Negative thoughts might be changing your brain in surprising ways, study suggests
A negative mindset is known to trigger or heighten stress and anxiety — and new research has revealed other trickle-down effects on mental and physical health.
Researchers from Amen Clinics, a nationwide brain health diagnostics company, examined brain scans and cognitive data of nearly 20,000 patients who had been diagnosed with anxiety disorders.
Brain disorder specialist and psychiatrist Dr. Daniel Amen was the co-author of the study and is the founder of Amen Clinics.
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The people who had higher negativity bias were found to have reduced blood flow in the frontal, temporal and parietal lobes — regions critical for decision-making, memory and emotional regulation, according to Amen.
«The extent of physical brain abnormalities — especially in areas not previously linked to emotional processing, like the cerebellum — was striking,» he noted.
These more negative people were also found to have «significantly ..