The Impact of Different Severities of Anxiety on Decision-Making

The effects of anxiety on the brain exist universally; however, little is known about how anxiety affects the functional connectivity of the cerebral cortex and various brain regions. We aimed to understand the relationship between levels of anxiety and decision-making.

In this study, 58 healthy adult students with an average age of 20 years were recruited. We then estimated their severity of anxiety by using the Self-Assessment Scale (SAS) for anxiety, grouping them into three severity groups according to their SAS results. Next, we performed a 24-point number crunching. During this process, the participants' facial expressions and vital signs were also recorded, while functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to measure changes in participants' hemoglobin in specific cortical areas.

The moderate-anxiety group demonstrated superior outcomes compared to the other groups. Specifically, they exhibited more efficient functional connectivity in the brain, smoother hemodynamic changes (primarily reflected by HbO signals, which were selected as the main indicator due to their high sensitivity to task-evoked cerebral activation), and more positive physiological indicators during the decision-making task.

The study concludes that a moderate-anxiety state appears to enhance brain functional connectivity, thereby improving decision-making ability and accuracy. This research provides valuable insights into the neural mechanisms through which varying severity of anxiety influences cognitive functions like decision-making.