scholarly journals Social Isolation, Loneliness and Generalized Anxiety: Implications and Associations during the COVID-19 Quarantine

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1620
Author(s):  
Linas Wilkialis ◽  
Nelson B. Rodrigues ◽  
Danielle S. Cha ◽  
Ashley Siegel ◽  
Amna Majeed ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Isolation ◽  
Sedentary Lifestyle ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Generalized Anxiety ◽  
Stria Terminalis ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Bed Nucleus ◽  
Anxiety Response ◽  
Anxious State ◽  
Fear And Anxiety

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a predominantly global quarantine response that has been associated with social isolation, loneliness, and anxiety. The foregoing experiences have been amply documented to have profound impacts on health, morbidity, and mortality. This narrative review uses the extant neurobiological and theoretical literature to explore the association between social isolation, loneliness, and anxiety in the context of quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. Emerging evidence suggests that distinct health issues (e.g., a sedentary lifestyle, a diminished overall sense of well-being) are associated with social isolation and loneliness. The health implications of social isolation and loneliness during quarantine have a heterogenous and comorbid nature and, as a result, form a link to anxiety. The limbic system plays a role in fear and anxiety response; the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, amygdala, HPA axis, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, insula, and locus coeruleus have an impact in a prolonged anxious state. In the conclusion, possible solutions are considered and remarks are made on future areas of exploration.

scholarly journals Activity alterations in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and amygdala during threat anticipation in generalized anxiety disorder

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 1766-1774 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Buff ◽  
Leonie Brinkmann ◽  
Maximilian Bruchmann ◽  
Michael P I Becker ◽  
Sara Tupak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Generalized Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Generalized Anxiety ◽  
Stria Terminalis ◽  
Bed Nucleus

scholarly journals “I Couldn’t Have Asked for a Better Quarantine Partner!”: Experiences with Companion Dogs during Covid-19

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 330
Author(s):  
Cori Bussolari ◽  
Jennifer Currin-McCulloch ◽  
Wendy Packman ◽  
Lori Kogan ◽  
Phyllis Erdman
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Physical And Mental Health

The Covid-19 pandemic has been found to negatively impact the psychological well-being of significant numbers of people globally. Many individuals have been challenged by social distancing mandates and the resultant social isolation. Humans, in our modern world, have rarely been as isolated and socially restricted. Social connectedness and support are critical protective factors for human survival and well-being. Social isolation can lead to loneliness, boredom, and can become a risk factor for physical and mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. The attachments formed with dogs, however, can be as strong or even stronger than human connections, and has been shown to relate to fewer physical health and mental health problems, as well as decrease isolation and loneliness. The purpose of this qualitative research was to examine the thoughts, experiences and concerns of 4105 adults regarding their companion dog during the initial months of Covid-19. Data were collected between March 31st–April 19th, 2020 via online survey and themes were coded by the researchers using directed content analysis. Results highlighted a strong human–animal appreciation, and that dog ownership during this pandemic diminished participants’ sense of isolation and loneliness, as well as supported their mental/physical health.

scholarly journals Amygdala and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis: differential roles in fear and anxiety measured with the acoustic startle reflex

1997 ◽  
Vol 352 (1362) ◽  
pp. 1675-1687 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Michael Davis ◽  
David L. Walker ◽  
Younglim Lee
Keyword(s):  
Excitatory Amino Acid ◽  
Conditioned Fear ◽  
Acoustic Startle ◽  
Acoustic Startle Reflex ◽  
Stria Terminalis ◽  
Bed Nucleus ◽  
Amino Acid Receptors ◽  
Sensory Modalities ◽  
Behavioural Tests ◽  
Fear And Anxiety

Neural stimuli associated with traumatic events can readily become conditioned so as to reinstate the memory of the original trauma. These conditioned fear responses can last a lifetime and may be especially resistant to extinction. A large amount of data from many different laboratories indicate that the amygdala plays a crucial role in conditioned fear. The amygdala receives information from all sensory modalities and projects to a variety of hypothalamic and brainstem target areas known to be critically involved in specific signs that are used to define fear and anxiety. Electrical stimulation of the amygdala elicits a pattern of behaviours that mimic natural or conditioned states of fear. Lesions of the amygdala block innate or conditioned fear and local infusion of drugs into the amygdala have anxiolytic effects in several behavioural tests. Excitatory amino acid receptors in the amygdala are critical for the acquisition, expression and extinction of conditioned fear.

