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How brain training and enhanced resilience may reduce anxiety

August 20, 2019

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We live in a society that collectively suffers from anxiety. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one in 13 individuals suffers from anxiety, with one in four adults experiencing a phase of anxiety during their lifetime. Anxiety is one of most common mental health problems and it often coexists with other disorders, such as depression, or ADHD. Emotional distress often leads to anxiety and in such a hasty society, this seems to have become the norm for the usual state of being.

A fascinating study examining the associations between the brain and emotional distress was recently published in Personality Neuroscience by Cambridge University Press. The findings have proven to be a valuable contribution to the future development of new ways to combat anxiety and other symptoms of emotional distress.

The Study

The study conducted by researchers at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign used 85 healthy college students as test subjects to investigate the connections between personality traits related to resilience, the brain’s prefrontal cortical regions, and symptoms of emotional distress, such as depression and anxiety.

“In this study, we wanted to look at commonalities across brain regions and across personality traits that contribute to protective factors. […] We targeted a number of regions in the prefrontal cortex, looking specifically at the volume of those regions using structural magnetic resonance imaging. We did a confirmatory factor analysis, which is basically a statistical approach for testing whether there is a common factor underlying the observed measurements”,  said Matt Moore, a Beckman Institute Graduate Fellow and co-author of the study. 

Furthermore, another one of this study’s authors and psychology research scientist, Sanda Dolcos, stated that based on previous studies and clinical literature, there is a connection between brain volume and certain personality traits, specifically there is a direct connection between lower volume in certain areas of the brain and increased anxiety.

The researchers discovered that certain factors in brain structure and personality are able to support adaptive behavior in order to ward off negative emotions. Specifically, a larger volume in certain areas of the brain has the capacity to activate protective personality traits. The scientists were interested to identify which brain regions exactly are connected to specific personality traits, in order to develop a method that would help individuals who struggle with anxiety and depression.

“We are interested in cognitive behavioral intervention,” Dolcos said. “We have identified a resilience factor, which relates to detailed components in the prefrontal cortex, so cognitive interventions would target those brain areas.”

Brain Training vs. Anxiety

It’s no news that the volume of the brain can change by developing skills, which consecutively might alter personality traits that help combat emotional distress, such as optimism.

“We can change the volume of the brain through experience and training. […] It means that we can work on developing new skills, for instance, new emotion regulation strategies that have a more positive approach, and can actually impact the brain”, said Sanda Dolcos.

This study found that the increased volume of the prefrontal cortex is directly tied to lower anxiety. Which is significant, because the prefrontal cortex is the “brain location” where an individual experiences positive sensations and emotions. This is also the part of the brain responsible for assessing, evaluating, interpreting, and responding to emotional situations.

This suggests that empowering this part of the brain may be a significant way to not only cope, but efficiently combat anxiety. Neuroscientists have already discovered and stated that the brain is responsible for human behavior and vice versa. The brain has the power to change during an individual’s lifetime. This is called neuroplasticity. It happens as a result of new learning experiences. 

The most promising conclusion of this study is that based on these discoveries, new interventions can be developed that may help the brain reorganize itself and change its structure in order to ward off anxiety. People who suffer from this are encouraged to improve their resilience and well-being through training and positive social relationships. Overall, it is a major contribution to the future development of tools and techniques intended to reduce anxiety and enhance well-being in both adaptive children and adults.