Researchers shed new light on connection between brain and loneliness
Monday, February 16, 2009 - 08:01
in Psychology & Sociology
Social isolation affects how people behave as well as how their brains operate, a study at the University of Chicago shows. The research, presented Sunday at a symposium, 'Social Emotion and the Brain,' at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, is the first to use fMRI scans to study the connections between perceived social isolation (or loneliness) and activity in the brain. Combining fMRI scans with data relevant to social behaviour is part of an emerging field examining brain mechanisms - an approach to psychology being pioneered at the University of Chicago...