scholarly journals Effect of Technology in Sedentary Lifestyle and its Impact on the Overall Well Being of the it Employees in Chennai

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2S8) ◽  
pp. 1489-1494
Keyword(s):  
Sedentary Lifestyle ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Balanced Diet ◽  
Long Day ◽  
It Employees ◽  
Diet Intake ◽  
Chi Square Analysis

The employees of the corporate world spend most of their office hours at their table. It is no wonder, that the office environment is sedentary. After a long day work, there is very less chance that the employee finds time for healthy physical activity. Employees are involved in a sedentary lifestyle, and are bound to have a negative impact over health leading to psychological stress and many other physiological problems. This paper concentrates on bringing out the impacts of sedentary lifestyle among IT employees with reference to Chennai. Besides in sedentary lifestyle, practices such as no appropriate balanced diet, intake of more junk foods and less consumption of water marks them to encounter many other health hazards which also is considered in the study. The study is descriptive in nature and has been conducted among a sample size of 180.Chi-square analysis and correlation analysis were used to interpret the results. Thus organization should make some corrective actions to help the employees to save them from being subjected to continual sedentary lifestyle. The employees need to take necessary measure to use the facilitations given by the organization. Thus a brief analysis on the ill health issues as an effect of technology and the ignorance by the employees is made and offered for supplementary analysis.

scholarly journals Bed nucleus of the stria terminalis regulates fear to unpredictable threat signals

eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Travis D Goode ◽  
Reed L Ressler ◽  
Gillian M Acca ◽  
Olivia W Miles ◽  
Stephen Maren
Keyword(s):  
Conditioned Fear ◽  
Stria Terminalis ◽  
Conditioned Stimuli ◽  
Variable Intensity ◽  
Reversible Inactivation ◽  
Bed Nucleus ◽  
Defensive Behaviors ◽  
The Us ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
Fear And Anxiety

The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) has been implicated in conditioned fear and anxiety, but the specific factors that engage the BNST in defensive behaviors are unclear. Here we examined whether the BNST mediates freezing to conditioned stimuli (CSs) that poorly predict the onset of aversive unconditioned stimuli (USs) in rats. Reversible inactivation of the BNST selectively reduced freezing to CSs that poorly signaled US onset (e.g., a backward CS that followed the US), but did not eliminate freezing to forward CSs even when they predicted USs of variable intensity. Additionally, backward (but not forward) CSs selectively increased Fos in the ventral BNST and in BNST-projecting neurons in the infralimbic region of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), but not in the hippocampus or amygdala. These data reveal that BNST circuits regulate fear to unpredictable threats, which may be critical to the etiology and expression of anxiety.

scholarly journals Bed nucleus of the stria terminalis regulates fear to unpredictable threat signals

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Travis D. Goode ◽  
Reed L. Ressler ◽  
Gillian M. Acca ◽  
Olivia W. Miles ◽  
Stephen Maren
Keyword(s):  
Conditioned Fear ◽  
Stria Terminalis ◽  
Variable Intensity ◽  
Reversible Inactivation ◽  
Bed Nucleus ◽  
Defensive Behaviors ◽  
The Us ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
Fear And Anxiety ◽  
Pathological Anxiety

ABSTRACTThe bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) has been implicated in conditioned fear and anxiety, but the specific factors that engage the BNST in defensive behaviors are unclear. Here we examined whether the BNST mediates freezing to conditioned stimuli (CSs) that poorly predict the onset of aversive unconditioned stimuli (USs) in rats. Reversible inactivation of the BNST selectively reduced freezing to CSs that poorly signaled US onset (e.g., a backward CS that followed the US), but did not eliminate freezing to forward CSs even when they predicted USs of variable intensity. Additionally, backward (but not forward) CSs selectively increased Fos in the ventral BNST and in BNST-projecting neurons in the infralimbic region of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), but not in the hippocampus or amygdala. These data reveal that BNST circuits regulate fear to unpredictable threats, which may be critical to the etiology and expression of anxiety.IMPACT STATEMENTThe bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) is required for the expression of defensive behavior to unpredictable threats, a function that may be central to pathological anxiety.

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