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The researchers discovered that exposing phobic people to their fear – for example spiders for those who suffer from arachnophobia – at the exact time their heart beats, led to a reduction phobia.
Hugo Critchley, chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the Brighton and Sussex School of Medicine (BSMS) and principal investigator, said: "We are many suffering from phobias, that it is about Spiders, clowns or even types of food. The treatment usually involves exposing the person to his fear, but it can take a long time. Our work shows that the way we respond to our fears may depend on whether we see them when our heart beats or between the beating of our heart. You could say that we are about to help people overcome their phobias. "
In phobias, excessively intense disabling anxiety is induced by specific situations or triggers.
The treatment is often prolonged and involves a gradual exposure to stimuli evoking fear, but has progressed in recent years through the use of computerized treatment.
This new research shows that phobias can be treated more effectively by combining computerized therapy with the patient's heart rate.
BSMS researchers had already shown how the bodily excitation signals that occur with each heartbeat can alter the emotional impact of potential threats. For example, when they occur during a heartbeat, they may appear more prominent.
In this clinical proof of concept trial, a computer-based exposure therapy for spider phobia was combined with online measurements of heartbeat.
For a group of patients, images of spiders were presented in time with heartbeats (during cardiac excitation signaling), while for another group of patients, images of spiders were presented. spiders were introduced between heartbeats. A third control group saw random spiders in therapy sessions.
Although all patients improved, as expected on exposure, individuals exposed to spiders with their heart rate had a greater reduction in self-reported fear of spiders, levels of anxiety and of their physiological responses.
It has also been shown that these improvements depend on differences in the ability of a patient to accurately feel his own heart pounding in his chest, suggesting an additional way to tailor the treatment to the benefit of each patient. .
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