Recent neuroscience research sheds new light on the reasons why anxiety tends decrease with age
As we age, anxiety levels tend to decrease. Why? According to a new brain imaging study, older people are better at recognizing negative emotions and reacting to them. Published in NeuroImage, the findings contradict the notion that older adults have less negative emotion engagement due to cognitive decline, or are better at controlling negative emotions. The results suggest older adults have developed a more automatic method of processing negative feelings.
The study was designed to examine the relationship between aging and trait anxiety and changes in cognitive functions and affective functions. Researchers were motivated by findings that older adults are less susceptible to anxiety disorders than younger or middle-aged individuals. It was unclear how changes in cognitive or affective processes were linked to age-related anxiety symptoms such as worry, somatic symptoms and physical symptoms.
We are interested in the emotion dysfunction of early dementia. This includes those with subjective complaints of mild cognitive impairment and memory problems, said Chiang-shan Ray Li. He is a professor of psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine.
Source:
https://www.psypost.org/2023/06/new-neuroscience-research-sheds-light-on-why-anxiety-tends-to-diminish-with-age-165797
