The Matilda White Riley Lecture: Social Isolation and Health

>> IF I COULD GET YOUR ATTENTION, I'D LIKE TO WELCOME
EVERYBODY. I'M THE DIRECTOR OF THE
BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES RESEARCH AND IT'S A PLEASURE TO
WELCOME EVERYBODY TO THE MATILDA WHITE RILEY LECTURE.
MANY OF YOU KNOW, MATILDA WHITE RILEY WAS A VERY IMPORTANT
PERSON AT THE NIH. OUR OFFICE, THE BEHAVIORAL AND
SOCIAL SCIENCES OHS A LOT TO DR. RILEY BECAUSE SHE WAS
PERHAPS THE MOST IMPORTANT AND INFLUENTIAL PERSON IN GETTING
BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES RECOGNIZED AT THE NIH.
WE LIKE TO SAY THAT BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES HAVE REALLY
GAINED A FOOTHOLD IN THE LAST FEW YEARS.
DEPENDING ON HOW YOU ESTIMATE THE EXPENDITURES, WE'RE UP TO
ABOUT THREE-AND-A-HALF BILLION DOLLARS SPENT IN OUR PORTFOLIO,
BUT IT HASN'T ALWAYS BEEN THAT WAY AND IT OWES TO A LARGE
EXTENT TO PEOPLE LIKE MATILDA WHITE RILEY WHO CHAMPIONED THE
CAUSE, WHO PULLED PEOPLE TOGETHER, DEVELOPED THE
BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES COORDINATING COMMITTEE AND
ENGAGED IN A LOT OF OTHER ACTIVES TO BRING US WHERE WE
WERE TODAY. DR. RILEY WAS BORN A HUNDRED
YEARS AGO AND PASSED AWAY IN 2004.
SINCE 2006, WE'VE BEEN GIVING THE MEMORIAL MATILDA WHITE RILEY
AWARD EACH YEAR. I WON'T BORE YOU WITH ALL
PREVIOUS RECIPIENTS BUT SOME OF THE MOST DISTINGUISHED PEOPLE IN
OUR FIELD HAVE RECEIVED THIS HONOR IN THE PAST.
THIS YEAR, OUR RECIPIENT IS JOHN CACIOPPO WHO YOU WILL HEAR FROM
IN JUST A MINUTE, BUT I WANTED THE TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT
JOHN AS AN INTRODUCTION. UM, JOHN IS THE MARGARET -- I'M
SORRY, TIFFANY AND MARGARET BLAKE DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR AT
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO. HE HAS DONE ALL KINDS OF
REMARKABLE THINGS IN HIS CAREER, AND AGAIN YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR
FROM HIM, SO I WON'T GO INTO ALL OF THIS IN DETAIL, BUT IT'S
WORTH SAYING THAT HE'S DONE SOME OF THE MOST CREATIVE WORK THAT'S
GENUINELY BORDER CROSSING. SHE WAS TRAINED AS A
PSYCHOLOGIST, DOING COGNITIVE AND NEUROSCIENCE AND HE'S TAKEN
ON VERY INTERESTED PROBLEM AREAS.
HE'S BECOME INTERESTED IN THE PROBLEM OF SOCIAL ICE ELATION.
HE STUDIED THIS USING A WIDE VARIETY OF METHODOLOGIES AND
HAVE SHOWN THAT PERCEIVED SOCIALIZED ISOLATION, PER
RECEIVED AS LONELINESS HAS IMPORTANT COGNITIVE AND
HORMONAL -- HE'S SHOWN THAT THIS SENSE OF SOCIAL ISOLATION IS
MOTIVATIONAL AND ACTUALLY MAY BE RELATED TO THE CONTINUATION OF
THE SURVIVAL OF THE SPECIE. SO I WON'T REALLY GO INTO A LOT
OF THE DETAIL OF JOHN'S TALK BECAUSE, OF COURSE, HE CAN DO IT
SO MUCH BETTER THAN I K BUT IT IS WORTH SAYING THAT, UM,
SOMETIMES WE'RE A LITTLE BIT SLOW HERE AT THE NIH ON CATCHING
ON TO THINGS. YOU MIGHT BE SURPRISED TO LEARN
THAT WE ARE NOT THE FIRST ONES TO HONOR JOHN CACIOPPO, AND I
WILL JUST MENTION A FEW OF THE PREVIOUS AWARDS THAT HE'S
RECEIVED. HE'S RECEIVED THE NIH MERIT
AWARD, THE DISTINGUISHED SCIENTIFIC CONTRIBUTION AWARD
FROM THE AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, THE CAMPBELL AWARD
FOR DISTINGUISHED SCIENTIFIC CONTRIBUTIONS TO PERSONALITY AND
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGIST, P THE AWARD FOR SCIENTIFIC CONTRIBUTION TO
PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY, THE TROLAND AWARD FROM THE NATIONAL ACADEMY
OF SCIENCES, SCIENTIFIC IMPACT AWARD FROM THE SOCIETY FOR
EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY, THE PRESENT CITATION, THEORETICAL
INNOVATION PRIZE, THE AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE ON BEHALF
OF PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY FROM THE SOCIETY FOR
PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY. HE'S RECEIVED AN HON NAR
DOCTORAL DEGREE FROM BARTON COLLEGE.
