what loneliness looks like in the brain

A new study shows a signature in the brains of lonely people that make them distinct in fundamental ways, based on variations in the volume of different brain regions as well as based on how those regions communicate with one another across brain networks.

Loneliness is an unpleasant emotional response to perceived isolation. 

Loneliness is increasingly being recognized as a major health problem, and previous studies have shown older people who experience loneliness have a higher risk of cognitive decline and dementia. Understanding how loneliness manifests itself in the brain could be key to preventing neurological disease and developing better treatments.

A team of researchers examined the MRI data, genetics and psychological self-assessments of approximately 40,000 middle-aged and older adults . They compared the MRI data of participants who reported often feeling lonely with those who did not.

The researchers found many differences in the brains of lonely people. 

These brain manifestations were centred on default network: a set of brain regions involved in inner thoughts such as reminiscing, future planning, imagining and thinking about others.

Researchers found that the default networks of lonely people were more strongly wired together and surprisingly, their grey matter volume in regions of the default network was greater. 

Loneliness also cause differences in the fornix: a bundle of nerve fibres that carries signals from the hippocampus to the default network. In lonely people, the structure of this fibre tract was better preserved.

We use the default network when remembering the past, envisioning the future or thinking about a hypothetical present. The fact the structure and function of this network is positively associated with loneliness maybe because lonely people are more likely to use imagination, memories of the past or hopes for the future to overcome their social isolation.

So this heightened focus on self-reflection, and possibly imagined social experiences, would naturally engage the memory-based functions of the default network.

by,

Dr.Renju T George,

India.