1. SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE FOUND THROUGH RESEARCH
Evidence of varied theoretical views have risen when approaching anxiety’s relations to decision-making. Scientific studies show that anxiety does indeed affect decision-making, as it delays the neurotransmitters in the synapse gap to diffuse, hindering the speed at which neurones transmit information compared to an individual that does not suffer from anxiety. This shows that anxiety prolongs decision-making as more depth is considered (i.e. consequences, first cause etc…). Below is a quote from a news article, stating how anxiety affects the brain:
“Behaviour including making decisions is encoded by specific groups of neurons in the brain,” Moghaddam said. “Anxiety essentially weakens the encoding
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This is evident where the news article states “weakens…prefrontal cortex that encode choice” i.e. choice being decisions. This can be justified that anxiety evidently does indeed affect decision-making. On the other hand, there is another side to this argument, in that it can be stated that decision-making can in fact lead to an individual becoming anxious in a stressful situation. This could mean that whilst making a decision, anxiety can be an outcome which could make the situation worse.
“The PFC plays a pivotal role in executive functions that include: long-term planning, understanding rules, calculating the consequences of risk and reward, regulating emotions, problem solving, and decision-making. Anxiety, in both animals and humans, appears to disrupt brain neurons in the PFC that are critical for making smart decisions.”
By Christopher Bergland [7th March 2016]
This quote above highlights that anxiety does in fact affect decision-making in the region of the brain known as the pre-frontal cortex, and it states clearly that anxiety interferes with the neurons in the prefrontal cortex, which is important for decision – making. The use of the words “pivotal role” emphasises the importance of the role of this brain region in the decision-making
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Using brain imaging technology and neurochemical techniques, scientists have discovered that the amygdala and the hippocampus play significant roles in most anxiety disorders.
The amygdala is an almond-shaped structure deep in the brain that is believed to be a communications hub between the parts of the brain that process incoming sensory signals and the parts that interpret these signals. It can alert the rest of the brain that a threat is present and trigger a fear or anxiety response. The emotional memories stored in the central part of the amygdala may play a role in anxiety disorders involving very distinct fears, such as fears of dogs, spiders, or flying.
The hippocampus is the part of the brain that encodes threatening events into memories. Studies have shown that the hippocampus appears to be smaller in some people who were victims of child abuse or who served in military combat. Research will determine what causes this reduction in size and what role it plays in the flashbacks, deficits in explicit memory, and fragmented memories of the traumatic event that are common in PTSD.”
By Alan Henry
Grigorenko, Elena L., et al. "Bringing a Developmental Perspective to Anxiety Genetics." Development and psychopathology 24.4 (2012): 1179-93. ProQuest. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.
By contrast, our thinking (neocortex) human coping brain has the ability to learn and use language. These functions require the linking of learning brain cells we call neurons. These microscopic, multi-functional neurons are building blocks not only for thinking and learning, but for deciding the way we behave. Thinking brain makes possible our organizing and planning abilities. It also enables us to figure out the meaning of our emotional experiences, such as why we are upset or hurt. The meanings of emotional experiences are what we call our
...n fear and arousal (Schmahl, Berne, Krause, Kleindienst, Valerius, Vermetten &ump; Bohus, 2009). The work of dampening this arousal is carried out by the pre-frontal region of the brain. Brain imaging has revealed that personal differences in the capacity to activate areas of the prefrontal cerebral cortex, which is believed to activate inhibitory responses, predict the capacity to repress negative feelings (Williams Sidis, Gordon &ump; Meares, 2006). Acetylcholine and norepinephrine in addition to serotonin are the main neurotransmitters in the circuit involved in the regulation of emotions. Imbalance of these neurotransmitters in conjunction with increased GABA activity is believed to have the capacity to result in intense mood swings similar to those of borderline personality disorder (Schmahl, Berne, Krause, Kleindienst, Valerius, Vermetten &ump; Bohus, 2009).
In other words, Henry cannot encode and compose short-term memory, and recall long-term memory of his past experience. Additionally, Henry’s amygdala has also been removed from this surgery, which caused him to learn fear from daily life and remember some unpleasant events. Therefore, Henry always expresses happiness more than sad and unhappy emotions. It is an interesting finding that amygdala is associated with fear memory and emotional expression. Henry Gustav died in 2008.
The amygdala is located in the brain’s temporal lobe and enables us to feel certain emotions. It is our emotions that make us human and it helps in connecting us with one another. One of the most important emotions that the amygdala is responsible for is our fear response. Flight-or-fight is crucial for the survival of any living being, i.e. when an animal feels cornered and threatened, their body will respond by preparing them to flee, if able, or attack.
...as long term potentiation have different roles in fear conditioning. Hippocampal LTP is responsible for assembling and consolidating context into the hippocampus. The context then becomes associated with the US in the amygdala. Finally, the amygdala plays an important role in constructing and storing CS-US association during fear conditioning (Maren, 2001). Studying these mechanism will prove to be valuable in understanding the synaptic plasticity in other learning and memory systems. It is also possible to use fear conditioning as a model for fear disturbances disorders. Researching fear conditioning at the intracellular level, such as the role of glutamate receptors, provides a foundation in understanding memory formation, as well as begin unraveling disorders that have fear as a component: anxiety, phobias, and post-traumatic stress disorder (Kim & Jung, 2006).