MAYBE I WON'T READ ALL OF THESE TO GIVE HIM ENOUGH TIME TO
SPEAK, BUT HE'S A FELLOW OF 16 DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS.
-- THE SOCIETY FOR PSYCHO PHYSIOLOGIC RESEARCH AND SOCIETY
FOR PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY.
HE'S ALSO THE CURRENT CHAIR OF THIS SECTION OF THE AMERICAN --
I'M SORRY, THE CURRENT PRESIDENT OF SOCIETY FOR NEUROSCIENCE.
SO WITH ALL OF THIS, IT'S REALLY A GREAT HONOR TO INTRODUCE JOHN
AND TO GO ALL W ALL OF HIS OTHER„i AWARDS HE'S RECEIVED, WE WOULD
LIKE TO PRESENT JOHN WITH THIS SPECIAL AWARD THAT HE CAN PUT UP
ON HIS DESK ALONG WITH ALL THE OTHERS.
SO, BY THE WAY, AND JOHN IS ALSO A REALLY GOOD GUY.
[LAUGHTER] [APPLAUSE]
>> I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR JOINING ME THIS AFTERNOON AND
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE AWARD.
AREAD ABOUT MATILDA WHITE RILEY AFTER HEARING ABOUT THIS AWARD
AND I HAVE TO TELL YOU, JUST HAVING ONE'S NAME ASSOCIATED
WITH SOMEONE OF THAT IMPORTANCE AND STATURE IS A REALLY GREAT
HONOR. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
I'D LIKE TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOMETHING I HOPE YOU'LL
FIND INTERESTING. SOCIAL ISOLATION.
I'M GOING TO BACK UP AND TALK ABOUT JUST LIFE MORE GENERALLY.
THERE'S A [INDISCERNIBLE] PROJECT OF LIFE INITIATIVE
STARTED ABOUT FIVE TO SEVEN YEARS AGO, AND THE IDEA IS TO
TRY TO IDENTIFY AS MANY SPECIES ON EARTH AS POSSIBLE.
LISA STARTED THE PROJECT TO ME AND SPECIES HAD BEEN IDENTIFIED
THE ESTIMATES WERE THAT THERE WERE FIVE MILLION TO A HUNDRED
MILLION SPECIES ON EARTH. THAT BAND GIVES YOU SOME LITTLE
IDEA OF HOW LITTLE WE KNOW JUST ABOUT LIFE ON EARTH.
IF YOU LOOK, THERE ARE TWO KIND OF DESIGN FEATURES THAT
DOMINATE. ONE IS THAT SPECIES ARE BORN
SUFFICIENTLY ABLE TO AFSH LATE AND TO FIND FOOD AND DEFEND
THEMSELVES AT BIRTH AND THEY DON'T NEED A LOT OF CARE GIVING.
THE OTHER IS THAT THEY'RE BORN IN SUCH LARGE NUMBERS THAT SOME
SURVIVE TO REPRODUCE. AND THAT DESIGN FEATURE HAS
WORKED WELL OVER THE EONS. SOME SPECIES ARE SOCIAL, SOME
ARE NOT. THESE ARE SARDINES BEING PER
DATE BID THIS PARTICULAR SHARK AND SHE KNOWS SARDINES ARE
SOCIAL IN THE SENSE THEY SWIM AROUND IN SCHOOLS AND WHEN THEY
FIND THEMSELVES PER DATED THEY CREATE THESE FISH BALLS.
THESE FISH BALLS SEEM TO HAVE A MIND OF THEIR OWN.
