Most people have a handful of close friends and family members that play a special role in their life. This innermost circle is the major source for social support in challenging times. However, not everybody is automatically well-embedded in a support network of this kind, especially in modern individualistic societies. This is emphasized by the COVID-19 pandemic, which severely limits social interaction.
Social interactions in the brain
To understand how reduced contact might affect the brain, Schurz and his colleagues studied MRI data of 40.000 people in the UK Biobank. To measure peer support, UK Biobank participants were asked how often they are able to share personal information with close friends and family. The researchers then compared individuals with daily social support with people with a less frequent social exchange.
The neuroscientists identified two neural systems linked to the frequency of sharing experience with one's inner social circles. These brain areas are known as the ‘salience’ and the ‘limbic system’, which are important building blocks for empathy - the ability to feel into other people. More generally, the two systems are important for attentiveness - detecting relevant stimuli in our environment to anchor us in the present moment.
Public health
Additional analysis showed that brain regions related to a person's social contact habits co-vary with markers of general health and stress-coping reserve. Such relations were found, for example, for health satisfaction, smoking behavior, frequency of mood swings, fed-up feelings, self-reported irritability, and emotional stability.
Together, the study's results provide new clues on the role that social support plays for the brain. This can improve understanding the impact of the ongoing decrease of social support and connection among individuals in modern societies and eventually inform public health interventions.
The present study was carried out as a collaborative project involving Matthias Schurz and Rogier Mars from the Donders Institute, and Danilo Bzdok from Montreal's McGill University.