Reducing Fear Is Possible by Using Light

In a new scientific study researchers at the University of Virginia, in the United States, conducted on unsuspecting mice, the team determined that it may be possible to reduce fear and anxiety symptoms in the tiny rodents by making good use of light.

Though this research may seem a bit strange at first, it actually has considerable implications for human health as well. The research team says that the findings it made may be used to treat a large array of mental conditions.

These include phobias, panic disorders, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety, among many others. Currently, each of these condition has a set of treatment options that researchers use, but their efficiency is somewhat limited, and they all carry negative side-effects.

In past studies, biologists and psychologists demonstrated that light plays a direct role in influencing human mood in general. Evolutionary biologists say that this trait has been with our species since its earliest days facing the perils of the night in the African savanna.

In the new investigation, the UV team demonstrated that light can further be used to improve our mood, by literally modulating fear. Details of their work were published in the latest issue of the esteemed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

The research team explains that mice – which are nocturnal animals – exhibit fear and anxiety in the presence of light similarly to how we exhibit the same type of behaviors in the presence of darkness.

“We looked at the effect of light on learned fear, because light is a pervasive feature of the environment that has profound effects on behavior and physiology,” explains UV team member Brian Wiltgen.

“Light plays an important role in modulating heart rate, circadian rhythms, sleep/wake cycles, digestion, hormones, mood and other processes of the body. In our study we wanted to see how it affects learned fear,” the scientist explains.

Fear plays a very important role in our lives, and has done so for our species as well. For hundreds of thousands of years, learned fear has kept us and our close ones safe, preventing us from making the same mistakes over and over, with potentially lethal consequences.

But this natural mechanism can at times go over board, and become detrimental to individuals. The UV team is now working on translating its new findings into treatment options that will ensure this does not happen anymore, PsychCentral reports.