cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/scientificarticles/p/1469388/whatcha-lookin-at-social-anxiety-heightens-brain-sensitivity-to-others-gaze

Ever catch someone looking your way and wonder what they’re thinking? For people with social anxiety, that moment may trigger a heightened response in the brain, even though it does not improve their later judgments about what the gaze means.

A new study found that young adults with higher levels of social anxiety showed stronger brain responses when a word describing someone’s thoughts or feelings didn’t match what their gaze seemed to convey.