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Updated: May 1, 2026

Reducing State Anxiety Using Working Memory Maintenance
Published on: July 19, 2017
Anxiety affects the amplitudes of red and green color-elicited flash visual evoked potentials in humans
Yuki Hosono1, Kazuyoshi Kitaoka, Ryo Urushihara
1Department of Integrative Physiology, Institute of Health Biosciences, the University of Tokushima Graduate School.
Abstract:
It has been reported that negative emotional changes and conditions affect the visual faculties of humans at the neural level. On the other hand, the effects of emotion on color perception in particular, which are based on evoked potentials, are unknown. In the present study, we investigated whether different anxiety levels affect the color information processing for each of 3 wavelengths by using flash visual evoked potentials (FVEPs) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. In results, significant positive correlations were observed between FVEP amplitudes and state or trait anxiety scores in the long (sensed as red) and middle (sensed as green) wavelengths. On the other hand, short-wavelength-evoked FVEPs were not correlated with anxiety level. Our results suggest that negative emotional conditions may affect color sense processing in humans.
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Anxiety: Overview
Individuals with anxiety often experience a range of physical and emotional symptoms, including sweating, trembling, tachycardia, and disturbances in sleep patterns. These symptoms vary in intensity and frequency but are generally disruptive and distressing.

