Year: 2020
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Loneliness, the perception of unmet social needs, has been shown to relate to recollection-based recognition deficits, but the relationship between loneliness and recognition memory (i.e., recollection and familiarity) has not been thoroughly examined. The current study hypothesized that more lonely individuals would have lower recognition memory performance, specifically recollection, with smaller ERP parietal old-new effects than less lonely individuals. Forty participants, grouped into less (n = 13) and more (n = 9) lonely groups based on their R-UCLA responses, completed an associative memory task. EEG was used to assess recognition memory effects. Results showed no significant difference in both behavioral and ERP recognition memory effects between lonely groups, showing that lonelier individuals had no specific recollection-based recognition memory deficits. Evidence of a negative trend between loneliness and recognition memory effects was observed. Future research should include more participants and better methodology to explore the loneliness-recognition memory relationship. Keywords: loneliness, perceived social isolation, memory, recognition memory, electroencephalogram (EEG), event-related potential (ERP)
Author: Carmen Chek
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3109792709