WHERE IS THAT MIND? IF YOU TAKE IT L OVALS ON YOUR
COMPUTER DESKTOP AND YOU PROGRAM ALL OF THEM THAT THEY MOVE TO
THE MIDDLE, YOU CAN SIMULATE A FISH BALL.
THAT IS, THIS IS SELFISH BEHAVIOR.
IT'S DANGEROUS ON THE SOCIAL PERIMETER, THAT'S WHERE
PREDATORS CAN EASILY PLUCK YOU OFF.
THEREFORE THOSE WHO ARE MORE LIKELY TO SWIM TO THE MIDDLE --
THAT LED TO THIS [INDISCERNIBLE] WHATEVER CONTRIBUTION IS MADE TO
THE GENE OR -- OF COURSE THIS IS POPULARIZED BY
DAU KIN'S 1975 BOOK T SELFISH GENE.
THERE WERE A NUMBER OF ARTICLES FOLLOWING SUPPORTING DARWIN'S
NOTION THAT THERE'S THIS IMPULSE FOR THE MOST POWERFUL TO
SURVIVE, SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST.
IN FAIRNESS, ALTHOUGH THAT WAS THE -- THE SURVIVAL -- DARWIN
WAS NEVERTHELESS BOTHERED BY WHAT HE OBSERVED THAT SEEMED
INCONSISTENT. IN THE DECENT OF MAN WE WROTE A
LOT ABOUT MUTUAL AID AND HOW IT SEEMED TO BE DISCONFIRMATORY OF
HIS OTHER PREMISE. HE ARGUED A TRIBE INCLUDING
[INDISCERNIBLE] SYMPATHY WERE ALWAYS READY TO AID ONE ANOTHER
AND SACRIFICE THEMSELVES FOR THE COMMON GOOD WOULD BE VICTORIOUS
OVER MOST OTHER TRIBES AND THIS WOULD BE NATURAL SELECTION.
THIS LED TO GROUP SELECTION WHICH BECAME APPLIED IN BUY
YOU'LL IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 20th CENTURY AND UNTIL 1966 WHEN
A GRADUATE STUDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO BY THE
NAME OF JORNL WILLIAMS WROTE THIS SCATHING CRITIQUE AND GROUP
SELECTION BECAME A TA BOON NOTION FOR 50 YEARS.
THERE'S NOW MULTILEVEL SELECTION THEORY COMING BACK AND SO IN
VERY SPECIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES IT SEEMS THESE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS
OF GROUP-RELATED PROCESSES ACTUALLY OUTWEIGH INDIVIDUAL,
ALTHOUGH THEY'RE NOT NEARLY AS PREVALENT AS WAS ORIGINALLY
THOUGHT. JUST TO GIVE YOU, THOUGH, ONE
EXAMPLE. UM, HOW MANY SAW MARCH OF THE
EMPIRE PIN PING WINS? YOU KNOW THEY MARCH THROUGH THE
SNOW AND THE WINDS. THE MOTHER BIRTHS THE CHICK, THE
FATHER PLACES HIM ON THE ABDOMINAL SACK, THE MOTHER GOES
BACK. THE MOTHER IS NECESSARY BUT NOT
SUFFICIENT FOR THE SURVIVAL OF THE GENES BUT OF COURSE NEITHER
IS THE FATHER. THE WINTER IS SO RIGOROUS, SO
DEMANDING THAT THEY WOULD ALL PERISH IF THEY DIDN'T CREATE
THIS HUDDLE. IF YOU NOTICE, THEY'RE SITTING
THERE FOR THEIR BACK TO THE WINDS AND THEY SLEEP, BUT THEY
ALSO APPEAR TO VOLUNTARILY OR COOPERATIVELY TAKE TURNS ON THE
OUTSIDE. IF IT REALLY WERE ONLY THE
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST, THE OUTER RIM WOULD PERISH.
THERE'S BEEN THE EVOLUTIONARY DEVELOPMENT OF A ROTATION
SCHEME. WITHOUT THE HUDDLE, THE GENES
WOULDN'T SURVIVE. IF WE LOOK AT IF YOU WILL THE
20th CENTURY, THERE WAS THIS FOCUS ON THE INDIVIDUAL, I'M A
PRODUCT, YOU KNOW, I FINISHED MY DEGREE IN THE MID 70s, SO EVEN
PROCESSES BY PUTTING INDIVIDUALS IN A CUBICLE BY THEMSELVES WHERE
WE COULD CONTROL ALL POSSIBLE CONFOUNDING COURSES.
