Attentional bias to threat as a biomarker for populations exposed to armed conflicts

Attentional bias to threat has been proposed as a potential biomarker to assess the neurobiological consequences of exposure to armed conflict and its association with aggression. Prior research, primarily involving veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), has identified difficulties in attentional engagement and disengagement from threatening stimuli using event-related potentials (ERPs). However, no study has directly tested this proposal in civilian populations with varying degrees of exposed to armed conflict, including individuals without combat experience. This study aims to identify electrophysiological modulations associated with threat-related attentional bias and their relationship with reactive and proactive aggression in individuals exposed to armed conflict. We evaluated 89 participants from Colombia using electroencephalography (EEG) while they completed an Emotional Flanker Task. ERP components were extracted and compared between participants with low and high exposure to armed conflict. High exposure was associated with greater amplitudes in N2 and LPP components, while low exposure influenced P3 responses. Moreover, stronger N2 modulations related to threat bias and higher exposure levels were associated with increased proactive aggression. These findings suggest that prolonged exposure to violent environments can alter threat processing and maladaptive aggression-related behaviors. Identifying neural markers of attentional bias may inform evidence-based strategies to mitigate aggression and the long-term impact of armed conflict.