White matter structures associated with loneliness in young adults.

Seishu Nakagawa,Carlos Makoto Miyauchi,Hiroshi Hashizume,Rui Nouchi,Sugiko Hanawa,Ryoichi Yokoyama,Atsushi Sekiguchi,Tsuyoshi Araki,Yuki Yamamoto,Ryuta Kawashima,Yasuyuki Taki,Takamitsu Shinada,Keiko Kunitoki,Hikaru Takeuchi,Yuko Sassa,Yuka Kotozaki,Kunio Iizuka

doi:10.1038/srep17001

Abstract

Lonely individuals may exhibit dysfunction, particularly with respect to social empathy and self-efficacy. White matter (WM) structures related to loneliness have not yet been identified. We investigated the association between regional WM density (rWMD) using the UCLA Loneliness Scale in 776 healthy young students aged 18–27 years old. Loneliness scores were negatively correlated with rWMD in eight clusters: the bilateral inferior parietal lobule (IPL), right anterior insula (AI), posterior temporoparietal junction (pTPJ), left posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), and rostrolateral prefrontal cortex (RLPFC). The bilateral IPL, right AI, left pSTS, pTPJ, and RLPFC were strongly associated with Empathy Quotient (EQ), whereas the bilateral IPL, right AI, left pTPJ, and dmPFC were associated with General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) score. The neural correlates of loneliness comprise widespread reduction in WMD in areas related to self- and social cognition as well as areas associated with empathy and self-efficacy.

Highlights

20- 25- 30- 35- 40- 45- 50- 55- 60- 65- 70- 75Loneliness score disorders, obesity, and headaches)[2,3]
We found that the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Scale score was significantly negatively correlated with regional WM density (rWMD) in the bilateral IPL, right anterior insula (AI), left posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), pTPJ, dmPFC, and rostrolateral prefrontal cortex (RLPFC) in both males and females
These results are consistent with our hypothesis that the neural correlates of loneliness are related to empathy and self-efficacy, suggesting that changes in white matter (WM) structure reflect dysfunction, because reduced rWMD indicates less myelination in the region considered, which would delay the neural transmission in the area and in the neural network

Summary

Introduction

20- 25- 30- 35- 40- 45- 50- 55- 60- 65- 70- 75Loneliness score disorders, obesity, and headaches)[2,3]. Axonal calibre and myelin sheath thickness determine neuronal conduction velocity, which can alter cognitive function[10] Changes in both GM and WM structures in regions associated with loneliness may provide unique insights, reflecting changes in transmission across neural networks. In a previous study[10], we found that WM structures involving the default mode network (e.g., medial prefrontal cortex [mPFC], various areas of the temporal lobes, STS, and the temporoparietal junction [TPJ]) and the mirror neuron system (such as the inferior parietal lobule [IPL] and insula) were involved in the mediation of empathy. We hypothesised that the structural white matter correlates of loneliness would be associated with empathy and self-efficacy We tested this hypothesis by performing multiple regression analysis on loneliness scores. We investigated the existence of such gender differences

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Results

Conclusion