Yearning for connection? Loneliness is associated with increased ventral striatum activity to close others
Year: 2015
Type: article
Abstract: Loneliness is a distressing state indicating that one's basic need for social connection is not being met. In an effort to satisfy the need for social connection, loneliness may increase the processing of social cues and desire to connect with others. Yet the neural substrates that contribute to the drive for increased connection in response to loneliness are not known. The ventral striatum (VS), previously shown to increase in response to craving food and other rewarding stimuli, may contribute to "social craving" when one is lonely. That is, the VS may track one's 'hunger' for reconnection much as it tracks hunger for food. To examine this, participants reported on their feelings of loneliness before undergoing an fMRI scan where they viewed cues of potential social reconnection (images of a close other). Consistent with the hypothesis that loneliness stems from an unmet need for connection, loneliness was associated with reduced feelings of connection with the close other. Furthermore, greater reported loneliness was associated with increased VS activity to viewing a close other (vs stranger). Results extend the current literature by showing that lonely individuals show increased activity in reward-related regions to their closest loved ones, possibly reflecting an increased desire for social connection.
DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsv076
Authors: Tristen K. Inagaki, Keely A. Muscatell, Mona Moieni, Janine M. Dutcher, Ivana Jevtic, Michael R. Irwin, Naomi I. Eisenberger
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,379
Funders: International Mental Health Research Organization, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Cancer Institute, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of California, Los Angeles
Awards: G1545794908, Aging: Sleep and Inflammatory Mechanisms in Depression Prevention, Social Isolation and Sleep Disturance in Aging: Inflammatory Mechanisms, Sleep, Inflamation, and Depression Occurrence in Breast Cancer Survivors, UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute, UCLA Older Americans Independence Center, Inflammation-Induced Depressed Mood: The Role of Social Neurocognitive Mechanisms, Tai Chi Effects on Chronic Insomnia in Breast Cancer Survivors: Immune Mechanisms, G9000224602, G9000249658, Mechanisms of Sleep Disruption Hyperalgesia, Chronic Moderate Sleep Restriction in Older Long and Older Average Sleepers
OpenAlex ID: W1837597489