Large numbers of people around the globe have been forced into solitude due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, social distancing is utterly at odds with our drive for social connection, the cornerstone of human evolution.
Suddenly confronted with a lack of social interactions, many of us are now experiencing more loneliness. We are missing that reassuring hug or shoulder pat from another human things we might normally expect in times of adversity. To cope, we try to fill the void with online social activities, such as synchronised Netflix viewings, games and video chat dance parties. But do these help?
When we spend quality time with another person, we experience intrinsic joy. Brain scanning studies show that subcortical brain regions, such as the ventral striatum, which plays an important role in motivation, are activated when receiving monetary and social rewards.
When we feel lonely and rejected, brain regions associated with distress and rumination are activated instead. This may be due to evolution driving us to establish and maintain social connections to ensure survival. Lonely people also have a more negative focus and anxiously scrutinise peoples intentions. Sometimes this can become so strong that it makes us feel even more lonely creating a vicious cycle.
Not everyone relishes social connection to the same extent though. People with a more extrovert personality type seek more social activities, have access to larger social networks, and report lower perceived loneliness. People who score highly on neuroticism tend to report more perceived social isolation.
Loneliness has for some time been recognised as a significant threat to physical and mental health and has been found to be predictive of mortality.
So how can you best cope with loneliness and isolation? Analysis has suggested that the most successful interventions find ways to address the distorted thinking that loneliness creates. So if you are feeling lonely, try identifying automatic negative thoughts such as assuming people dont want to hear from you and reframing them as hypotheses rather than facts.
Another recent review of literature found that targeting coping strategies can also be beneficial. It discovered that approaches such as joining a support group to remove feelings of loneliness work particularly well. Emotion-based coping strategies, such as lowering expectations about relationships, were not as effective.
Social media is often vilified in public discourse. But many people who are self-isolating now rely on online social tools. An important aspect missing in instant messaging and social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, however, is the nonverbal cue such as a smile, gesture or glance. These allow us to gauge the tone and context of a social encounter. When this information is missing, we perceive fewer friendly cues from others.
So while online tools can be helpful during periods of isolation, embodiment and social presence are nevertheless missing. But there are ways to boost the rewards of online communication. One study used augmented reality to enable two people to interact with each others video chat images and found that they reported higher sense of social presence and a more engaging experience. Similarly, participating in shared activities benefits the formation of close relationships with others. So whether it is a virtual pub quiz or a dance party, this may be particularly valuable during lockdown.
Robots designed to engage us on a social level could also help isolated people feel less lonely, as they carry the benefit of embodiment. In a randomised control trial with Paro, a cuddly baby seal robot, residents in a care home who interacted with it reported reduced feelings of loneliness.
Research from our own laboratory seeks to identify how robotic features or behaviours influence our ability to feel socially connected to these machines. For example, a new study highlights that people conversationally engage with a humanoid robot to a similar extent as another person, and more so than with a voice assistant like Alexa or Siri.
New advances in mobile brain imaging technologies, along with the increasing social sophistication of some robots, provide opportunities for examining how people establish and maintain social connections with robots in real time.
While the rise of social robots appears futuristic, they are already moving out of factories and into our homes, supermarkets and hospitals. They even have new social roles in the coronavirus crisis for example as supermarket assistants, reminding shoppers of new health and safety rules.
Until we all have a sophisticated social robot to keep us company, perhaps the best remedy is to keep in touch with our loved ones online, especially through shared activities. And lets focus on the fact that close human contact will soon be safe again.
