Cotman stn eet icy aap gt le Cabinet Background is wise to be afraid of things that con hurt you. But when a fears excessive and not based on reality it becomes a phobia. In his article for US. News & World Report, science journalist Jason Koebler examines how a new form of therapy ‘may be the fist step to completely eliminating fears and phobias from our brains in the near future, Face Your Fears and Scare: the Phobia Out of Your Brain Wieegancua ceed 1. GEIB As youread lines 1-22, begin tocollect and cite text, CLOSE READ. co wr evidence. + In the margin, restate the main idea in lines 1-4. + Underline text that explains why a person may choose to undergo “exposute therapy” «In the margin, lst the steps that participants follow (lines 18-22). ‘turns out facing your fears really does work—researchers at Northwestern University have found that just one positive exposure to spiders had lasting effects im people with arachnophobia' exposure: six months later. ‘The parts of the brain responsible for producing fear remained telatively inactive six months after patients underwent a single two- hour “exposure therapy” session in which they were able to touch a live tarantula, The brain changes were seen immediately after therapy and remained essentially the same six months later, according to Katherina Hauner, lead author and therapist ofthe study, which appears in Monday's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences a“ dormant: Bi 3 “These people had been clinically afraid of spiders since childhood ... they'd have to leave the house ifthey thought there was a spider inside,” she says. According to the NIH, about 8 percent of people have a “specific phobia,” considered to be a “marked and persistent fear and avoidance ofa specific object or situation.” Over the course of two hours, participants touched a live tarantula with a paintbrush, a gloved hand, and eventually their bare hand. “It’s 20 this idea that you slowly approach the thing you're afraid of. They learned that the spider was predictable and controllable, and by that time, they feel like it’s not a spider anymore.” ‘The study sheds light on the brain responses to fear and the changes that happen when a fear is overcome, Immediately after therapy, activity in the participants’ amygdalas, the part of the brain believed to be responsible for fear responses, remained relatively dormant and stayed that way six months later when participants were exposed to spiders. dd MEETS eeread tines 1-22. with asmall group, discuss whether the evidence convinces you that exposure therapy ‘works. Cite facts and examples from the text to support your opinions, GEDID As you read lines 23-35, continue to cite textual evidence. + Underline what happens in the brain during exposure therapy. + Circle the fears that exposure therapy treats best and underline the fearsit does not teat.‘Hauner says the study proves that exposure therapy works and 30 can potentially be used to develop new treatment methods for people with extreme phobias, She says a similar method can be used on people with fears of confined spaces, heights, flying, blood, and more, “Ithas to be an innocuous object or situation—i's not a phobia if innocuous: you're scared of sharks and don't want to go in shark-infested water,” she says. “That's called being safe.” EGP Reread lines 23-35. Summarize the study in lines 23-28 ~ inyour own words ‘ep et Pa Cay ne ae Cre ha i i | | | | i 5. GQEEEED As you ead lines 36-42, underine text hat explains future uses of exposure therapy. 1s | irane) Nee nfl In the near future, therapists might be able to inhibit the part of the brain responsible for fear or stimulate the region of the brain responsible for blocking fear in order to begin new therapies. “There's already techniques we use to stimulate regions of the 40 brain to treat depression and OCD,” she says. “It’s not too far off in the future that we can use these techniques to treat other types of disorders.” stimlate: CD, of absessive-compulkive disorder, isan anxiety disorder characterized by rusive thoughts and repel behavors. 36-42, What is the main idea ofthis, ERD rea section? SHORT RESPONSE * Ge RtEvdece Which information from the text most convinces you of the effectiveness ofexposute therapy? Cite text evidence with specific facts and examples from the text Svan eet Poko Coa 16