***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: Attentional bias modification ( ABM ) represents one of a number of cognitive bias modification techniques which are beginning to show promise as therapeutic interventions for emotional pathology . Numerous studies with both clinical and non- clinical population s have now demonstrated that ABM can reduce emotional vulnerability . However , some recent studies have failed to achieve change in either selective attention or emotional vulnerability using ABM method ologies , including a recent r and omised controlled trial by Carlbring et al. Some have sought to represent such absence of evidence as a sound basis not to further pursue ABM as an online intervention . While these findings obviously raise questions about the specific conditions under which ABM procedures will produce therapeutic benefits , we suggest that the failure of some studies to modify selective attention does not challenge the theoretical and empirical basis of ABM . The present paper seeks to put these ABM failures in perspective within the broader context of attentional bias modification research . In doing so it is apparent that the current findings and future prospect s of ABM are in fact very promising , suggesting that more research in this area is warranted , not less ABSTRACT Background : Attentional bias ( i.e. , differences in reaction time between drug and neutral cues ) has been associated with a variety of drug-use behaviors ( e.g. , craving , abstinence ) . Reduction of bias may ultimately reduce use . Objective : The current study examined whether attentional bias modification therapy ( ABMT ) reduced the frequency of drug use behaviors in individuals with cocaine use disorder ( CUD ) . Method : Participants ( n = 37 ) were r and omly assigned to ABMT or control therapy , which systematic ally varied how frequently probes replaced neutral ( ABMT = 100 % ; control therapy = 50 % ) relative to drug stimuli . Each intervention included 5 training sessions comprising a total of 2640 trials over 4 weeks . Clinical assessment s occurred at baseline , post-intervention , 2 weeks and 3 months posttreatment . Results : There were no baseline differences between groups on drug-use behaviors or other clinical measures . Contrary to predictions , both groups exhibited slower rather than faster reaction times for cocaine stimuli ( p = 0.005 ) at baseline , with no relationship between bias and baseline measures of drug-use behavior . Conclusions : ABMT was not more effective than our control therapy at reducing attentional bias , reducing craving or changing other drug use behaviors . Current results suggest additional replication studies are needed to assess ABMT ’s efficacy in reducing drug-use behaviors in CUD Background Computerized cognitive bias modification for social anxiety disorder has in several well conducted trials shown great promise with as many as 72 % no longer fulfilling diagnostic criteria after a 4 week training program . To test if the same program can be transferred from a clinical setting to an internet delivered home based treatment the authors conducted a r and omized , double-blind placebo-controlled trial . Methods After a diagnostic interview 79 participants were r and omized to one of two  attention training programs  using a probe detection task . In the active condition the participant was trained to direct attention away from threat , whereas in the placebo condition the probe appeared with equal frequency in the position of the threatening and neutral faces . Results Results were analyzed on an intention-to-treat basis , including all r and omized participants . Immediate and 4-month follow-up results revealed a significant time effect on all measured dimensions ( social anxiety scales , general anxiety and depression levels , quality of life ) . However , there were no time x group interactions . The lack of differences in the two groups was also mirrored by the infinitesimal between group effect size both at post test and at 4-month follow-up . Conclusion We conclude that computerized attention bias modification may need to be altered before dissemination for the Internet . Trial registration IS RCT To examine the impact of a computer-delivered , home-based , alcohol-specific attention modification program ( AMP ) , 41 heavy drinking college students were r and omly assigned to AMP or an attention control condition ( ACC ) . Participants selected 10 alcohol-related words most relevant to their own drinking experience as well as 10 neutral words not related to alcohol . These personalized stimuli were used in an attention retaining program based upon the probe detection paradigm twice weekly for 4 weeks . Participants in the AMP condition reported decreased drinking , whereas those in the ACC condition reported no change in their drinking . These preliminary data suggest that a computer-delivered , home-delivered , attention-retraining for alcohol treatment may be an inexpensive and efficacious adjunct to st and ard alcohol treatments Attentional bias modification ( ABM ) to avoid smoking-related cues is a potentially new intervention in addition to existing therapy to stop smoking . We examined immediate and long-term changes