| Summary: | Biases in selective information-processing or attention biases are features of most psychiatric disorders. Attention biases can be measured by monitoring visual scanning behaviour (VSB) which is directly linked to attention allocation processes. This thesis presents a general framework for studies of VSB when multiple images are presented simultaneously to the viewer. Within this general framework, a novel set of VSB parameters that characterize the different stages of the visual scanning process was developed. Using this set of parameters, biases towards thin and fat body shape images were detected in Anorexia Nervosa patients. A log-likelihood ratio detector utilizing VSB parameters had both high sensitivity (92%) and high specificity (90%). Preliminary results in VSB studies also show biases in adults with Major Depressive Disorder and elderly apathetic Alzheimer’s patients. The development of sensitive physiological markers in individuals with mental illness is crucial to the advance of research, diagnosis, and treatment in psychiatry.
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