Loneliness Affects Brain Function and Perception, Study Finds
A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of California has found that loneliness significantly affects the way people perceive the world. Published in Psychological Science, the study suggests that lonely individuals have unique brain responses compared to those who aren’t lonely.
The research involved neuroimaging tests on 66 young adults, all in their first year of college and aged between 18 and 21. Participants were asked to complete the UCLA Loneliness Scale, a self-report measure of feelings of loneliness and social isolation. Based on their responses, the young adults were divided into two groups: lonely and “nonlonely.”
The participants then watched 14 video clips while researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine brain activity. The videos included a variety of scenarios, ranging from sentimental music videos to party scenes and sporting events, to ensure a diverse range of stimuli for analysis.
Lead researcher Elisa Baek, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Southern California, and her team analyzed 214 different brain regions to understand how they responded over time to the stimuli in the videos. They also compared activity between individuals in each brain region to determine similarities and differences in their responses.
The results showed significant differences in brain function and information processing between lonely individuals and their nonlonely peers. However, the researchers also discovered that there were variations among individual lonely individuals, indicating that lonely people experience loneliness in unique and individual ways.
The study tested whether there were any associations between loneliness and neural responses to naturalistic stimuli by applying what the researchers referred to as the “Anna Karenina principle,” inspired by the opening line of Leo Tolstoy’s novel, Anna Karenina: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
“It was surprising to find that lonely people were even less similar to each other,” said Baek in a statement. She further explained that lonely individuals experience loneliness in an idiosyncratic way, making it difficult to universally relate to their experiences.
Interestingly, the study also found that individuals with high levels of loneliness, regardless of their number of friends, were more likely to have unique brain responses. This suggests that loneliness affects brain function, regardless of social connections.
The findings of this study shed light on the impact of loneliness on brain activity and perception. Understanding these differences can help develop interventions and support systems for lonely individuals, improving their overall well-being.