Researchers from a Swiss university discovered that there is a connection between anxiety and lower social status to a specific part of the brain. They conducted an experiment with rats and they were able to alter that brain region using drugs to manipulate anxiety and social standing as stated in Swissinfo.
The scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne grouped the rats based on the level of anxiety. The groups of rats comprised of the highly anxious and the less anxious ones. They were put into a competitive social situation and it appears that those with intensified anxiety levels performed poorly.
The research group referred to the nucleus accumbens. This part of the brain has something to do with motivation, depression and anxiety. The anxious rats exhibited a reduced energy metabolism in the nucleus accubens. The cells that control breathing and energy construction in this part of the brain did not perform highly.
The researchers administered drugs to rats. These drugs block or heighten the cells, also identified as mitochondria. Niacin, a part of vitamin B3 was also used. Upon receiving the blocking drugs, these rats did poor in the socially competitive surroundings. The ones who received enhancement drugs depicted improved social status but only within the duration of the drug's effects.
The findings prove that anxiety can cause an individual to be more inclined to a lower social standing. When manipulating the nucleus accumbens with medication, it can also interfere with the person's societal status.
This is the first research that discovered the relationship between brain energy metabolism and the development of social hierarchies. The former plays a great part in influencing the latter.
The EPFL professor, Carmen Sandi, is the owner of the lab who performed the study. She recognizes that the study is just the beginning. The humans' social hierarchy is an entirely different form and there are other factors in human behavior that cannot be easily compared to rats. She says though that the findings indicate promise.
"This is an exciting finding that shows a brain mechanism whereby anxious personality
affects social competitiveness - and this points to very promising directions in this
field."
