Recent research has investigated the connection between loneliness, brain activity and social interactions, and points out that individuals Loners process social information differently in the brain, which may contribute to feelings of isolation and deficiency. But after all, does loneliness affect our way of relating and seeing the world?
What is Loneliness?
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Loneliness can be defined as a feeling of social isolation or the lack of connection with other people, which can affect individuals from all walks of life. However, young adults are the most susceptible category, with studies showing that up to 80% of college students experience loneliness during their academic career.
In this sense, it should be noted that social interactions are fundamental for a person's well-being. In many cases, loneliness can be associated with conditions that require attention, such as depression, anxiety and cardiovascular disorders.
The influence of loneliness on brain processing and social interactions
A team of scientists investigated the brain's processing of loneliness. The participants were college students and their brains were scanned by MRI while they watched a movie clip featuring social interactions.
Results revealed that solitary participants had less brain activity in regions related to social cognition and social information processing.
Furthermore, these people showed greater activation in brain areas associated with negative effects, suggesting a greater sensitivity to negative cues and a sense of social danger. This means that lonely individuals process the world differently. As a result, they may be misunderstood by other members of society.
Although the study cannot be considered an absolute truth, it shows the importance of ties relationships between people to improve people's social connections and quality of life lonely.
On the other hand, one should consider the limitations of the research, given the reduced sample size and the assessment of loneliness in only a specific moment in the lives of participants can lead to inaccurate results about the lives of those individuals in a framework bigger.
Solitude influences brain activity, affecting the way individuals connect to their environment. Promoting psychological well-being and combating the negative effects of loneliness requires strengthening social bonds. Thus, further studies, more comprehensive, will be necessary to obtain more reliable results, aiming to develop solutions that improve the quality of life of people affected by loneliness.
