标题:Feelinganxious?Checkyourorbitofrontalcortex,cultivateyouroptimism source:sciencedaily 翻译请保留原文链接哦 欲翻译的小伙伴,可评论领稿,并把已完成的译文发在自己的心理圈or个人主页的日志内。请领稿的小伙伴,尽量在一个星期内完成翻译,谢谢!! Anewstudylinksanxiety,abrainstructurecalledtheorbitofrontalcortex,andoptimism,findingthathealthyadultswhohavelargerOFCstendtobemoreoptimisticandlessanxious。 Thenewanalysis,reportedinthejournalSocial,CognitiveandAffectiveNeuroscience,offersthefirstevidencethatoptimismplaysamediatingroleintherelationshipbetweenthesizeoftheOFCandanxiety。 Anxietydisordersafflictroughly44millionpeopleintheU。S。Thesedisordersdisruptlivesandcostanestimated42billionto47billionannually,scientistsreport。 Theorbitofrontalcortex,abrainregionlocatedjustbehindtheeyes,isknowntoplayaroleinanxiety。TheOFCintegratesintellectualandemotionalinformationandisessentialtobehavioralregulation。PreviousstudieshavefoundlinksbetweenthesizeofapersonsOFCandhisorhersusceptibilitytoanxiety。Forexample,inawellknownstudyofyoungadultswhosebrainswereimagedbeforeandafterthecolossal2011earthquakeandtsunamiinJapan,researchersdiscoveredthattheOFCactuallyshrankinsomestudysubjectswithinfourmonthsofthedisaster。ThosewithmoreOFCshrinkagewerelikelytoalsobediagnosedwithposttraumaticstressdisorder,theresearchersfound。 Otherstudieshaveshownthatmoreoptimisticpeopletendtobelessanxious,andthatoptimisticthoughtsincreaseOFCactivity。 TheteamonthenewstudyhypothesizedthatalargerOFCmightactasabufferagainstanxietyinpartbyboostingoptimism。 Moststudiesofanxietyfocusonthosewhohavebeendiagnosedwithanxietydisorders,saidUniversityofIllinoisresearcherSandaDolcos,wholedtheresearchwithgraduatestudentYifanHuandpsychologyprofessorFlorinDolcos。Wewantedtogointheoppositedirection,shesaid。Iftherecanbeshrinkageoftheorbitofrontalcortexandthatshrinkageisassociatedwithanxietydisorders,whatdoesitmeaninhealthypopulationsthathavelargerOFCs?Couldthathaveaprotectiverole? TheresearchersalsowantedtoknowwhetheroptimismwaspartofthemechanismlinkinglargerOFCbrainvolumestolesseranxiety。 TheteamcollectedMRIsof61healthyyoungadultsandanalyzedthestructureofanumberofregionsintheirbrains,includingtheOFC。Theresearcherscalculatedthevolumeofgraymatterineachbrainregionrelativetotheoverallvolumeofthebrain。Thestudysubjectsalsocompletedteststhatassessedtheiroptimismandanxiety,depressionsymptoms,andpositive(enthusiastic,interested)andnegative(irri,upset)affect。 Astatisticalanalysisandmodelingrevealedthatathickerorbitofrontalcortexontheleftsideofthebraincorrespondedtohigheroptimismandlessanxiety。ThemodelalsosuggestedthatoptimismplayedamediatingroleinreducinganxietyinthosewithlargerOFCs。Furtheranalysesruledouttheroleofotherpositivetraitsinreducinganxiety,andnootherbrainstructuresappearedtobeinvolvedinreducinganxietybyboostingoptimism。 Youcansay,OK,thereisarelationshipbetweentheorbitofrontalcortexandanxiety。WhatdoIdotoreduceanxiety?SandaDolcossaid。Andourmodelissaying,thisisworkingpartiallythroughoptimism。Sooptimismisoneofthefactorsthatcanbetargeted。 Optimismhasbeeninvestigatedinsocialpsychologyforyears。Butsomehowonlyrecentlydidwestarttolookatfunctionalandstructuralassociationsofthistraitinthebrain,Husaid。Wewantedtoknow:Ifweareconsistentlyoptimisticaboutlife,wouldthatleaveamarkinthebrain? FlorinDolcossaidfuturestudiesshouldtestwhetheroptimismcanbeincreasedandanxietyreducedbytrainingpeopleintasksthatengagetheorbitofrontalcortex,orbyfindingwaystoboostoptimismdirectly。 Ifyoucantrainpeoplesresponses,thetheoryisthatoverlongerperiods,theirabilitytocontroltheirresponsesonamomentbymomentbasiswilleventuallybeembeddedintheirbrainstructure,hesaid。