Loneliness affects how brain operates

Social isolation affects how people behave, as well as how their brains operate, a University of Chicago study found.

John Cacioppo said the study used functional Magnetic Resonance scans to study the connections between perceived social isolation — loneliness — and activity in the brain. The researchers found that the ventral striatum, a region of the brain associated with rewards, is much more activated in non-lonely people than in the lonely when they view pictures of people in pleasant settings.

In contrast, the temporoparietal junction — a region associated with taking the perspective of another person — is much less activated among lonely than in the non-lonely when viewing pictures of people in unpleasant settings.

Given their feelings of social isolation, lonely individuals may be left to find relative comfort in nonsocial rewards, Cacioppo said in a statement.

In the study, 23 female undergraduates were tested to determine their level of loneliness. While in an fMRI scanner, the subjects were shown unpleasant pictures and human conflict as well as pleasant things such as money and happy people.

The subjects who rated as lonely were least likely to have strong activity in their ventral striata when shown pictures of people enjoying themselves.

The study presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.