Subscribe
The latest psychology and neuroscience discoveries.
My Account
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Psychopharmacology
  • Neuroscience
  • About
No Result
View All Result
PsyPost
PsyPost
No Result
View All Result
Home Exclusive Cognitive Science

Social isolation linked to changes in brain structure and lower cognition ability

by Barbara Jacquelyn Sahakian, Christelle Langley, Chun Shen, and Jianfeng Feng
July 15, 2022
in Cognitive Science, Mental Health
(Photo credit: Richard Watts/NIH Image Gallery)

(Photo credit: Richard Watts/NIH Image Gallery)

Share on TwitterShare on Facebook
Follow PsyPost on Google News

Why do we get a buzz from being in large groups at festivals, jubilees and other public events? According to the social brain hypothesis, it’s because the human brain specifically evolved to support social interactions. Studies have shown that belonging to a group can lead to improved wellbeing and increased satisfaction with life.

Unfortunately though, many people are lonely or socially isolated. And if the human brain really did evolve for social interaction, we should expect this to affect it significantly. Our recent study, published in Neurology, shows that social isolation is linked to changes in brain structure and cognition – the mental process of acquiring knowledge – it even carries an increased risk of dementia in older adults.

There’s already a lot of evidence in support of the social brain hypothesis. One study mapped the brain regions associated with social interaction in approximately 7,000 people. It showed that brain regions consistently involved in diverse social interactions are strongly linked to networks that support cognition, including the default mode network (which is active when we are not focusing on the outside world), the salience network (which helps us select what we pay attention to), the subcortical network (involved in memory, emotion and motivation) and the central executive network (which enables us to regulate our emotions).

We wanted to look more closely at how social isolation affects grey matter – brain regions in the outer layer of the brain, consisting of neurons. We, therefore, investigated data from nearly 500,000 people from the UK Biobank, with a mean age of 57. People were classified as socially isolated if they were living alone, had social contact less than monthly and participated in social activities less than weekly.

Our study also included neuroimaging (MRI) data from approximately 32,000 people. This showed that socially isolated people had poorer cognition, including in memory and reaction time, and lower volume of grey matter in many parts of the brain. These areas included the temporal region (which processes sounds and helps encode memory), the frontal lobe (which is involved in attention, planning and complex cognitive tasks) and the hippocampus – a key area involved in learning and memory, which is typically disrupted early in Alzheimer’s disease.

We also found a link between the lower grey matter volumes and specific genetic processes that are involved in Alzheimer’s disease.

There were follow-ups with participants 12 years later. This showed that those who were socially isolated, but not lonely, had a 26% increased risk of dementia.

Underlying processes

Social isolation needs to be examined in more detail in future studies to determine the exact mechanisms behind its profound effects on our brains. But it is clear that, if you are isolated, you may be suffering from chronic stress. This in turn has a major impact on your brain, and also on your physical health.

Another factor may be that if we don’t use certain brain areas, we lose some of their function. A study with taxi drivers showed that the more they memorised routes and addresses, the more the volume of the hippocampus increased. It is possible that if we don’t regularly engage in social discussion, for example, our use of language and other cognitive processes, such as attention and memory, will diminish.

This may affect our ability to do many complex cognitive tasks – memory and attention are crucial to complex cognitive thinking in general.

Tackling loneliness

We know that a strong set of thinking abilities throughout life, called “cognitive reserve”, can be built up through keeping your brain active. A good way to do this is by learning new things, such as another language or a musical instrument. Cognitive reserve has been shown to ameliorate the course and severity of ageing. For example, it can protect against a number of illnesses or mental health disorders, including forms of dementia, schizophrenia and depression, especially following traumatic brain injury.

There are also lifestyle elements that can improve your cognition and wellbeing, which include a healthy diet and exercise. For Alzheimer’s disease, there are a few pharmacological treatments, but the efficacy of these need to be improved and side effects need to be reduced. There is hope that in the future there will be better treatments for ageing and dementia. One avenue of inquiry in this regard is exogenous ketones – an alternative energy source to glucose – which can be ingested via nutritional supplements.

But as our study shows, tackling social isolation could also help, particularly in old age. Health authorities should do more to check on who is isolated and arrange social activities to help them.

When people are not in a position to interact in person, technology may provide a substitute. However, this may be more applicable to younger generations who are familiar with using technology to communicate. But with training, it may also be effective in reducing social isolation in older adults.

Social interaction is hugely important. One study found that the size of our social group is actually associated with the volume of the orbitofrontal cortex (involved in social cognition and emotion).

