‘What I love about this project,’ Roelofs says, ’is that we succeeded by first taking a step back and really asking the fundamental question of how it works in the brain when people make the trade-off between approaching or avoiding something that evokes fear. How does the brain calculate the costs and benefits of such a decision? And how do physical fear responses, such as freezing and lower heart rate, affect this decision?’
Through interdisciplinary collaboration, the team first investigated the neural mechanisms of freezing and heart rate slowing, first in animals and later in humans. These results appeared in the publication in Communications Biology.
Neuromechanisms in focus
The team then investigated how people control their avoidance impulses and mapped relevant brain networks in people with anxiety disorders. To do so, the team used advanced imaging techniques (fMRI, DTI and MRS). This basis can be found in Nature Communications and in Nature Human Behaviour.
The next step was to facilitate control of these avoidance impulses to improve therapy. Through MEG research, the team discovered how slow and fast rhythmic brain waves communicate and thus influence avoidance behaviour.
These insights formed the basis for an innovative form of brain stimulation by stimulating the brain in two places. This influences the natural communication between brain regions and improves control over avoidance behaviour. This finding is reflected in Bob Bramson's publication in eLife.
To the clinic: technology in therapy
Meanwhile, this innovative technique is being investigated during therapy sessions for people with anxiety disorders, for instance during public speaking. Roelofs: ‘Thanks to a new grant with Ivan Toni, we are measuring the effects on freezing and avoidance in an innovative way via eye movements (with the Google Glass), voice use and body posture (with a balance board), among others.’
An example of Donders Institute research
DARE2APPROACH not only shows how fundamental research can lead to practical applications, but also how important it is to bring knowledge and facilities together in multidisciplinary collaboration to reach a solution. ‘This is pre-eminently one of those projects that you can only do with a network like the Donders Institute,’ Roelofs stresses. ‘From animal research, computational models and brain stimulation to clinical treatment, everything comes together here.’
The researchers involved collaborated with Pro Persona, among others, and used the infrastructure of the Donders Institute. There were also contributions from Behavioural Science Institute (BSI), science faculty and international partners.
The research has led to an intervention that is now being tested in collaboration with Pro Persona for one of the most common mental disorders worldwide: anxiety disorders. The project highlights the power and impact of fundamental research.
Read more about the results of this research at Cordis.