| Mental health professionals have long debated about | | | | settings. |
| the nature of loneliness. An article published February | | | | In contrast, the temporoparietal junction - a region |
| 16, 2009 in Medical News Today examines this issue. | | | | associated with taking the perspective of another |
| The article reports on results of a study at a meeting | | | | person - is much less activated among lonely than in |
| of the American Association for the Advancement of | | | | the non-lonely when viewing pictures of people in |
| Science. The researchers studied "23 female | | | | unpleasant settings." There are several important |
| undergraduates who were tested to determine their | | | | implications of this study. |
| level of loneliness. | | | | First, mental professionals should routinely screen all |
| While in an fMRI scanner, the subjects were shown | | | | depressed for social isolation and initiate strategies to |
| unpleasant pictures and human conflict as well as | | | | correct this. Second, individuals who are experiencing |
| pleasant things such as money and happy people." | | | | significant levels of social isolation should immediately |
| The results of the study were interesting. The | | | | seek professional assistance to help them overcome |
| researchers discovered that "....that the ventral striatum | | | | this condition. This study makes it clear that social |
| - a region of the brain associated with rewards - is | | | | isolation affects not only how people behave and also |
| much more activated in non-lonely people than in the | | | | affects the structure and functioning of their brain. |
| lonely when they view pictures of people in pleasant | | | | |