THANK YOU. IT'S EASY TO PREDICT WHEN WE
HAVE THAT KIND OF FOCUS THAT SOCIAL SPECIES BY DEFINITION
CREATE [INDISCERNIBLE] STRUCTURES.
THAT'S WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A SOCIAL SPECIES.
IF ONE WANTS TO STUDY WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF THOSE STRUCTURES
AND THESE STRUCTURES EVOLVED HAND IN HAND WITH CELLAR,
HORMONAL, NEURAL AND GENETIC MECHANISMS TO HELP IT SURVIVE,
PROSPER, CARE FOR OFFSPRING LONG ENOUGH SO THEY TOO SURVIVE.
IN THE CASE OF MAMMALS WHERE ALL OFFSPRING HAVE DEPENDENCY
PERIOD, IT'S NOT ENOUGH JUST TO PRODUCE.
WE ALSO HAVE TO NURTURE THEM IN ORDER FOR OUR GENES TO MAKE IT
TO THE GENEPOOL. SIMPLE WAY OF SAYING THAT IS
WHETHER OUR GENES MAKE IT TO THE GENE POOL DEPENDS ON WHETHER YOU
HAVE GRANDCHILDREN, NOT WHETHER YOU HAVE CHILDREN, ALL RIGHT.
SO WE AND MAMMALS ARE A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN THOSE I STARTED
WITH. THE QUESTION IS, WELL WHAT IS
THE IMPACT OF THESE KINDS OF STRUCTURES ON ONE'S SURVIVAL?
WE TOOK SOME TIME AGO NOW THANKS GREATLY THE NIH FUNDING, NIA IN
PARTICULAR. WE TOOK THE APPROACHES IN
NEUROSCIENCES. IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT A
PARTICULAR GENE WAS, YOU LOOK AT MICE WITH THAT GENE AND MICE
WITHOUT THAT GENE. IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE
ORBITAL FRONTAL CORTEX DOES -- IF WE WANT TO KNOW WHAT THESE
SOCIAL CONNECTIONS THAT DEFINE US AS A SOCIAL SPECIES IS DOING,
WE CAN LOOK AT INDIVIDUALS WITH AND WITHOUT THOSE SOCIAL
CONNECTIONS. THAT'S HOW WE GOT INTO THIS AREA
OF RESEARCH. THIS IS A 1988 SCIENCE PAPER BY
THREE EPIDEMIOLOGISTS IN MICHIGAN, AND YOU ALL ARE
PROBABLY FAMILIAR WITH THIS. WHAT IT SHOWS IS BROAD BASE
MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY IN THOSE WHO ARE ISOLATED THAN THOSE WHO
ARE INTEGRATED. WE LOOKED AT -- THIS CAUGHT MY
ATTENTION AS WELL AND THE PRIMARY MECHANISM THAT
[INDISCERNIBLE] WAS WHAT WAS CALLED THE SOCIAL CONTROL
HYPOTHESIS. IF YOU'RE HIGHLY INTEGRATED,
FAMILY AND FRIENDS ARE MORE LIKELY TO ENCOURAGE TO YOU TAKE
CARE OF YOURSELF. YOU NEED TO GET LITTLE SLEEP,
STOP SMOKING, GO GET EXERCISE, DON'T DRINK SO MUCH.
WE ALL KNOW HEALTH BEHAVIORS HAVE BIG EFFECTS ON MORBIDITY
AND MORTALITY. IT MADE A NICE STORY.
IT'S ALSO THE CASE THAT IN THE MID TO LATE 20th CENTURY THE
SOCIAL SCIENTIST AND THE BIOLOGICAL SCIENTISTS WEREN'T
EXACTLY FRIENDS. BIOLOGICAL SCIENTISTS WERE OF
THE OPINION THAT SOCIAL FACTORS WERE KIND OF LATE ON ARRIVAL AND
SO HAD VERY LITTLE TO DO WITH BASIC STRUCTURE AN FUNCTION AND
EVEN IF THEY DID, THEY WERE TOO COMPLICATED TO UNDERSTAND.
