Anxiety Is An Energy: Use It Wisely #WorldMentalHealthDay

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Do not view anxiety negatively, do not deny it – use it for empowerment.

Anxiety is the green light to seek true purpose 

Anxiety is frequently viewed in a negative light – categorized as a weakness or an illness. However, it’s essential to recognize that anxiety is an intrinsic aspect of our existence. To experience emotions and thoughts is to encounter anxiety. How can you not be anxious when it is a natural response to a confusing and uncertain existence that you did not ask to be a part of? The key is to try living with-and-through your anxiety as you move forward into the unknown, and make those leaps of faith toward what you genuinely believe gives life its purpose and meaning, even in the face of mortality.

Recognising sources of anxiety

These might include misunderstandings due to different styles of communication and unexpected criticism. Unexpected sensory inputs can lead to prolonged stress like being expected to wear ill-fitting clothes but not being able (or allowed) to get changed. Disorganisation regarding financial matters, schedules, and deadlines can also pose difficulties. Additionally, issues related to self-esteem may arise, especially when we are denied the fundamental understanding that we often lack. This includes instances of disbelief, invalidation, and gaslighting when attempting to articulate our unique sensory experiences, as well as the perpetual need to justify our existence.

How to manage anxiety

To manage your anxiety you need to develop a noble quest. Just as a ship must leave harbour, you have to let go of something in order to move forward toward your purpose, for instance from overstimulation to spaciousness. This might involve actions like deactivating your TikTok account or abstaining from consuming news incessantly. Be aware of what you are looking at, and what you are listening to, You need to limit the amount of overstimulation coming into your senses. Otherwise, it becomes a white noise preventing you from attending to what you need to do. 

What happens next?

Set your mind for self-reflection, introspection and exploration. Let go of the need to be liked, and focus instead on just being good. Cultivate a genuine sense of individuality rooted in principles rather than being swayed by external influences. Embracing this ethical code will enable you to transition from distraction to focused concentration on self-reflection, introspection, and exploration. In the present moment, your thoughts will find clarity, and your anxiety will gradually dissipate.

Happiness 

Your happiness isn’t contingent upon obtaining everything you desire; it’s rooted in your mental state. Meditation serves as a means to safeguard your own happiness. In fact, it’s a pivotal factor in fostering the happiness of others as well. This isn’t to diminish your importance, but rather to emphasize the significance of aligning your own happiness with that of those around you. Your well-being resonates with others, highlighting the interconnectedness of happiness within a community.

Purposelessness

Chinese philosophy perceives Nature as devoid of a specific purpose, which, in the Western context, might be seen as negative. However, the Chinese view purposelessness as a form of praise. It’s akin to the continuous waves gently lapping against the shore, an eternal process without inherent meaning. Have you ever taken a walk with no particular destination in mind? At that moment, you embody perfect rationality because you’ve embraced purposelessness.

All music, too, is purposeless. If the goal of music were merely to reach the final note, then the best musician would be the fastest one. The same principle applies to dancing; the objective of dance is to dance itself. This perspective extends to your life as well, emphasizing the value of living in the present moment without constantly fixating on a future goal or outcome.

Let wisdom be your true purpose

Many individuals grapple with the notion that life must have a predefined purpose. Religious leaders often advocate following God’s purpose, yet when asked to define it, they often remain silent. Here lies a choice: Will you place your trust in Nature’s purposelessness, or will you opt for a path filled with rules, regulations, laws, and obligations in an attempt to find meaning?

To truly live, one must have faith and trust in the unknown, in a Nature devoid of a boss figure, for a boss implies a system of mistrust. There is a profound wisdom to be gained from experiencing moments of anxiety and insecurity. It’s a wisdom that is hard-earned, and it can become your authentic purpose – embracing the uncertainty and unpredictability of life as a means of personal growth and fulfillment.

Weekly Neuroscience Update

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Credit: Psychological Bulletin (2023)

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Weekly Neuroscience Update

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Dietary phospholipid intervention could prevent brain aging by maintaining lipid homeostasis and enhancing synaptic plasticity. Credit: Wei Xiong et al.

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Weekly Neuroscience Update

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Weekly Neuroscience Update

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Single-trial dynamics in LIP and SC are different. (Neuron, 2023)

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Weekly Neuroscience Update

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 Credit: Institute for Basic Science

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Weekly Neuroscience Update

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Credit: Nature (2023)

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Weekly Neuroscience Update

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Smaller Left vmPFC was associated with future smoking. Credit: Nature Communications (2023)

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Unraveling the Intricacies of Working Memory and Cognitive Processing

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When we engage our working memory, we temporarily retain information in our brain. A team of researchers has now demonstrated that the key to understanding working memory relies not only on what one is storing in memory but also why – highlighting the “working” aspect of working memory, which underscores the purpose of storing information in the first place. Specifically, the study focuses on both how we store the visual properties of our memories in the occipital lobe, where our visual system resides, and on how the neural codes that store those memories change over time as people begin to prepare a response that depends on the memory.

In the study, the response simply required people to look where they remembered an object that disappeared several seconds ago. This sheds light on the intricate interplay between memory formation and the cognitive processes that guide our actions. As you read this sentence, for example, your working memory holds the words temporarily, and this could influence how you interpret the information and potentially respond to it. The importance of working memory to many of our cognitive abilities is well known, but less clear are the neurological machinations driving this process.

According to conventional textbook theories, the encoding patterns within our working memory remain constant over time. This signifies that the neural activity pattern responsible for storing a specific visual memory remains unchanged from its initial encoding, regardless of whether it’s been a mere second or a substantial 10 seconds. These intricate neural activity patterns serve as the repositories of visual memories, effectively forming a temporal bridge that connects a past stimulus with a forthcoming memory-guided response.

However, recent investigations involving animals have revealed that the neural patterns responsible for memory are notably more fluid. In fact, the stability of memory codes has been brought into question, as they seem to exhibit perplexing changes over time.

To delve into this phenomenon, researchers Li and Curtis, known for their prior breakthroughs in deciphering the organization of our working memory within the brain, developed innovative techniques. Their goal was to not only quantify the shifting neural dynamics but also to render these dynamics intelligible. To achieve this, they projected intricate neural measurements onto a simple 2D plane, akin to the screen of a laptop or smartphone.

The accompanying video vividly illustrates the progression of neural activity during a working memory trial. Initially, a cluster of activity emerges, encoding the briefly presented visual target (depicted as a pink circle), evident in both the primary visual cortex (V1) and a higher-level visual area (V3AB). In V3AB, this activity cluster remains fixed at the target location throughout the memory retention period. However, within V1, a line of activity evolves during the delay period between the individual’s current gaze direction (indicated by a pink cross) and the intended eye movement after the delay.

The researchers posit that this evolving line represents the projected path of the intended gaze shift that individuals are mentally rehearsing but have yet to execute.

While prior research had documented the dynamic nature of neural activity during working memory, the underlying cause for these dynamics had remained enigmatic. The latest findings help shed light on this puzzle. They suggest that these dynamic neural patterns are manifestations of the transformation of past sensory experiences—what has recently been perceived—into anticipated behaviors guided by memory—what actions might be taken based on that memory.

More information: Clayton E. Curtis, Neural population dynamics of human working memory, Current Biology (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.07.067. www.cell.com/current-biology/f … 0960-9822(23)01039-4

Weekly Neuroscience Update

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