered a drug target in the sense of a molecule, receptor, or protein.

Other names

Attentional biasAttention bias toward threatAttentional maintenance biasThreat biasNegative attentional bias

Not applicable to drugs. Behavioral interventions (e.g., attention bias modification) aim to retrain the bias through repeated cognitive tasks[2]. Some hypotheses suggest pharmacological modulation of underlying neural circuits (e.g., attentional networks in the prefrontal cortex and amygdala) indirectly affects bias[4].