Alice Park’s article in TIME Magazine, entitled “The Two Faces of Anxiety”, outlines the key positive and negative effects anxiety can have on both the individual and humanity as a whole. Because of the steady increase in diagnoses of Generalized Anxiety Disorder and similar mental illnesses, evaluating the origins of anxiety as well as its effects are crucial steps for developing both medical treatments and alternative methods of coping with the disorder. While many of the 40 million American adults suffering from anxiety believe that eliminating the feeling altogether is ideal, they fail to consider what psychologists have mounds of empirical evidence in support of: anxiety is not inherently adverse, and can, in many cases, be advantageous. Anxiety is generally understood to be a biological process in which specific symptoms, such as increased heart rate and blood pressure, manifest as a response to stressful scenarios. In these potentially-fatal situations, the fight-or-flight response is an evolutionary reaction developed to prevent species from engaging in behavior that could result in extreme negative consequences, while also preparing them for possible conflict. Overall, this response is a constructive adaptation, but an issue arises when individuals face stressful, albeit non-fatal, situations. The body still experiences the same symptoms despite the absence of any “real” danger, and the person suffering from the anxiety feels as though he or she has little control over the behaviors brought on by the condition. Triggered by both genetic and environmental factors, there appears to be a wide variation in the severity of anxiety as well as what treatment methods are effective for each individual. However, many psychologists ...
In the book Quite: The power of introverts in the world that can’t stop talking, Susan Cain claims that “Prefrontal cortex in introverts is more activated compared to extroverts.” As prefrontal cortex of the brain is associated with deeper thoughts and planning, it suggests that extroverts may be more impetuous than introverts who mull things over instead of directly kicking off into action. But because of this tendency to think things over in introverts, they are also more vulnerable to such mental problems as anxiety and
(271) Before we can answer the question we fist need to understand what GABA means. It means gamma-aminobutyric acid which is a common neurotransmitter in the brain. Neurotransmitters are chemicals that carry messages from one to another. GABA has inhibitory messages that are received in the receptor which cause the neuron to stop firing. In other words if during a normal fear or anxiety reaction, key neurons start firing more rapidly, triggering the firing of more neurons creating a state of excitability throughout the body: perspiration, breathing heavily, and muscle tension increase. If the excitability keeps persisting it starts a continuous feedback system where the brain and body reduce the level of excitability by emitting GABA through some neurons which bind GABA receptors on certain neurons which stop firing which cease the feeling of fear and anxiety. So, some of the some limitations of this explanation would be having a malfunction in the feedback system which can cause fear and anxiety to go unchecked this has been proven by reducing GABA in animals which proved a rise in anxiety.
Anxiety is a feeling of tension associated with a sense of threat of danger when the source of the danger is not known. In comparison, fear is a feeling of tension that is associated with a known source of danger. I believe it is normal for us to have some mild anxiety present in our daily lives. Everyday that I can think of I have some kind of anxiety though out that day. Anxiety warns us and enables us to get ready for the ‘fight or flight’ response. However, heightened anxiety is emotionally painful. It disrupts a person's daily functioning.
Anxiety is a term for several disorders that causes the body to feel fear, nervousness, apprehension, and worrying, "Anxiety is a word we use for some types of fear that are consequently to do with the thought of a threat or something going wrong in the future, rather than right now" (Mental Health Foundation). Many people suffer from anxiety every day, consequently most people can not pinpoint what exactly their anxiety originates from. No one likes to experience stress and anxiety, but it is just a phase of life that most humans have to overcome and become stronger. Anxiety disorders are one of the most inferior mental illnesses that affects teens and adults in the United States. Anxiety negatively affects the body and
Anxiety is a monster that most people have to deal with on a daily basis. Even though anxiety is not actually a monster it still torments thousands of people every day, leaving them weak and scared. Anxiety defined means “distress or uneasiness of mind caused by fear of danger or misfortune” defined by Dictionary.com. In the epic poem of Beowulf, one could say that the townspeople had anxiety when it came to Grendel because they feared what he could do to them.
It is associated with decision making, moderating social behavior, personality expression, and planning complex cognitive behavior; all of these being important to psychological and social development. In short terms the prefrontal cortex is associated to actions and thoughts relating to an individual’s internal goal. In relation to ongoing psychological and social development of the child as they age normally, studies have shown that the fewer amount of interconnection in the prefrontal cortex is present in individual with mental disorders. The number of connections in the frontal lobe are seen to be fewer with in those with many stressors , criminals, and those who daily intake cannabis. The prefrontal cortex is important to primarily decision making and distinguishing between good in bad in which those things alone can affect a child’s development both psychological and social. The prefrontal cortex is important to overall brain
‘An adequate hypothesis of fear must utilize physiological concepts of cerebral action in addition to psychological terminology. The hypothesis proposes that "fear originates in the disruption of temporally and spatially organized cerebral activities; that fear are distinct from other emotions by the nature of the processes tending to restore equilibrium." The sources of fear involve conflict, sensory deficit, or constitutional change. ‘
National Institute of Mental Health. (2009). Studying anxiety disorders. NIH Medline plus, 5, 13-15. Retrieved from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/anxiety-disorders/complete-index.shtml