Assessing attentional bias for alcohol-related cues using eye tracking in a virtual reality environment

Several experimental paradigms were developed to measure attentional biases towards alcohol-related cues. However, most of them are based on reaction times two-dimensional stimuli displayed a computer screen, such that their ecological validity has been questioned. To address this, we integrated an eye tracking system into virtual reality headset (ET-VR) and measured in subclinical population alcohol users. In this exploratory study, forty social drinkers recruited immersed bar including stimuli. Attentional focus was assessed using dwell time number fixations for these as well neutral unrelated consumption. The results show the and, lesser extent, cues positively correlated with drinking motivation participants. contrast, no significant correlation found conclusion, present study shows alcohol-induced can be studied ET-VR device