Go here to read the rest:
The neuroscience of loneliness and how technology is helping us - The Conversation UK
- Try these neuroscience-backed tactics to train your brain to make better decisions - Fast Company - October 2nd, 2024 [October 2nd, 2024]
- Tips to navigate SfN as a trainee - The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives - October 2nd, 2024 [October 2nd, 2024]
- Neuroscience Says This 10-Minute Brain Exercise Will Make You Mentally Sharper and Keep You Focused All Day - Inc. - October 2nd, 2024 [October 2nd, 2024]
- Successful people do this 1 thing to be 'happier, more productive, less stressed' at work, says CEO and neuroscience researcher - CNBC - October 2nd, 2024 [October 2nd, 2024]
- Utilizing the Power of Neuroscience, Isabella Kensington May Have Cracked the Code Between Music and Healing - AOL - October 2nd, 2024 [October 2nd, 2024]
- Steve Jobs swore the 10-minute rule made him smarter. Modern neuroscience is discovering he was right - The Star Online - October 2nd, 2024 [October 2nd, 2024]
- Steve Jobs Swore the 10-Minute Rule Made Him Smarter. Modern Neuroscience Is Discovering He Was Right - Inc. - October 2nd, 2024 [October 2nd, 2024]
- Neural manifolds: Latest buzzword or pathway to understand the brain? - The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives - October 2nd, 2024 [October 2nd, 2024]
- Neuroscience Says 3 Brainy Habits Will Make You More Efficient, Productive, and Focused - Inc. - October 2nd, 2024 [October 2nd, 2024]
- Ethics, AI, and Neuroscience Converge at Mental Health, Brain, and Behavioral Science Research Day - The University of Utah - October 2nd, 2024 [October 2nd, 2024]
- The neuroscience of campus memories - The Stanford Daily - October 2nd, 2024 [October 2nd, 2024]
- How the Brain Enhances Sleep Through Synaptic Strength - Neuroscience News - October 2nd, 2024 [October 2nd, 2024]
- Neanderthoids and space brains: Stem cell researcher pushes the boundaries of neuroscience - Medical Xpress - October 2nd, 2024 [October 2nd, 2024]
- Nancy Padilla-Coreano - The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives - October 2nd, 2024 [October 2nd, 2024]
- Utilizing the Power of Neuroscience, Isabella Kensington May Have Cracked the Code Between Music and Healing - Spin - October 2nd, 2024 [October 2nd, 2024]
- Genetic Variants Linked to Alzheimers Trigger Inflammation in Females - Neuroscience News - October 2nd, 2024 [October 2nd, 2024]
- New Astrocyte Target for Alzheimers Therapy - Neuroscience News - October 2nd, 2024 [October 2nd, 2024]
- Is an ankle sprain also a brain injury? How neuroscience is helping athletes, astronauts and average Joes - The Conversation Indonesia - October 2nd, 2024 [October 2nd, 2024]
- 5 Brain Strategies to Dramatically Reduce Conflict and Boost Your Leadership, Backed by Neuroscience - Inc. - September 23rd, 2024 [September 23rd, 2024]
- Fascinating neuroscience research reveals a key mechanism underlying human cognition - PsyPost - September 23rd, 2024 [September 23rd, 2024]
- Averaging is a convenient fiction of neuroscience - The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives - September 23rd, 2024 [September 23rd, 2024]
- Repeat scans reveal brain changes that precede childbirth - The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives - September 23rd, 2024 [September 23rd, 2024]
- Neuroscience helps explain the teenage brain and mental health - ABC News - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- XX Marks the Spot: Addressing Sex Bias in Neuroscience - The Scientist - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- Neuroscience-based tools for transformative leadership - Fast Company - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- How 100 Years of EEG Have Transformed Neuroscience - Being Patient - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- Reconstructing dopamines link to reward - The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- The neuroscience of itch in relation to transdiagnostic psychological approaches - Nature.com - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- A README for open neuroscience - The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- Dopamine and the need for alternative theories - The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- Kim Stachenfeld on the dance between neuroscience and artificial intelligence - The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- Vijay Mohan K. Namboodiri - The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- Varied Cognitive Training Boosts Learning and Memory - Neuroscience News - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- Issue | September 2024 | XX Marks the Spot: Addressing Sex Bias in Neuroscience - The Scientist - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- The Transmitter Partners With World Wide Neuro and Brain Inspired, Building on Mission to Inform, Connect Neuroscience Community - StreetInsider.com - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- Gene Therapy Offers Hope for Glaucoma and AMD - Neuroscience News - September 15th, 2024 [September 15th, 2024]
- The Neuroscience of Phantom Sensations: Can We Feel Whats Not Really There? - SciTechDaily - September 2nd, 2024 [September 2nd, 2024]
- Tau May Protect Brain Cells from Oxidative Damage - Neuroscience News - September 2nd, 2024 [September 2nd, 2024]
- Scientists use fainting to uncover new insights into the neuroscience of consciousness - PsyPost - September 2nd, 2024 [September 2nd, 2024]
