While common notions suggest that loneliness and solitude are differentiated by decisions, new research shows that lonely individuals could have different ways of thinking regardless of how big their social networks are.
Neuroscience Behind Loneliness
Elisa Baek, the study's lead author from the University of Southern California, shares that they discovered that lonely people have a different way of processing the world around them, as reported by Science Daily. This is true even if their social network was taken into account. The paper was included in the Psychological Science journal.
Baek and team reached such a conclusion by examining the fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) scans of 63 freshman university students.
As part of the study, the participants watched 14 engaging clips in a particular order during each 90-minute scan. After the scans, the participants expressed how they felt in terms of social connection through the UCLA Loneliness Scale.
During the earlier part of the school year, the participants also filled out a social network survey. They were asked to list the names of individuals that they ate meals with, studied with, and generally hung out with during their first months as students.
To analyze the data, the team grouped participants into two categories: the lonely group, which comprises individuals with higher-than-median scores in the loneliness test, and the non-lonely group, which consists of participants whose scores did not reach the median point.
When they examined and compared scans, the researchers discovered that the lonely participants' brain activity was starkly different from that of non-lonely and other lonely individuals. However, for the non-lonely individuals, their brain activity was similar with their fellows. This was especially evident in the "default-mode network," wherein shared brain activity appears linked to interpreting friendships and narratives similarly, and in the brain's reward-processing regions.
Such findings were still significant even when the demographic characteristics and sizes of social networks were factored in.
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Lonely People Process the World Differently
According to Neuroscience News, the study revealed how the neural responses of lonely people were different from those of other people. This suggests that having a different view compared to others may be a risk factor for feeling lonely despite regular socialization.
The researchers explained that lonely individuals have an idiosyncratic way of processing the world. This could contribute to the decreased feeling of being understood, which accompanies loneliness in several instances.
They note that one possible reason for this is that lonely individuals do not see the value of certain scenes and situational aspects compared to their peers. As a result, this could serve as a "reinforcing feedback loop" wherein lonely individuals see themselves as different from others, which could make it even harder for them to feel socially connected with others.
The researchers also add that another possibility is that loneliness itself could make people have divergent thought processes.
Further research is necessary to know more about the underlying causes behind such findings. Knowing more about the thinking patterns of lonely individuals and how shared understanding can be promoted are key to discovering ways to reduce loneliness.
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