The default network of the human brain is associated with perceived social isolation
Authors: Emile Dimas
Laetitia Mwilambwe-Tshilobo
Gideon Nave
B T Thomas Yeo
Robin I M Dunbar
Alain Dagher
Tian Ge
Anthony Ong
Yue Li
Thomas V Wiecki
Gary R Turner
Avram J Holmes
Julius M Kernbach
Philipp Koellinger
Danilo Bzdok
R Nathan Spreng
Journal: Nature Communications (2020)
Discipline: Multidisciplinary
Keywords: social exchange; perceived social isolation; loneliness; physical health; mental health
Affiliations: Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, Montreal Neurological Institute, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada. ., Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada. ., Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Verdun, QC, HRH 1R3, Canada. ., McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI), McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada. ., Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada., Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, Montreal Neurological Institute, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada., McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI), McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada., School of Business and Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands., Marketing Department, the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, PA, USA., Department of Human Development, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA., Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA., Department of Neurosurgery, Neurosurgical Artificial Intelligence Laboratory Aachen (NAILA), RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Aachen, Germany., Quantopian Inc., Boston, MA, USA., Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, 02114, USA., Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02114, USA., Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA., Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA., School of Computer Science, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada., Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CA, 06520, USA., Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Centre for Sleep & Cognition, Clinical Imaging Research Centre, N.1 Institute for Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore., Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada., Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK., Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada. ., School of Computer Science, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada. ., Mila - Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada. .

Abstract:  Humans survive and thrive through social exchange. Yet, social dependency also comes at a cost. Perceived social isolation, or loneliness, affects physical and mental health, cognitive performance, overall life expectancy, and increases vulnerability to Alzheimer's disease-related dementias. Despite severe consequences on behavior and health, the neural basis of loneliness remains elusive. Using the UK Biobank population imaging-genetics cohort (n = ~40,000, aged 40-69 years when recruited, mean age = 54.9), we test for signatures of loneliness in grey matter morphology, intrinsic functional coupling, and fiber tract microstructure. The loneliness-linked neurobiological profiles converge on a collection of brain regions known as the 'default network'. This higher associative network shows more consistent loneliness associations in grey matter volume than other cortical brain networks. Lonely individuals display stronger functional communication in the default network, and greater microstructural integrity of its fornix pathway. The findings fit with the possibility that the up-regulation of these neural circuits supports mentalizing, reminiscence and imagination to fill the social void. 

Retracted: No

PubPeer comments:
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