Loneliness in the Human Brain: Structural and Functional MRI Correlates and Research Priorities

Résumé fourni par la source

Loneliness, the subjective experience of a perceived discrepancy between desired and actual social connection, is robustly associated with poor mental and physical health across the lifespan. Although not uniformly increasing in prevalence, loneliness is rising among adolescents and young adults, making it an important public health concern. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) offers a means to examine the neural pathways through which loneliness emerges and affects health. A growing body of structural and functional MRI research implicates differences in regions and networks central to social cognition, internally directed thought, episodic memory, and executive control, including most consistently the default mode network, medial temporal structures, and prefrontal cortex. Here, we review this literature, critically assess its limitations, and outline priorities for future research, including the need for refined measurement, longitudinal developmental and experimental designs, and integration with genetic and contextual perspectives.

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