Loneliness alters your brain's social network
Feeling disconnected from others is reflected by how the brain represents relationships

Date:
June 15, 2020
Source:
Society for Neuroscience
Summary:
Social media sites aren't the only things that keep track of your
social network -- your brain does, too. But loneliness alters how
the brain represents relationships.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Social media sites aren't the only things that keep track of your
social network -- your brain does, too. But loneliness alters how the
brain represents relationships, according to new research published
in JNeurosci.


==========================================================================
A brain region called the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) maintains a structured map of a person's social circles, based on closeness. People
that struggle with loneliness often perceive a gap between themselves
and others.

This gap is reflected by the activity patterns of the mPFC.

Courtney and Meyer used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine participants' brain activity while they thought about the self, close
friends, acquaintances, and celebrities. Thinking about someone from each category corresponded to a different activity pattern in the mPFC: one for
the self, one for the social network (both friends and acquaintances),
and one for celebrities. The closer the relationship, the more the
pattern resembled the pattern seen when thinking about the self.

These brain patterns differed for lonelier individuals. Activity related
to thinking about the self was more different from activity related to
thinking about others, while the activity from thinking about others was
more similar across social categories. In other words, lonelier people
have a "lonelier" neural representation of their relationships.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Society_for_Neuroscience. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Andrea L. Courtney, Meghan L. Meyer. Self-other representation
in the
social brain reflects social connection. The
Journal of Neuroscience, 2020; JN-RM-2826-19 DOI:
10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2826-19.2020 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200615140904.htm

--- up 20 weeks, 6 days, 2 hours, 34 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1337:3/111)