in attentional bias and treatment outcomes from multiple ABM sessions in 67 smokers trying to quit . After assessing attentional bias baseline , participants were r and omly allocated to one of three training groups : three sessions of ABM ( avoid 3 ) ; two sessions of placebo-ABM and one session of ABM ( avoid 1 ) ; and three sessions of placebo-ABM ( avoid 0 ) . At baseline , all groups had similar positive attentional bias , which became negative at 24h post-training . After 1 month , avoid 1 and avoid 3 still exhibited negative attentional biases . Only avoid 3 maintained this effect at 6-month , but not at 12-month assessment s. ABM produced a long-lasting automatic and maintained avoidance to smoking-related cues which depended on number of sessions ; however its effects on treatment outcomes are uncertain BACKGROUND Observational studies have shown that attentional bias for smoking-related cues is associated with increased craving and relapse . Laboratory experiments have shown that manipulating attentional bias may change craving . Interventions to reduce attentional bias could reduce relapse in smokers seeking to quit . We report a clinical trial of attentional retraining in treatment-seeking smokers . METHODS This was a double-blind r and omised controlled trial that took place in UK smoking cessation clinics . Smokers interested in quitting were r and omised to five weekly sessions of attentional retraining  ( N=60 ) or placebo training ( N = 58 ) using a modified visual probe task from one week prior to quit day . Both groups received 21 mg nicotine patches ( from quit day onwards ) and behavioural support . Primary outcomes included change in attentional bias reaction times four weeks after quit day on the visual probe task and craving measured weekly using the Mood and Physical Symptoms Scale . Secondary outcomes were changes in withdrawal symptoms , time to first lapse and prolonged abstinence . RESULTS No attentional bias towards smoking cues was found in the sample at baseline ( mean difference = 3 ms , 95 % CI = -2 , 9 ) . Post-training bias was not significantly lower in the retraining group compared with the placebo group ( mean difference = -9 ms , 95 % CI = -20 , 2 ) . There was no difference between groups in change in craving ( p = 0.89 ) and prolonged abstinence at four weeks ( risk ratio = 1.00 , 95 % CI = 0.70 , 1.43 ) . CONCLUSIONS Taken with one other trial , there appears to be no effect from clinic-based attentional retraining using the visual probe task . Attentional retraining conducted out of clinic may prove more effective . CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION UK Clinical Trials IS RCT N 54375405 Attentional bias toward negative social cues is thought to serve an etiological and /or maintaining role in social anxiety disorder ( SAD ) . The current study tested whether training patients to disengage from negative social cues may ameliorate  social anxiety in patients ( N = 36 ) with a primary diagnosis of generalized SAD . Patients were r and omly assigned to either an attention training condition ( n = 18 ) , in which patients completed a modified dot-probe task design ed to facilitate attentional disengagement from disgusted faces , or a control dot-probe task condition ( n = 18 ) . As predicted , patients in the attention training condition exhibited significantly greater reductions in social anxiety and trait anxiety , compared with patients in the control condition . At termination , 72 % of patients in the active treatment condition , relative to 11 % of patients in the control condition , no longer met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ( 4th ed . ) criteria for SAD . At 4-month follow-up , patients in the attention training condition continued to maintain their clinical improvement , and diagnostic differences across conditions were also maintained . Results support attention-based models of anxiety and suggest that attention training is a promising alternative or complementary intervention AIMS Attentional bias for drug-related cues has been associated with drug maintenance and relapse . We investigated whether attentional bias for smoking-related stimuli could be altered using a modified visual probe task in cigarette smokers . We also sought to determine whether changes in attentional bias were associated with changes in subsequent craving and cue reactivity . PARTICIPANTS Male and female ( n=54 ) current smokers ( > or=5 cigarettes per day ) , aged between 18 and 40 years , were recruited from staff and students of the University of Bristol , and from the general population . DESIGN Participants attended a single test session and completed an attentional training procedure in which they were either trained to attend to smoking-related pictorial stimuli ( attend group ) or to neutral pictorial stimuli ( avoid group ) . Group allocation was r and omized . MEASUREMENTS Following attentional training , participants underwent a smoking cue exposure procedure in which they were exposed to smoking-related stimuli .  