Avoidance in anxiety
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Avoidance in anxiety
IRAS ID
170507
Contact name
Robert JC Steele
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Dundee
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 4 months, 1 days
Research summary
Anxiety can compromise professional and social activities and cause significant distress. Although it is a common problem associated with a number of clinical disorders, its basis in the brain is not fully understood. An important feature linked to anxiety is avoiding situations. Anxious individuals may do this too readily, or be unsure when it is appropriate. The proposed study will examine how anxious and non-anxious individuals learn to avoid undesirable outcomes using a behavioral task during fMRI (brain scanning). It will help us better understand why anxious people struggle to use avoidance behaviors appropriately and how this may predispose them to the development of clinical disorders.
REC name
East of Scotland Research Ethics Service REC 1
REC reference
15/ES/0047
Date of REC Opinion
4 Jun 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion