Social Isolation Associated With Cognition and Brain Structure

A recent study showed that social isolation is associated with changes in brain structure and cognition, the mental process of obtaining knowledge. It even carries an increased danger of developing dementia in older adults.

As specified in a ScienceAlert report, according to the social brain hypothesis, it is because the human brain particularly evolved to support social interactions.

Studies have revealed that being a part of a group can result in improved well-being and enhanced satisfaction with life.

Unfortunately, though, many individuals feel lonely or socially isolated. And if the human brain indeed evolves for social interaction, one should expect this to impact it substantially.

Social Interaction Strongly Associated with Cognition

A lot of evidence exists already to back the social brain hypothesis. This study, published in the Neurology journal, mapped the brain areas linked to social interaction in roughly 7,000 individuals.

It found that the brain areas consistently engaged in diverse social interaction are strongly associated with networks that support cognition, which includes the "default mode work," which is activated when an individual is not focusing on the outside world, and the salience network, which is helping in the selection of what one is paying attention to, the subcortical network, which is involved in emotion, motivation and memory, and the central executive network, which allows one to control his emotions.

The study investigators wanted to look more closely at how social isolation is affecting grey matte, brain regions in the brain's outer layer that consists of neurons.

Therefore, they examined data from almost 500,000 people from the United Kingdom Biobank, with 57 as the mean age.

Social Isolation

In this research, people were categorized as socially isolated if they lived alone, had social contact less than once a month, and participated in social activities less than once a week.

The research also included neuroimaging or MRI data from roughly 32,000 individuals. This revealed that socially isolated people had poorer cognition, including memory and reaction time, and a lower volume of grey matter in many portions of the brain.

Such areas included the temporal region, which processes sounds and helps encode memory, the frontal lobe, which is involved in planning, attention, planning, and complicated cognitive tasks; and the hippocampus, a primary area that is involved in memory and learning, which is usually disrupted in Alzheimer's disease.

The researchers also discovered a link between the "lower grey matter volumes and specific genetic processes" involved in Alzheimer's disease, The Conversation, where this report first came out, said.

Keeping Relationships

Social Interaction is essential. One research showed that the size of the social group is linked to the volume of the orbitofrontal cortex, which is involved in emotion and cognition.

The question, "How many friends does one need?" now arises. Researchers frequently refer to "Dunbar's number" to describe the social groups' size, discovering that an individual cannot keep over 150 relationships and just usually manages five close relationships.

Nonetheless, some reports suggest a lack of empirical evidence surrounding Dunbar's number, and further research into the optimal size of social groups is needed.

It is difficult to argue with the fact that humans are social animals and attain enjoyment from connecting with others, regardless of age, the researchers said. However, as they increasingly uncover, it is crucial for the health of one's cognition, as well.

Related information about the impact of isolation on the human brain is shown on Instituto Italiano di Tecnologia's YouTube video below:

Check out more news and information on Neurology in Science Times.