Researchers found that a brief episode of anxiety may have a bigger influence on a person's ability to learn what is safe and what is not. A new study used a virtual reality game that involved picking flowers with bees in some of the blossoms that would 'sting' the participant, simulated by a mild electrical stimulation on the hand.
Researchers found that a brief episode of anxiety may have a bigger influence on a person's ability to learn what is safe and what is not. A new study used a virtual reality game that involved picking flowers with bees in some of the blossoms that would 'sting' the participant, simulated by a mild electrical stimulation on the hand.
Researchers discovered that temporary feelings of anxiety had the biggest impact on whether participants could learn to distinguish between the safe and dangerous areas, where the bees were and were not, not a person's general tendency to feel anxious. A brief episode of anxiety may have a bigger influence on a person's ability to learn what is safe and what is not. The research recently published inused a virtual reality game that involved picking flowers with bees in some of the blossoms that would sting the participant -- simulated by a mild electrical stimulation on the hand. Researchers worked with 70 neurotypical participants between the ages of 20 and 30. Claire Marino, a research assistant in the ZVR Lab, and Pavel Rjabtsenkov, a Neuroscience graduate student at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, were co-first authors of the study that found that the people who learned to distinguish between the safe and dangerous areas -- where the bees were and were not -- showed better spatial memory and had lower anxiety, while participants who did not learn the different areas had higher anxiety and heightened fear even in safe areas. Surprisingly, they discovered that temporary feelings of anxiety had the biggest impact on learning and not a person's general tendency to feel anxious. "These results help explain why some people struggle with anxiety-related disorders, such as PTSD, where they may have difficulty distinguishing safe situations from dangerous ones," said the senior author of this study, Benjamin Suarez-Jimenez, PhD, associate professor of Neuroscience and Center for Visual Science at the Del Monte Institute of Neuroscience at the University of Rochester."The findings suggest that excessive anxiety disrupts spatial learning and threat recognition, which could contribute to chronic fear responses. Understanding these mechanisms may help improve treatments for anxiety and stress-related disorders by targeting how people process environmental threats." Suarez-Jimenez explains that it is now important to understand if individuals with psychopathologies of anxiety and stress have similar variations in spatial memory. Adding an attention-tracking measure, like eye-tracking, to future studies could help determine whether a focus on potential threats impacts broader environmental awareness. Additional authors include Caitlin Sharp, Zonia Ali, Evelyn Pineda, Shreya Bavdekar, Tanya Garg, Kendal Jordan, Mary Halvorsen, Carlos Aponte, and Julie Blue of the University of Rochester Medical Center, and Xi Zhu, PhD, of Columbia University Irving Medical Center. The research was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, Wellcome Trust Fellowship, and the European Research Council Grant.Claire E. Marino, Pavel Rjabtsenkov, Caitlin Sharp, Zonia Ali, Evelyn Pineda, Shreya Y. Bavdekar, Tanya Garg, Kendal Jordan, Mary Halvorsen, Carlos Aponte, Julie Blue, Xi Zhu, Benjamin Suarez-Jimenez.After only one to three days of a whiplash injury, scientists can predict which patients will develop chronic pain based on the extent of cross 'talk' between two regions of the brain, and the ... It may be possible to turn anxiety into a superpower in some scenarios, recent research indicates. The study found that if entrepreneurs preparing to make a funding pitch connected their pitch ... Some say the next step in human evolution will be the integration of technology with flesh. Now, researchers have used virtual reality to test whether humans can feel embodiment -- the sense that ... Seeing robots made with soft, flexible parts in action appears to lower people's anxiety about working with them or even being replaced by them. A study found that watching videos of a soft robot ...Man's Best Friend May Be Nature's Worst Enemy, Study on Pet Dogs Suggests
Healthy Aging Medical Education And Training Children's Health Anxiety Psychiatry Educational Psychology Disorders And Syndromes
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
How did the large brain evolve? | ScienceDailyTwo specific genes that evolve exclusively in humans jointly influence the development of the cerebrum. Researchers have provided evidence that these genes contribute together to the evolutionary enlargement of the brain.
Read more »
The hidden spring in your step | ScienceDailyResearchers reveal the way our legs adapt to fast movements. When people hop at high speeds, key muscle fibers in the calf shorten rather than lengthen as forces increase, which they call 'negative stiffness.' This counterintuitive process helps the leg become stiffer, allowing for faster motion.
Read more »
Is AI in medicine playing fair? | ScienceDailyAs artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly integrates into health care, a new study reveals that all generative AI models may recommend different treatments for the same medical condition based solely on a patient's socioeconomic and demographic background.
Read more »
Hot Schrödinger cat states created | ScienceDailyQuantum states can only be prepared and observed under highly controlled conditions. A research team has now succeeded in creating so-called hot Schrodinger cat states in a superconducting microwave resonator. The study shows that quantum phenomena can also be observed and used in less perfect, warmer conditions.
Read more »
8 million years of 'Green Arabia' | ScienceDailyA new study reveals the modern arid desert between Africa and Saudi Arabia was once regularly lush and green with rivers and lakes over a period of 8 million years, allowing for the occupation and movements of both animals and hominins.
Read more »
Finding cancer's 'fingerprints' | ScienceDailyCancer diagnoses traditionally require invasive or labor-intensive procedures such as tissue biopsies. Now, research reveals a method that uses pulsed infrared light to identify molecular profiles in blood plasma that could indicate the presence of certain common cancers.
Read more »