Anxiety and Inhibition May Cause You to Walk Differently

First Posted: Jan 21, 2016 01:46 PM EST
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It turns out that anxiety and inhibition may actually cause you to walk differently. Scientists have found that people experiencing these emotions have more activity in the right side of their brain, which causes them to walk in a leftward trajectory.

Scientists have known for a while that people have a tendency to allocate attention unequally across space. That's why scientists decided to take a closer look as to why this is. They blindfolded volunteers and asked them to walk in a straight line across a room towards a previously seen target.

The researchers found evidence that blindfolded individuals who displayed inhibition or anxiety were prone to walk to the left. This indicated greater activation in the right hemisphere of the brain. This, in particular, suggests that the brain's two hemispheres are associated with different motivational systems. These relate on the right side to inhibition and on the left side to approach.

This is actually the first time ever that researchers have established a clear link between inhibition and activation in the right side of the brain. This could also have implications for the treatment of unilateral neglect, which is a condition caused by a lack of awareness of one side of space.

The findings could help individuals suffering from right-sided neglect, who may benefit from interventions to reduce anxiety.

The findings are published in the journal Cognition.

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