Scientists have located the anxiety center of the human brain for the first time. The discovery may contribute to more effective treatment of anxiety and depression – reports Sky TV, citing the research of the London Institute of Psychiatry under the supervision of prof. Stephen Williams.
The source of anxiety is a component of the limbic system called the hippocampus, mainly responsible for memory, as shown by magnetic resonance imaging scanners (MRI). The hippocampus is a tiny neural structure located in the temporal lobe of the cerebral cortex.
The discovery will allow, among others create anti-anxiety medications that focus only on the hippocampus, not the whole brain. This can result in fewer side effects.
During the MRI scan, the volunteers played an arcade game based on an idea by Pac-Man. They were chased by the red point. If they were caught, they were given an electric shock. The scanner showed that during this activity, the brain’s centers responsible for visual and muscular responses, as well as the hippocampus, were activated.
Scientists believe that anxiety – if not excessive – is nothing wrong or undesirable. It can be treated as part of the brain’s cognitive repertoire, used to assess risk in unforeseen and forced situations. Anxiety grows on the basis of past experiences, especially unpleasant ones, and can subconsciously shape people’s reactions in emergency situations.
Anxiety has been seen as an undesirable, even abnormal, state, generally arising from childhood experiences. We now know that for most people it is one of the instruments to tame a dangerous situation and stay safe, explains Dr. Adam Perkins.
Prof. Stephen Williams adds: Now that we know that the hippocampus is activated in a state of high anxiety, we can work on a therapy that modulates activity in this part of the brain. Both behavioral therapies and drugs are available to suppress the increased activity of the hippocampus when anxiety takes its toll. (PAP)