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Updated: Jan 27, 2026

Reducing State Anxiety Using Working Memory Maintenance
Published on: July 19, 2017
Unfolding the Complex Dynamic Interplay Between Attentional Processes and Anxiety: A Commentary on Ghassemzadeh,
Alexandre Heeren1,2, Yorgo Hoebeke1, Charlotte Coussement1,3
1Psychological Science Research Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
Abstract:
Theories about the involvement of attention in feelings of fear and anxiety have been debated in philosophical circles since long before the foundation of experimental psychology and cognitive neuroscience. In this issue, Ghassemzadeh, Rothbart, and Posner (2019) provide a much-needed historical and conceptual review of the relations between attention and anxiety disorders. Throughout their paper, they argue that insights from the study of brain networks of attention offer a particularly viable prospect for best clarifying the complex relations between attentional processes and anxiety. We fully share this view. Moreover, we believe that the computational and conceptual tools of network analysis (also known as graph theory) can enable researchers to move even closer to elucidating the complex dynamic interplay between those phenomena. In this commentary, we explain why and how to use network analysis for this purpose.
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