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Scientists show what loneliness looks like in the brain

Neural “signature” may reflect how we respond to feelings of social isolation

This holiday season will be a lonely one for many people as social distancing due to COVID-19 continues, and it is important to understand how isolation affects our health. A new study shows a sort of 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.

Classified as: loneliness, Nathan Spreng, Danilo Bzdok, Neuro, Alzheimer's disease, dementia
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Published on: 15 Dec 2020

Researchers awarded $2.7M to study loneliness and Alzheimer’s

Work will tell us how loneliness interacts with brain structure and function in normal aging and pre-symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease

Two researchers from The Neuro, with collaborators from the StoP-AD Centre at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute and the Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute, will lead a research program centered on an emerging field of neuroscience thanks to a grant from the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Aging (NIH/NIA) in the USA.

Classified as: Alzheimer's disease, dementia, Nathan Spreng, Danilo Bzdok, loneliness, Neuro
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Published on: 7 Oct 2020

CTV NEWS | Loneliness can directly impair immune system, increase risk of death: study

The findings, published in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences earlier in June, show how social isolation can negatively affect the health of the brain as well as the immune system.“Social isolation, or a lack of social opportunity, gives rise to a sense of loneliness. Directly or indirectly, this feeling has many wide-ranging consequences for our psychological well-being as well as our physical health, even our longevity,” the study states.

Classified as: loneliness, study, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Danilo Bzdok, immune system
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Published on: 17 Jun 2020
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