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Barton S, Zovko A, Müller C, Krabichler Q, Schulze J, Wagner S, Grinevich V, Shamay-Tsoory S, Hurlemann R. A translational neuroscience perspective on loneliness: Narrative review focusing on social interaction, illness and oxytocin. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 163:105734. [PMID: 38796125 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2023] [Revised: 05/15/2024] [Accepted: 05/19/2024] [Indexed: 05/28/2024]
Abstract
This review addresses key findings on loneliness from the social, neurobiological and clinical fields. From a translational perspective, results from studies in humans and animals are included, with a focus on social interaction, mental and physical illness and the role of oxytocin in loneliness. In terms of social interactions, lonely individuals tend to exhibit a range of abnormal behaviors based on dysfunctional social cognitions that make it difficult for them to form meaningful relationships. Neurobiologically, a link has been established between loneliness and the hypothalamic peptide hormone oxytocin. Since social interactions and especially social touch regulate oxytocin signaling, lonely individuals may have an oxytocin imbalance, which in turn affects their health and well-being. Clinically, loneliness is a predictor of physical and mental illness and leads to increased morbidity and mortality. There is evidence that psychopathology is both a cause and a consequence of loneliness. The final section of this review summarizes the findings from social, neurobiological and clinical perspectives to present a new model of the complex construct of loneliness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Barton
- Dept. of Psychiatry, School of Medicine & Health Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Ammerländer Heerstraße 114-118, Oldenburg 26129, Germany
| | - Ana Zovko
- Dept. of Neuropeptide Research in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, J5, Mannheim 68159, Germany
| | - Christina Müller
- Dept. of Psychiatry, School of Medicine & Health Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Ammerländer Heerstraße 114-118, Oldenburg 26129, Germany
| | - Quirin Krabichler
- Dept. of Neuropeptide Research in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, J5, Mannheim 68159, Germany
| | - Janna Schulze
- Dept. of Psychiatry, School of Medicine & Health Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Ammerländer Heerstraße 114-118, Oldenburg 26129, Germany
| | - Shlomo Wagner
- Dep. of Neurobiology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa 31905, Israel
| | - Valery Grinevich
- Dept. of Neuropeptide Research in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, J5, Mannheim 68159, Germany
| | - Simone Shamay-Tsoory
- Dept. of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa 31905, Israel
| | - René Hurlemann
- Dept. of Psychiatry, School of Medicine & Health Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Ammerländer Heerstraße 114-118, Oldenburg 26129, Germany.
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Early growth response 2 in the mPFC regulates mouse social and cooperative behaviors. Lab Anim (NY) 2023; 52:37-50. [PMID: 36646797 DOI: 10.1038/s41684-022-01090-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Accepted: 11/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Adolescent social neglect impairs social performance, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Here we report that isolation rearing of juvenile mice caused cooperation defects that were rescued by immediate social reintroduction. We also identified the transcription factor early growth response 2 (Egr2) in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) as a major target of social isolation and resocialization. Isolation rearing increased corticosteroid production, which reduced the expression of Egr2 in the mPFC, including in oligodendrocytes. Overexpressing Egr2 ubiquitously in the mPFC, but not specifically in neurons nor in oligodendroglia, protected mice from the isolation rearing-induced cooperation defect. In addition to synapse integrity, Egr2 also regulated the development of oligodendroglia, specifically the transition from undifferentiated oligodendrocyte precursor cells to premyelinating oligodendrocytes. In conclusion, this study reveals the importance of mPFC Egr2 in the cooperative behavior that is modulated by social experience, and its unexpected role in oligodendrocyte development.
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d'Isa R, Gerlai R. Designing animal-friendly behavioral tests for neuroscience research: The importance of an ethological approach. Front Behav Neurosci 2023; 16:1090248. [PMID: 36703720 PMCID: PMC9871504 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.1090248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2022] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Raffaele d'Isa
- Institute of Experimental Neurology (INSPE), Division of Neuroscience (DNS), IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Robert Gerlai
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada
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Jiang M, Wang M, Shi Q, Wei L, Lin Y, Wu D, Liu B, Nie X, Qiao H, Xu L, Yang T, Wang Z. Evolution and neural representation of mammalian cooperative behavior. Cell Rep 2021; 37:110029. [PMID: 34788618 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.110029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2021] [Revised: 08/17/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Cooperation is common in nature and is pivotal to the development of human society. However, the details of how and why cooperation evolved remain poorly understood. Cross-species investigation of cooperation may help to elucidate the evolution of cooperative strategies. Thus, we design an automated cooperative behavioral paradigm and quantitatively examine the cooperative abilities and strategies of mice, rats, and tree shrews. We find that social communication plays a key role in the establishment of cooperation and that increased cooperative ability and a more efficient cooperative strategy emerge as a function of the evolutionary hierarchy of the tested species. Moreover, we demonstrate that single-unit activities in the orbitofrontal and prelimbic cortex in rats represent neural signals that may be used to distinguish between the cooperative and non-cooperative tasks, and such signals are distinct from the reward signals. Both signals may represent distinct components of the internal drive for cooperation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengping Jiang
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science & Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Miaoyaoxin Wang
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science & Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Qianqian Shi
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science & Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Lei Wei
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science & Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
| | - Yongqin Lin
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science & Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Dingcheng Wu
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science & Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
| | - Boyi Liu
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science & Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Xiupeng Nie
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms and Laboratory of Learning and Memory, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan 650223, China
| | - Hong Qiao
- State Key Laboratory of Management and Control for Complex Systems, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Lin Xu
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms and Laboratory of Learning and Memory, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan 650223, China
| | - Tianming Yang
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science & Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China.
| | - Zuoren Wang
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science & Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
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