Social exclusion 'changes brain function'
Thursday, 09 Nov 2006 12:49
Being alone can lead to poor decision making, study claims
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Social exclusion causes a change in brain function and can lead to poor decision-making and a reduced learning ability, new research has found.
Scientists at the University of Georgia and San Diego State University argue that their study proves that social rejection has a "powerful influence" on how people act.
Using the magnetoencephalography (MEG) technique, the researchers analysed people's brain patterns, discovering that when subjects were made to feel socially excluded there were noticeable changes in the patterns.
The participants were then given 180 problems to solve in 25 minutes while the MEG continued to monitor their brain patterns.
"We found that there was a direct link between social exclusion, brain activity and performance," said lead researcher W Keith Campbell.
Those who had been made to feel socially excluded had clear differences in activity in the brain's occipital, parietal and prefrontal cortex regions; the parietal cortex is involved in attention, while the prefrontal cortex helps support functioning processes such as working memory and other behaviours that may support self control.
The socially-excluded group also performed more poorly on the maths problems, leading the researchers to conclude that social exclusion actually affects the circuits working in the brain.
The findings are published in the current online issue of the journal Social Neuroscience.