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11 papers
Evolution has endowed all humans with a continuum of innate, hard-wired, automatically activated defense behaviors, termed the defense cascade. Arousal is the first step in activating the defense cascade; flight or fight is an active defense response for dealing with threat; freezing is a flight-or-fight response put on hold; tonic…
This review looks at studies in humans and animals that link anxiety and stress with poorer cognitive flexibility — the ability to change strategies when rules or goals change. It describes evidence that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is central to flexible behavior, that anxiety or PFC disruptions are associated with…
The study tested whether a single intravenous dose of ketamine given right after reactivating alcohol-related memories could weaken those memories and reduce harmful drinking. People who had their drinking memories reactivated and then received ketamine showed larger drops in urge to drink, enjoyment of beer, cue reactivity, and in drinking…
Scientists reviewing lab rat studies say juvenile 'play fighting' helps shape the social brain. Research over the past 100+ years shows that when young rats are deprived of normal peer play during the juvenile period, adult rats show socio-cognitive problems and changes in neurons in the prefrontal cortex, especially the…
Nightmare disorder and isolated sleep paralysis are REM-related sleep problems that can cause real distress. Nightmare disorder means repeated, very upsetting, well-remembered dreams that wake a person and hurt their mood, sleep, or daily life. Isolated sleep paralysis is a state where the body stays in REM sleep muscle paralysis…
This review looks at how three common drugs of abuse—nicotine, cocaine, and alcohol—change learning and memory and how those changes connect with stress and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The authors describe how these drugs can either help or hurt memory depending on dose, how long they are used, and whether…
This 2023 hypothesis paper says cognitive reappraisal — changing how we interpret events to change our feelings — often works in labs or therapy but may not carry over to real life. The authors explain this by comparing reappraisal to extinction learning, which creates new, context-dependent memories instead of erasing…
This review looked at human studies up to July 2020 about THC (the main psychoactive part of Cannabis) and its effects on fear-related memories and anxiety. The authors report that low doses of THC can speed up extinction of aversive memories and lower anxiety in people, and that combining THC…
This paper is a theoretical review that looks at how MDMA might help couples in therapy. It reviews brain and body effects of MDMA, and how those effects could change emotions, behavior, thinking, and bodily feelings between two partners. The authors list specific interpersonal areas MDMA may affect (for example,…
This mini-review describes how large or severe traumatic events can change the brain and affect thinking, emotions, and behavior. It says areas such as the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex show physiological changes after trauma, which are linked to problems with memory, attention, and emotional control. The paper also highlights…
Researchers scanned the brain activity of one very experienced meditator (more than 23,000 hours of practice) while they entered deep concentration states called jhanas. They used two brain-measuring tools — fMRI, which shows which brain areas are communicating, and EEG, which records electrical rhythms — and also had the person…