But how many friends do we need? Researchers often refer to “Dunbar’s number” to describe the size of social groups, finding that we are not able to maintain more than 150 relationships and only typically manage five close relationships. However, there are some reports which suggest a lack of empirical evidence surrounding Dunbar’s number and further research into the optimal size of social groups is required.

It is hard to argue with the fact that humans are social animals and gain enjoyment from connecting with others, whatever age we are. But, as we are increasingly uncovering, it also crucial for the health of our cognition.The Conversation

 

 

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

TweetSendScanShareSendPin21ShareShareShareShareShare

RELATED

Optimistic individuals are more likely to respond to SSRI antidepressants
Depression

Optimistic individuals are more likely to respond to SSRI antidepressants

May 19, 2025

People with depression who were more optimistic at the start of treatment—and whose optimism increased during treatment—were more likely to benefit from SSRIs, according to a recent study, raising the possibility of tailoring treatments based on psychological traits.

Read moreDetails
Brain oscillations reveal dynamic shifts in creative thought during metaphor generation
Cognitive Science

Brain oscillations reveal dynamic shifts in creative thought during metaphor generation

May 19, 2025

A new study reveals that creative metaphor generation involves shifting patterns of brain activity, with alpha oscillations playing a key role at different stages of the process, offering fresh insight into the neural dynamics behind verbal creativity.

Read moreDetails
Surprisingly widespread brain activity supports economic decision-making, new study finds
Cognitive Science

Surprisingly widespread brain activity supports economic decision-making, new study finds

May 19, 2025

A new study using direct brain recordings reveals that human economic decision-making is not localized to a single brain region. Instead, multiple areas work together, with high-frequency activity encoding risk, reward probability, and the final choice itself.

Read moreDetails
Scientists finds altered attention-related brain connectivity in youth with anxiety
Anxiety

Scientists finds altered attention-related brain connectivity in youth with anxiety

May 19, 2025

A large neuroimaging study has found that generalized anxiety disorder in youth is linked to increased connectivity in brain circuits involved in attention and emotion, and that these patterns may change with symptom remission.

Read moreDetails
From fixed pulses to smart stimulation: Parkinson’s treatment takes a leap forward
Parkinson's disease

From fixed pulses to smart stimulation: Parkinson’s treatment takes a leap forward

May 18, 2025

Once considered little more than reversible brain lesions, deep brain stimulators can now fine-tune their output using brain activity as a guide. This adaptive method may revolutionize how doctors treat neurological and psychiatric disorders.

Read moreDetails
Young adults who drink heavily report more romantic highs and lows
Addiction

Young adults who drink heavily report more romantic highs and lows

May 18, 2025

A new study of heavy-drinking young adults found that drinking more on a given day was linked to both regretted and positive romantic or sexual experiences. For women, using cannabis alongside alcohol appeared to reduce the likelihood of regret.

Read moreDetails
New eye test may detect Alzheimer’s disease years before symptoms emerge, study suggests
Alzheimer's Disease

New eye test may detect Alzheimer’s disease years before symptoms emerge, study suggests

May 18, 2025

A low-cost, noninvasive eye scan could help detect Alzheimer’s disease earlier than current methods. The technique may expand access to early diagnosis, especially in underserved communities, and provide a valuable tool for intervention before irreversible brain damage occurs.

Read moreDetails
Glymphatic dysfunction linked to cognitive performance deficits in adults with ADHD, study finds
ADHD

Glymphatic dysfunction linked to cognitive performance deficits in adults with ADHD, study finds

May 17, 2025

New findings suggest that dysfunction in the brain’s glymphatic system—a key waste clearance pathway—may contribute to cognitive impairments in adults with ADHD, shedding light on a lesser-known biological mechanism behind the disorder.

Read moreDetails

SUBSCRIBE

Go Ad-Free! Click here to subscribe to PsyPost and support independent science journalism!

STAY CONNECTED

LATEST

Where you flirt matters: New research shows setting shapes romantic success

Psychedelic’s anti-anxiety effects can be separated from hallucinations by targeting specific brain circuits

New research reveals aging shifts gender stereotypes in unexpected ways

Optimistic individuals are more likely to respond to SSRI antidepressants

Brain oscillations reveal dynamic shifts in creative thought during metaphor generation

Surprisingly widespread brain activity supports economic decision-making, new study finds

Scientists finds altered attention-related brain connectivity in youth with anxiety

From fixed pulses to smart stimulation: Parkinson’s treatment takes a leap forward

         
       
  • Contact us
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms and Conditions
[Do not sell my information]

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Cognitive Science Research
  • Mental Health Research
  • Social Psychology Research
  • Drug Research
  • Relationship Research
  • About PsyPost
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy