Summary: Researchers have developed an AI-powered brain model that can track fear as it occurs in real-world situations, offering a major shift from traditional environments. Classic fear studies often rely on static images, but these do not show how the brain processes fear in dynamic situations. The new model accurately captured fear responses during environmental experiences and revealed that Oxetocin reduces fear specifically in social situations.
These findings point to a targeted approach to treating social anxiety, social phobia, and related conditions. The work also provides a powerful tool for developing clinical interventions that better reflect emotional processing.
Basic facts
- Map of real world horror: An AI-inspired brain model captured fear responses during environmental experiences better than traditional lab paradigms.
- The reduction of religion in society: Oxetocin reduced specific fear and its neural signature specifically in social situations.
- A new treatment method: The findings support an approach that addresses conditions characterized by excessive social anxiety, including anxiety and challenges associated with autism.
Source: University of Hong Kong
Researchers at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) have revealed a revolutionary approach to understanding and treating social anxiety, challenging decades of laboratory-based assumptions and opening doors.
By creating a brain-driven AI model that draws accurately from real-world situations, the discovery offers new hope to millions affected by disorders such as phobias and autism, while paving the way for clinical interventions using existing tools.
Fear is a natural survival thing, but for many, it can be as debilitating as social anxiety. A fundamental challenge in treating these disorders is that traditional fear studies fail to capture how emotions respond to dynamic, real-world situations.
In two recent studies, a research group led by Professor Benjamin Becker from the Department of Psychology at HKU made a major breakthrough. The team re-engineered existing brain models of fear, developed using still images in labs, that understand fear responses during real-world experiences, such as watching a scary movie. To overcome this, they developed an advanced AI-inspired brain model that can accurately track the conscious experience of fear in these dynamic, natural environments.
To build on this new application, researchers used a new model to test the effects of the hormone oxytocin. The findings showed that Oxetocin specifically reduced the feeling of fear and its associated neural signature in social situations, but not in non-social ones. This suggests a more targeted approach to reducing social anxiety.
Key results of the study:
- Challenges The validity of hundreds of previous lab studies, which show that they may not accurately explain how the brain processes fear in everyday life.
- It provides strong evidence for a new treatment method for disorders marked by severe social fear, such as social anxiety, social phobia, and autism.
- It creates a new driven tool to bridge the gap between lab research and real emotional experience, finding the way to effective clinical interventions.
Important Questions Answered:
A: Traditional research uses still and simple stimulated images, which do not reflect the complexities of real-world fear. A new AI-based model shows that fear processing is altered in powerful environments, revealing gaps in decades of lab research.
A: Oxetocin reduced ratings of associative fear and neural patterns linked to fear, but only in social situations. This selective effect suggests a specific approach to the treatment of social anxiety disorders.
A: By uncovering signatures that are lacking in real-world situations, the model enables more targeted interventions and supports therapies that specifically address social anxiety disorders. This provides new potential for personalized, therapeutic approaches.
Editing notes:
- This article was edited by the editor of neuroscience news.
- The journal is fully reviewed.
- Additional context added by our staff.
About this ai and fear research issues
Author: Jaymee ng
Source: University of Hong Kong
Contact: Jaymee Ng – University of Hong Kong
Image: This photo is posted in Neuroscience News
Actual research: Open access.
“Oxytocin reduces implicit fear of social situations by enhancing the higher Amygdala regulation and wider brain representations” by Benjamin Becker et. Advanced science
-Catshangwa
Oxetocin reduces spontaneous fear in social situations by enhancing the amygdala's lower amygdalarate regulation and brain representations
Accumulating evidence from animal and human studies suggests the ability to control fear of Oxetocin (OT), but clinical translation into a novel intervention for pathological fear requires behavioral conditioning and dysfunction under real-life conditions.
Here, we combined a standard fMRI-design that creates a strong and immersive fear experience in social and social situations with documented induction between subjects administered intranasal OT without odor (24 IU, ni= 67 healthy men).
Selective reduction of visual cues in social situations but not in non-social situations. At the levels of the neural level OT developed in the left cortex (LMCC) and its functional connection with Amprolantagel Amygdala, with both indices of neurals more associated with visual fear following OT.
At the network level, enhanced connectivity between the dorsal attention network (DAN) through the Fronto-parietal (FPN) and the Default-Mode Network (DMN), and intensified brain connectivity patterns.
We use an independent task to communicate the neuromarker of fear in natural situations (cafe) confirmed that expressions of fear are found in the brain.
The findings show a potentiated effect on social anxiety and fear of OT, highlighting its promise as a treatment option for disorders characterized by excessive fear in social situations.
