ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Health → Mind & Brain

Anxiety alters perception by attaching emotional experience to neutral cues

Anxious people may be more prone to associate neutral environmental cues with emotional experiences. Psychologists call this over-generalization, and research into the matter might explain why a seemingly minor event can sometimes unleash a full blown anxiety episode. We might also learn more about the wiring of the anxious brain which fires in different patterns than the 'normal' brain.

Tibi PuiubyTibi Puiu
March 8, 2016
in Mind & Brain, News, Psychology
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit

Anxious people may be more prone to associate neutral environmental cues with emotional experiences. Psychologists call this over-generalization, and research into the matter might explain why a seemingly minor event can sometimes unleash a full blown anxiety episode. We might also learn more about the wiring of the anxious brain which fires in different patterns than the ‘normal’ brain.

anxiety
Image: Pixabay

In a new research, Rony Paz of Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and colleagues trained anxious persons, as well as healthy controls, to associate three distinct audible tones  with three outcomes: money loss, money gain or no consequence.

After the initial training, participants were asked in the next phase whether or not they heard before a tone among fifteen that were played back. If the participant was right, cash was awarded.

The researchers from Israel found that those that were diagnosed with anxiety were much more likely than the control to judge a completely new tone as one they had heard earlier. This difference in perception could not be explained by hearing or learning abilities.

Moreover, brain scans performed with a fMRI machine showed striking differences between anxious patients and controls, as reported in Current Biology.  Those differences were mainly found in the amygdala, a brain region related to fear and anxiety, and also in primary sensory regions of the brain.

Researchers think that anxiety attaches emotional responses to new environmental cue, altering sensory perception.

“We show that in patients with anxiety, emotional experience induces plasticity in brain circuits that lasts after the experience is over,” says Paz. “Such plastic changes occur in primary circuits that later mediate the response to new stimuli, resulting in an inability to discriminate between the originally experienced stimulus and a new similar stimulus. Therefore, anxiety patients respond emotionally to such new stimuli as well, resulting in anxiety even in apparently irrelevant new situations. Importantly, they cannot control this, as it is a perceptual inability to discriminate.”

Previously, studies showed that living with anxiety can warp perceptions of other people, especially their intentions toward us. It may also lead to a distorted sense of reality. Paz cautioned however that there’s nothing inherently bad with anxiety.

RelatedPosts

Rap music lyrics referencing suicide and depression double since 1998
Researchers pinpoint the brain’s anxiety centers
The Rise of DIY Mental Health Tech: Can It Really Help with Anxiety?
Your Brain on Stress Is Worse Than You Think, Especially If You’re Depressed

“Anxiety traits can be completely normal, and even beneficial evolutionarily. Yet an emotional event, even minor sometimes, can induce brain changes that might lead to full-blown anxiety,” he says.

Tags: anxiety

ShareTweetShare
Tibi Puiu

Tibi Puiu

Tibi is a science journalist and co-founder of ZME Science. He writes mainly about emerging tech, physics, climate, and space. In his spare time, Tibi likes to make weird music on his computer and groom felines. He has a B.Sc in mechanical engineering and an M.Sc in renewable energy systems.

Related Posts

Health

Your Brain on Stress Is Worse Than You Think, Especially If You’re Depressed

byAlexandra Gerea
1 week ago
Mind & Brain

The Rise of DIY Mental Health Tech: Can It Really Help with Anxiety?

byBarbara Jacquelyn Sahakian
2 weeks ago
Health

There are actually 6 types of depression and anxiety. Each should be treated differently

byTibi Puiu
1 year ago
Animals

People underestimate how much anxiety household sounds can produce for dogs

byAlexandru Micu
4 years ago

Recent news

Your gut has a secret weapon against ‘forever chemicals’: microbes

July 3, 2025

High IQ People Are Strikingly Better at Forecasting the Future

July 3, 2025

Newborns Feel Pain Long Before They Can Understand It

July 3, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  • How we review products
  • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Science News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Space
  • Future
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Physics
      • Matter and Energy
      • Quantum Mechanics
      • Thermodynamics
    • Chemistry
      • Periodic Table
      • Applied Chemistry
      • Materials
      • Physical Chemistry
    • Biology
      • Anatomy
      • Biochemistry
      • Ecology
      • Genetics
      • Microbiology
      • Plants and Fungi
    • Geology and Paleontology
      • Planet Earth
      • Earth Dynamics
      • Rocks and Minerals
      • Volcanoes
      • Dinosaurs
      • Fossils
    • Animals
      • Mammals
      • Birds
      • Fish
      • Amphibians
      • Reptiles
      • Invertebrates
      • Pets
      • Conservation
      • Animal facts
    • Climate and Weather
      • Climate change
      • Weather and atmosphere
    • Health
      • Drugs
      • Diseases and Conditions
      • Human Body
      • Mind and Brain
      • Food and Nutrition
      • Wellness
    • History and Humanities
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • History
      • Economics
      • People
      • Sociology
    • Space & Astronomy
      • The Solar System
      • Sun
      • The Moon
      • Planets
      • Asteroids, meteors & comets
      • Astronomy
      • Astrophysics
      • Cosmology
      • Exoplanets & Alien Life
      • Spaceflight and Exploration
    • Technology
      • Computer Science & IT
      • Engineering
      • Inventions
      • Sustainability
      • Renewable Energy
      • Green Living
    • Culture
    • Resources
  • Videos
  • Reviews
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Editorial policy
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.