Although social distancing and lockdown have proven effective in combating rising cases, many people’s mental health took a dive during the pandemic. A survey taken in the US reported 36% of adults feeling “serious loneliness” due to self-isolation, which suggests that people can’t wait to return to the social scene. Despite this, nearly half of Americans stated feeling uneasy about returning to pre-pandemic life regardless of the vaccines. How can one be lonely but scared to go back to socializing all at once?
The human brain is one of the most adaptable organs of our body. Hence, neuroscientists have taken it upon themselves to investigate how isolation and resocialization affect our brains.
As dissecting a human brain for this study would’ve been unethical, scientists turned to lab animals. Fortunately, as socializing is vital across the animal kingdom, similar brain circuits exist.
Removing an animal’s cage buddy increases anxiety-like behaviours and the stress hormone cortisol. Studies done on humans have also supported this finding, as people with smaller social circles tend to have higher cortisol levels.
An essential part of the brain for social interaction is the hippocampus, responsible for storing memories and learning. We learn certain social behaviours such as empathy and cooperation to pursue successful social relationships. However, since the brain has to retain so much information, it will remove things they deem unimportant; something not used regularly becomes forgotten.
A study found that isolated marmosets initially experienced higher stress and cortisol levels upon resocializing but quickly recovered. Studies done on mice and rats show that although they cannot recognize a familiar friend after short term isolation, their memory can quickly regain after resocializing. A recent Scottish study conducted during the pandemic reported some residents experiencing cognitive decline during the harshest lockdown weeks but fortunately recovered once when restrictions eased.
Although animal research is informative, it does not accurately represent scenarios that we have gone through during the height of the pandemic. While mice are stuck alone in cages, we still have the privilege of hosting Zoom gatherings or Netflix parties. So although we may have experienced physical isolation from one another, we were not in total isolation.
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