EEG STUDY OF ATTENTIONAL AND EMOTIONAL IMPACTS OF PAST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Attentional and emotional dysregulation are highly prevalent among survivors of interpersonal trauma, including domestic violence, which disproportionately affects women worldwide. Prior studies demonstrate differences in electroencephalography (EEG) event-related potentials (ERPs) associated with visual attention and emotion regulation in trauma-exposed individuals compared to controls.
While emotional dysregulation improves with clinical interventions including cognitive behavioral therapy, and emotion desensitization & reprocessing therapy, research on targeted interventions to improve attentional deficits remains limited. Based on prior evidence, we hypothesize that ‘attentional control training’ (ACT) could have a beneficial impact on both attentional and emotional trauma-induced alterations.
The present study uses EEG to evaluate benefits of ACT on attentional and emotional alterations observed in survivors of domestic violence. We quantified ERP components linked to visual attention (N1 and N2PC) and emotional regulation (LPP) in female survivors of domestic violence, relative to age- and sex-matched controls.
First, self-report measures of anxiety and prior trauma were collected. Second, during EEG recordings, participants completed an emotional valence task as well as an attentional task. Third, participants engaged in eight sessions of ACT delivered over four weeks, using a dot-probe paradigm involving angry and neutral facial stimuli. Finally, self-report measures of anxiety, and EEG recordings during emotional valence and attentional tasks were collected again, to evaluate the impact of ACT.
This study aims to advance understanding of neural mechanisms underlying attentional and emotional dysregulation in female survivors of domestic violence, and to inform the development of neurocognitive interventions for trauma-related visual and emotional processing difficulties.