Tali Manber Ball, PhD Awarded 2018 NARSAD Young Investigator Grant
AUGUST 7, 2018- Although occasional mild anxiety is a common human experience, anxiety disorders such as social anxiety disorder have a devastating impact on patients’ lives. A key feature of social anxiety disorder is avoidance of situations in which judgment and evaluation from others might occur, which prevents patients from engaging fully in work, school, and relationships. This maladaptive avoidance is thought to maintain anxiety and is therefore a crucial treatment target. In this project, Tali aims to validate a novel virtual reality paradigm to objectively assess maladaptive avoidance in adults with social anxiety disorder, and to examine how maladaptive avoidance behavior relates to fear and safety learning. The project is funded by the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation’s NARSAD Young Investigator Award. Congratulations, Tali!