Sustainable Development Goals
Abstract/Objectives
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, individuals have been asked to maintain a certain level of social distancing and have been exposed to the news and stress associated with the extreme situation in a relatively short period of time. During this period, people may experience extreme negative emotional reactions and social anxiety, which can lead to attentional bias (i.e., inability to focus or sustain attention during online learning or while working at home) and social-emotional disturbance in daily activities. It is speculated that individuals with high levels of anxiety may demonstrate greater cognitive- emotional dysregulation during the epidemic prevention period, reflecting greater difficulties in adapting to life changes. To the best of our knowledge, no imaging studies in Taiwan have attempted to evaluate the influences of emotional induction on cognitive and social functioning under epidemic prevention. Thus, there is a need to examine the neural profile in a more integrated manner.
Results/Contributions

1.Lee, S. H. *, & Chou, T. L.* (2025). Insular-striatal activation during COVID-19 predicts stress reactivity in high-trait anxiety. Biological Psychology, 108998. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsyc ho.2025.108998 (SCIE, SSCI)

 

This study used fMRI to track attentional bias toward COVID-19 information in high-trait anxiety (HTA) and low-trait anxiety (LTA) groups. Results showed that HTA individuals initially exhibited heightened attention to pandemic threats, followed by avoidance, supporting the "vigilance- avoidance            hypothesis." Additionally, insula-ACC-striatal responses in the HTA group decreased over time, reflecting diminished stress-coping ability. Early pandemic activation in the insula and striatum predicted stress changes a year later, with lower striatal activation and higher insular activation associated with increased stress, providing neurophysiological markers for mental health risk assessment. As the first long-term neurocognitive study on anxiety during COVID- 19, these findings have significant implications for mental health risk prediction and        clinical interventions.


2. Lee, S. H.*, & Lee, K. T. (2023).

The impact of pandemic-related stress on attentional bias and anxiety in alexithymia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Scientific Reports,      13,  6327.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598- 023-33326-5 (SCIE)

 

This study explored the moderating role of alexithymia in the relationship between COVID-19-related stress, anxiety levels, and attentional bias. A total of 103 Taiwanese adults participated in the study during the Omicron wave, completing assessments and an emotional Stroop task with pandemic-related or neutral stimuli to measure attentional bias. Results showed that individuals with higher alexithymia experienced a weaker impact of pandemic-related stress on anxiety.

Additionally, among those exposed to high pandemic-related stress, higher alexithymia was associated with reduced attentional bias toward COVID-19 information, suggesting that alexithymic individuals may avoid pandemic-related stimuli to temporarily alleviate stress.

These findings highlight the role of alexithymia in psychological adaptation to stressful events, providing insights into emotional processing and stress coping, with important implications for mental health and clinical interventions.

Keywords
COVID19, emotion, attention, social functioning
Contact Information
李姝慧
sh.lee@mx.nthu.edu.tw