Subjective measures of mood and craving were taken at baseline and before and after cue exposure . Participants then smoked a cigarette and smoking topography was measured . FINDINGS Attentional training increased attentional bias among participants in the attend group , and decreased attentional bias among those in the avoid group . There were also differences between the attend and avoid groups in post-training changes in craving during exposure to in vivo smoking cues , reflecting greater increases in craving in the attend group , although these effects were observed in males only . CONCLUSIONS These data are the first to show alterations in attentional bias for smoking-related stimuli following a modified visual probe training procedure . Furthermore , post-training group differences in subjective craving suggest potential clinical utility of training procedures , although these effects may operate only in males . Future research should investigate whether multiple training sessions enhance post-training reductions in craving and cue reactivity , and the longer-term persistence of training effects OBJECTIVE : To test the feasibility of creating a valid and reliable checklist with the following features : appropriate for assessing both r and omised and non-r and omised studies ; provision of both an overall score for study quality and a profile of scores not only for the quality of reporting , internal validity ( bias and confounding ) and power , but also for external validity . DESIGN : A pilot version was first developed , based on epidemiological principles , review s , and existing checklists for r and omised studies . Face and content validity were assessed by three experienced review ers and reliability was determined using two raters assessing 10 r and omised and 10 non-r and omised studies . Using different raters , the checklist was revised and tested for internal consistency ( Kuder-Richardson 20 ) , test-retest and inter-rater reliability ( Spearman correlation coefficient and sign rank test ; kappa statistics ) , criterion validity , and respondent burden . MAIN RESULTS : The performance of the checklist improved considerably after revision of a pilot version . The Quality Index had high internal consistency ( KR-20 : 0.89 ) as did the subscales apart from external validity ( KR-20 : 0.54 ) . Test-retest ( r 0.88 ) and inter-rater ( r 0.75 ) reliability of the Quality Index were good . Reliability of the subscales varied from good ( bias ) to poor ( external validity ) . The Quality Index correlated highly with an existing , established instrument for assessing r and omised studies ( r 0.90 ) . There was little difference between its performance with non-r and omised and with r and omised studies . Raters took about 20 minutes to assess each paper ( range 10 to 45 minutes ) . CONCLUSIONS : This study has shown that it is feasible to develop a checklist that can be used to assess the method ological quality not only of r and omised controlled trials but also non-r and omised studies . It has also shown that it is possible to produce a checklist that provides a profile of the paper , alerting review ers to its particular method ological strengths and weaknesses . Further work is required to improve the checklist and the training of raters in the assessment of external validity Conscious strategies such as psychoeducation are commonly used to resolve alcohol ambivalence . However , conscious strategies have had little effect on automatic approach inclination , which is one of the components of alcohol ambivalence . The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of automatic attentional bias modification that can affect the approach inclination in alcohol ambivalence . The study included 43 problem drinkers with alcohol ambivalence who were recruited from the university and provided informed consent . They were r and omly assigned to either a group that underwent attentional bias modification or a group that underwent psychoeducation . The level of alcohol ambivalence and readiness to change was assessed using self-report question naires , and the pattern of alcohol ambivalence was assessed using eye movements . The results showed that psychoeducation increased problem drinkers ' readiness to change . In addition , attentional bias modification changed their attentional pattern of alcohol ambivalence by decreasing the approach inclination and increasing the avoidance inclination . Based on these results , attentional bias modification was shown to be a useful method for changing the automatic approach inclination as well as the controlled avoidance inclination , and psychoeducation was shown to be a beneficial strategy for increasing problem drinkers ' extrinsic readiness to change OBJECTIVE To assess the efficacy of a multiple-sessions Web-based Attentional Bias Modification ( ABM ) self-help intervention in 434 smokers who made a quit-attempt . MET 
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Surprisingly , these effects on symptoms of addictive behaviour showed no straightforward relationship with baseline attentional bias and its change from baseline to post-test .
Conclusions Despite a number of negative findings and the diversity of studies , multi-session ABM interventions , especially in the case of alcohol and when the Alcohol Attention Control Training Programme was used , appear to have positive effects on symptoms of addictive behaviour .