White matter structures associated with loneliness in young adults

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

doi:10.1038/srep17001

White matter structures associated with loneliness in young adults

Sci Rep. 2015 Nov 20:5:17001. doi: 10.1038/srep17001.

Authors

Seishu Nakagawa^{1

2}, Hikaru Takeuchi³, Yasuyuki Taki^{3

4

5}, Rui Nouchi^{6

7}, Atsushi Sekiguchi^{2

4

8}, Yuka Kotozaki⁷, Carlos Makoto Miyauchi^{2

9}, Kunio Iizuka^{2

10}, Ryoichi Yokoyama^{2

11}, Takamitsu Shinada², Yuki Yamamoto², Sugiko Hanawa², Tsuyoshi Araki⁷, Hiroshi Hashizume³, Keiko Kunitoki¹², Yuko Sassa³, Ryuta Kawashima^{2

3

7}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, Tohoku Pharmaceutical University, Sendai, Japan.
² Department of Functional Brain Imaging, Institute of Development, Ageing and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
³ Division of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute of Development, Ageing and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
⁴ Division of Medical Neuroimaging Analysis, Department of Community Medical Supports, Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
⁵ Department of Nuclear Medicine and Radiology, Institute of Development, Ageing and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
⁶ Human and Social Response Research Division, International Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
⁷ Smart Ageing International Research Center, Institute of Development, Ageing and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
⁸ Department of Adult Mental Health, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan.
⁹ Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Department of General Systems Studies, The University of Tokyo.
¹⁰ Department of Psychiatry, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
¹¹ Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan.
¹² Faculty of Medicine, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.

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.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Analysis of Variance
Brain Mapping
Empathy / physiology*
Female
Humans
Loneliness / psychology*
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Models, Neurological
Models, Psychological
Prefrontal Cortex / anatomy & histology
Prefrontal Cortex / physiology
Self Efficacy*
Social Behavior
White Matter / anatomy & histology
White Matter / physiology*
Young Adult