Brain scans, surveys help scientists paint neural portrait of loneliness
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Large numbers of adults, young and old, have reported feelings of loneliness during the pandemic. File Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI | License Photo
Dec. 14 (UPI) Using brain scans, genetic analysis and psychological self-assessments, scientists have managed to render a kind of neural portrait of loneliness.
Researchers hope their efforts, detailed Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, will help illuminate the impacts of isolation on human health.
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For the study, scientists relied on an open-access database called U.K. Biobank.
The researchers sourced magnetic resonance imaging and genetics data, as well as psychological self-assessments, from some 40,000 middle-aged and older adults.