Using the Brain to Reveal Mental Representations of Subjective Connection
Columbia University
Summary
Nearly half of the U.S. population sometimes or always experiences loneliness, which is alarming given that loneliness confers risk for negative mental and physical health outcomes. Extensive research suggests loneliness is characterized by subjective isolation: many lonely individuals maintain a number of relationships but still report feeling lonely. The goal of this proposal is to use functional magnetic resonance imaging to reveal how the brain represents our subjective connection to and isolation from other people, which will ultimately inform optimal ways to intervene to reduce loneliness.
Description
Extensive research suggests loneliness is characterized by subjective isolation: many lonely individuals maintain a number of relationships but still report feeling lonely. Thus, a neurobiological account of loneliness requires that we understand how the brain represents subjective connections to others and how loneliness alters these representations. The long-term goal of this proposal is to identify how subjective isolation is represented in the brain in order to identify novel ways to intervene on this representation to attenuate loneliness. This study proposes that the brain organizes repr…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18–65 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria: * safe for MRI scanning * not taking psychiatric medication Exclusion Criteria: * not safe for MRI scanning * taking psychiatric medication
Interventions
- OtherBasic Science Experiment
participants complete cognitive tasks while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
Location
- Columbia University Irving Medical CenterNew York, New York