"Or, in formal terms, “trait anxiety” predisposes individuals to a lower social status and lower performance in competitive social groups. In fact, researchers at the Swiss institute École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne have discovered the part of the brain that links anxiety with social standing — and figured out a way to manipulate it. The neuroscientists gave anxious rats, who were also subordinate when competing with their fellow rodents, a vitamin-B3 booster that targeted this specific part of the brain. Those creatures went from eating lunch alone to becoming homecoming queens. But when the drugs wore off, so did the newfound popularity.
Carmen Sandi, a researcher on the study and the head of the lab where the research was conducted, says this is the first time anyone has linked mitochondrial function in a particular region of the brain with behavior. And the findings could soon have implications for us — she and her colleagues are starting human trials. Sandi hopes they’ll be able to help out people with their “difficulties in the social world.”
http://www.ozy.com/acumen/blame-anxiety-for-your-social-status/66639
Carmen Sandi, a researcher on the study and the head of the lab where the research was conducted, says this is the first time anyone has linked mitochondrial function in a particular region of the brain with behavior. And the findings could soon have implications for us — she and her colleagues are starting human trials. Sandi hopes they’ll be able to help out people with their “difficulties in the social world.”
http://www.ozy.com/acumen/blame-anxiety-for-your-social-status/66639