{
  "id": 4457187,
  "title": "Brain stimulation helps socially anxious individuals control avoidance behaviors",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/30/brain-stimulation-helps-socially-anxious-individuals-control",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-30T16:00:16.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "PsyPost",
    "slug": "psypost",
    "url": "https://www.psypost.org/brain-stimulation-helps-socially-anxious-individuals-control-avoidance-behaviors/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Researchers have discovered that applying a specific, mild electrical stimulation to the brain can assist socially anxious individuals in better controlling their instinct to avoid social situations. By aligning the rhythmic activity between the brain's cognitive control and movement centers, the treatment enhanced participants' ability to override their immediate emotional urges. This study, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, involved 49 adults with high levels of social anxiety, identified through a clinical questionnaire. The research, led by Sjoerd Meijer and Bob Bramson at Radboud University in the Netherlands, aimed to determine if this technique could be effective for those with severe social anxiety. Participants lay inside an MRI scanner while performing a task that required them to manipulate a joystick based on the expressions of faces displayed on a screen. In one version of the task, the rules were reversed, forcing participants to actively override their natural tendency to avoid negative stimuli. This procedure tested the participants' capacity to suppress automatic reactions and execute a different, planned response. Researchers employed a noninvasive technique called dual-site transcranial alternating current stimulation, which used electrodes placed on the scalp to deliver weak, oscillating electrical currents designed to influence brain rhythms. The study tested three conditions: one that synchronized the brain regions responsible for control, one that disrupted this synchronization, and a sham condition with no stimulation. The in-phase stimulation led to better performance on the challenging task, with participants making fewer errors than in the sham condition. The anti-phase stimulation showed no significant benefits. Brain imaging revealed that the in-phase stimulation strengthened the connection between the prefrontal cortex and the sensorimotor cortex, while also reducing the amygdala's influence over participants' physical movements. The intervention seemed to bolster the brain's goal-directed pathways, allowing the prefrontal cortex to outcompete the amygdala's emotional signals. The benefits varied among individuals, with those who had stronger prefrontal cortex responses and higher baseline anxiety levels showing the most improvement.",
  "summary": "A new study shows that targeted electrical brain stimulation can help socially anxious individuals overcome automatic avoidance behaviors. By synchronizing specific brain rhythms, the noninvasive technique improved participants' ability to control their emotional responses.",
  "key_points": [
    "Mild brain stimulation enhances socially anxious individuals' control over avoidance behaviors.",
    "In-phase stimulation strengthened connection between prefrontal cortex and sensorimotor cortex.",
    "Study published in The Journal of Neuroscience involved 49 adults with high social anxiety."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}