"These novel findings bridge a long-standing gap between clinical practice and cognitive neuroscience," said lead author Marianne Cumella Reddan, a graduate student in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at CU Boulder.
Anecdotally, results have been positive.īut until now, very little has been known about how such methods impact the brain or how imagination neurologically compares to real-life exposure. Since the 1950s, clinicians have used "exposure therapy" as a first-line treatment, asking patients to face their fears - real or imagined - in a safe, controlled setting. "This research confirms that imagination is a neurological reality that can impact our brains and bodies in ways that matter for our wellbeing," said Tor Wager, director of the Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory at CU Boulder and co-senior author of the paper, published in the journal Neuron.Ībout one in three people in the United States have anxiety disorders, including phobias, and 8 percent have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. That's the takeaway of a new brain imaging study led by University of Colorado Boulder and Icahn School of Medicine researchers, suggesting that imagination can be a powerful tool in helping people with fear and anxiety-related disorders overcome them.
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