A recent study has found a surprising link between shyness and the cerebellum, a region traditionally associated with motor function. The research suggests that individuals who are shy tend to have lower spontaneous neural activity in the right posterior lobe of their cerebellum. This is partly due to higher sensitivity in their Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS), which governs our sensitivity to potential threats and social punishments.
The study recruited 42 healthy university students and used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans to measure brain activity while they were at rest. The results showed a significant association between shyness and lower synchronized local neural activity in the cerebellum, particularly in individuals with higher BIS scores.
The findings refine the motivational conflict model of shyness, suggesting that it may be more strongly driven by avoidance and inhibition motivations rather than a lack of approach or reward-seeking motivations. The researchers believe that targeting the BIS through therapies could have tangible benefits for reducing shyness, but note that the effects might vary across individuals.
The study’s results encourage people to view shyness with greater compassion, seeing it as a form of emotional intelligence rather than simply a barrier to overcome. By understanding the brain basis of shyness, researchers can develop more personalized interventions to improve social functioning in everyday contexts like work or relationships.
Source: https://www.psypost.org/shyness-linked-to-spontaneous-activity-in-the-brains-cerebellum