loneliness
The quietest epidemic of the 21st century.
My own bouts with chronic loneliness triggered a series of subsequent issues (physiological, emotional, etc) . This is what I feel the next breakout in behavioural neuroscience is going to go.
how do we measure and determine loneliness (positrons?)
how does our cognitive function become impaired with social isolation?
can we use knowledge of hormonal releases and electrochemical impulses to develop therapeutics for…loneliness? (should we?)
***
People and projects that make me feel a little less lonely in this domain:
Marissa and Dan - the Loneliness Project (hello!)
Cigna's Loneliness Index
The Centre on Humane Technology
Noonlight
My own brain is grounds for experiments I conduct.
After experiencing chronic loneliness for ~1.5-2 years during early university, I placed myself in different environments to answer, in a very cursory way, answers to questions I had about the science behind loneliness and the effects on brain chemistry and function. Supplemental questions around media, attention spans, and dopamine-reward cycles in worsening perceived loneliness also came to mind.
There were always fleeting feelings of solitude and solemn that couldn't be answered by pure observation. Some of these thoughts can be found in Long Form Thoughts.
***
Key questions and areas of exploration:
How does chronic loneliness affect the neural architecture of the brain? How does this bleed into cognitive function and decision-making?
Bridging cool tech advancements in neuroimaging technologies to better understand the brain's response to social isolation and loneliness
How does the brain's default mode network (DMN) contribute to negative thought patterns borne out of isolation?
Using brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) to measure impulses/indicators of thought patterns, hormone releases, electrochemical impulses (mental health and neural health applications).
loneliness