- Biosensors and being fearless with Lin Tian - The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives - September 2nd, 2024 [September 2nd, 2024]
- Can Neuroscience Train Your Brain to Be Happier? This Startup Has an App for That - Inc. - September 2nd, 2024 [September 2nd, 2024]
- Neuroscience Surprise: Different Types of Love Light Up Different Parts of the Brain - SciTechDaily - September 2nd, 2024 [September 2nd, 2024]
- Second paper from lab of Nobel Prize winner to be retracted - The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives - September 2nd, 2024 [September 2nd, 2024]
- How cognitive bias affects your draft strategy with neuroscience professor Dr. Renee Miller - Yahoo Sports - August 5th, 2024 [August 5th, 2024]
- This 3-step approach to performance reviews uses neuroscience to make them less awful - Fast Company - August 5th, 2024 [August 5th, 2024]
- Is it time to worry about brain chimeras? - The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives - August 5th, 2024 [August 5th, 2024]
- Sharing brain images can foster new neuroscience discoveries - American Heart Association - July 26th, 2024 [July 26th, 2024]
- Latest News: Neuroscience Major Applies What Shes Learned in the Classroom and in the Lab - Muhlenberg College - July 26th, 2024 [July 26th, 2024]
- BioIVT to Highlight its Integral Role in Drug and Diagnostic Discovery and Development in addition to Neuroscience Research at Premier Life Science... - July 26th, 2024 [July 26th, 2024]
- Alto Neuroscience Receives Funding Award from Wellcome Trust to Accelerate Development of ALTO-100 in Bipolar Depression Leveraging Precision... - July 26th, 2024 [July 26th, 2024]
- Neuroscience Says 3 Simple Steps Can Turn Disappointment and Stress Into Success and Fulfillment (and Boost Your Emotional Intelligence) - Inc. - July 26th, 2024 [July 26th, 2024]
- Golf: neuroscience reveals the secrets of better putting new study - The Conversation - July 26th, 2024 [July 26th, 2024]
- The Neuroscience Behind Video: Why Video is the Most Effective Marketing Channel - StreamTV Insider - July 26th, 2024 [July 26th, 2024]
- Building an autism research registry: Q&A with Tony Charman - The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives - July 26th, 2024 [July 26th, 2024]
- Adjusting Proteins Increases Ozempics Effectiveness - Neuroscience News - July 18th, 2024 [July 18th, 2024]
- Low-Calorie Diets Harm Athletes Performance and Health - Neuroscience News - July 18th, 2024 [July 18th, 2024]
- Reflective Thinking Boosts Teen Brain Resilience to Violence - Neuroscience News - July 18th, 2024 [July 18th, 2024]
- Neuroscience Says Olympians Like Simone Biles Use the Autopilot Trick to Achieve Peak Performance. So Can You - Inc. - July 18th, 2024 [July 18th, 2024]
- What well-being is (and isnt), according to neuroscience - Big Think - July 18th, 2024 [July 18th, 2024]
- Brain Areas Take Micro-Naps While the Rest Stays Awake - Neuroscience News - July 18th, 2024 [July 18th, 2024]
- Persistent protein pairing enables memories to last - The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives - July 18th, 2024 [July 18th, 2024]
- AI Enhances Story Creativity but Risks Reducing Novelty - Neuroscience News - July 18th, 2024 [July 18th, 2024]
- Infection Brain Inflammation Triggers Muscle Weakness - Neuroscience News - July 18th, 2024 [July 18th, 2024]
- Alto Neuroscience, Inc. (NYSE:ANRO) Receives Average Rating of Buy from Analysts - Defense World - July 18th, 2024 [July 18th, 2024]
- 2024 Kavli Prize awarded for research on face-selective brain areas - The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives - June 18th, 2024 [June 18th, 2024]
- Unlocking Flow: The Neuroscience of Creative Bliss - Neuroscience News - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- Revolutionizing Glioblastoma Treatment - Neuroscience News - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- Decoding spontaneous thoughts from the brain via machine learning - EurekAlert - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- Reducing Toxic AI Responses - Neuroscience News - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- Advancing the neuroscience of human pregnancy - Nature.com - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- Angela Bryan Awarded Hazel Barnes Prize | Psychology and Neuroscience - University of Colorado Boulder - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- How Old Are You in Your Head? The Neuroscience of Subjective Age Reveals How to Stay Mentally Young - Inc. - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- Biohaven Showcases Innovative Neuroscience Portfolio with 20 Presentations at the 2024 American Academy of ... - PR Newswire - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- Those Who Use Willpower Deemed More Trustworthy - Neuroscience News - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- How Sex and Gender Shape Our Cognition - Neuroscience News - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- War's Toll on the Brain: Widespread PTSD and Anxiety Among Ukrainians - Neuroscience News - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- Paints and Pesticides Linked to ALS Risk - Neuroscience News - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- AI STORIES: A New Vision for AI and Narratives - Neuroscience News - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- Neuroscience Breakthrough Unveils How We Learn and Remember - SciTechDaily - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- Pregnancy's Toll: Accelerated Aging in Young Mothers - Neuroscience News - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]