ReviewPsychological bulletin2014
Toward a neurology of loneliness.
Review in Psychological bulletin, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 243 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Effects of Pregnenolone on Perceived Social Isolation: A Double-blind Randomized Electrical Neuroimaging Study
Digital Interventions for Social isOLation In youThs And theIR familiEs
Who cites it
243 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 616 citations in OpenAlex.
- Longitudinal associations between loneliness and outcomes of Common Mental Disorders (CMDs): A systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Loneliness among community-dwelling older adults across biological, clinical and psychosocial domains before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Prevalence and risk factors for loneliness among individuals with diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Health Outcomes Associated with Loneliness and Social Isolation in Older Adults Living with HIV: A Systematic Review.AIDS and behavior · 2025Pooled it
- [Internet-based self-help for loneliness-a systematic review].Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz · 2024Pooled it
- A systematic review of the development and application of home cage monitoring in laboratory mice and rats.BMC biology · 2023Pooled it
- Are social isolation, lack of social support or loneliness risk factors for cardiovascular disease in Australia and New Zealand? A systematic review and meta-analysis.Health promotion journal of Australia : official journal of Australian Association of Health Promotion Professionals · 2022Pooled it
- Neurobiology of loneliness: a systematic review.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2021Pooled it
- The neuroscience of social feelings: mechanisms of adaptive social functioning.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2021Pooled it
- The Stability and Change of Loneliness Across the Life Span: A Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Studies.Personality and social psychology review : an official journal of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc · 2020Pooled it
- Interactive AI Routines for Pain Symptoms and Loneliness in Older Adults.Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Effects of Emotional Expressiveness of a Female Digital Human on Loneliness, Stress, Perceived Support, and Closeness Across Genders: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Trial
- Loneliness and social isolation is associated with sleep problems among older community dwelling women and men with complex needs.Scientific reports · 2021Trial
- Effects of Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement Versus Social Support on Negative Affective Interference During Inhibitory Control Among Opioid-Treated Chronic Pain Patients: A Pilot Mechanistic Study.Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine · 2019Trial
- Post-weaning social isolation increases reward-seeking behavior in mice.Physiology & behavior · 2026Article
- What makes a lonely child: environmental, health, and multimodal neuroimaging correlates of prospective loneliness in the ABCD study.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2026Article
- Prevalence of social disconnection in the general adult population - results from DISCONNECT study.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2026Article
- Social interactions between people of same and different generations shape longitudinal changes in interpersonal neural synchrony, loneliness, and social connection.PLoS biology · 2026Article
- Could the Geriatric Mobile Team trial (GerMoT) inclusion criteria be a pragmatic approach to identifying older adults who may be a relevant target group for integrated care interventions?European geriatric medicine · 2026Article
183 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Social isolation has been recognized as a major risk factor for morbidity and mortality in humans for more than a quarter century. The brain is the key organ of social connections and processes, however, and the same objective social relationship can be experienced as caring and protective or as exploitive and isolating. We review evidence that the perception of social isolation (i.e., loneliness) impacts brain and behavior and is a risk factor for broad-based morbidity and mortality. However, the causal role of loneliness on neural mechanisms and mortality is difficult to test conclusively in humans. Mechanistic animal studies provide a lens through which to evaluate the neurological effects of a member of a social species living chronically on the social perimeter. Experimental studies show that social isolation produces significant changes in brain structures and processes in adult social animals. These effects are not uniform across the brain or across species but instead are most evident in brain regions that reflect differences in the functional demands of solitary versus social living for a particular species. The human and animal literatures have developed independently, however, and significant gaps also exist. The current review underscores the importance of integrating human and animal research to delineate the mechanisms through which social relationships impact the brain, health, and well-being.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.