THE SOCIAL SCIENTISTS, ON THE OTHER HAND, THE KIND OF THE
NOTION IN THE MID TO TWO-THIRDS OF THE 20th CENTURY IT S IT MAY
BE THAT BIOLOGIES UNDERLYING BEHAVIOR BUT TOO COMPLICATED TO
UNDERSTAND, MAYBE IN A THOUSAND YEARS.
WE'VE HAD TWO GREAT WORK CARS, DEPRESSION AND OTHER THINGS NO
TIME TO DEAL WITH THAT RIGHT NOW.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT BOTHERED ME, I KNEW WHAT THE ANIMAL LIT
LITERATURE ON ANIMAL ISOLATION HAD SHOWN.
IF YOU ISOLATE A FRUIT FLY IT DIES EARLIER BECAUSE OF OXIDATED
STRESS. IF YOU LOOK AT -- THIS IS
ACTUALLY MY POST DOC DID THIS STUDY.
IF YOU USE AN EXPERIMENTAL MOUSE MODEL OF STROKE AND YOU PUT A
NEEDLE INTO THE BRAIN AND THAT MOS IS INDIVIDUALLY HOUSED OR
GROUP HOUSED, THAT INPART GROWS THREE TIMES LARGE EARNED THE
MOUSE IS MORE LIKELY TO DIE IF IT'S INDIVIDUALLY HOUSED.
THAT'S TRUE OF INDIVIDUAL SPECIES THAT'S BEEN TESTED.
THEY DIE EARLIER. ABOUT THE FRUIT FLY T MOUSE T
RABBIT T DOG IS SHOWING THESE EFFECTS BECAUSE SPOUSE AND
FRIENDS ARE ENCOURAGING THEM TO GO SEE THE PHYSICIAN.
IT'S JUST LIKELY NOT TO BE OPERATING IN THAT FASHION.
SO SUGGESTING THAT THERE'S SOME DIRECT BIOLOGICAL PROCESS
HAPPENING AS WELL. THIS GOD ME INTERESTED IN USING
ISOLATION AS A MECHANISM FOR STUDYING WHAT ARE THE BIOLOGICAL
EFFECTS. SECOND THING WE'VE LEARNED IS WE
KNOW IT'S THE BRAIN THAT'S INVOLVED BECAUSE WHEN WE LOOK AT
OBJECTIVE ISOLATION EITHER MEASURED AS [INDISCERNIBLE] OR
AS JUST FREQUENCY OF CONTACT; ARE THEY ALONE, NOT ALONE?
WE FIND IT'S THE PERCEIVED ISOLATION THAT'S ACTUALLY MORE
IMPORTANT, NOT THE OBJECTIVE. I THINK THERE'S AN EVOLUTIONARY
REASON FOR THAT THAT I'LL TALK ABOUT IN A FEW MINUTES.
WHAT I FOUND MYSELF STUDYING IS SOMETHING THE PSYCHOLOGICAL
LITERATURE HAD CALLED LONELINESS.
THE CHARACTERISTIC AT THAT TIME WAS THAT IT'S THE -- I'M GOING
TO ARGUE THAT THERE'S MANY BENEFICIAL FEATURES OF
LONELINESS [INDISCERNIBLE] IT'S THE STICK OF THE CARROT AND
STICK THAT IT COMPELS US TO BE HUMANE, SO BE CONNECTED TO OTHER
INDIVIDUALS. IF IT HURTS TO BE DISCONNECTED
FROM PEOPLE, THEN YOU'RE MORE LIKELY TO VALUE THAT CONNECTION.
ALL RIGHT. NOW, THIRD REASON THAT WE
QUESTION THE [INDISCERNIBLE] IS ACTUALLY SIMPLIFIEDED IN THIS
RECENT STUDY WE DID USING THE HEALTH AND RETIREMENT STUDY.
IN 2002 A LONELINESS QUESTIONNAIRE WAS PUT INTO ONE
MODULE AFTER HRS AND WE USED THOSE DATA TO LOOK AT JUST LIKE
[INDISCERNIBLE] MORBIDITY AND MORTALLY OVER THE NEXT SIX-YEAR
PERIOD. LONELINESS IN 2002 PREDICTING
WHO DIED OVER THAT SIX-YEAR PERIOD.
WE ENTER FEATURES OF THE SOCIAL NET WORK, AND YOU SEE THAT'S NOT
CHANGING THE ODDS RATIO OF LONELINESS.
WE FIND [INDISCERNIBLE] STATUS TO BE RELATED TO HEALTH, THIS
WE'VE DONE WITH LINDA WHO'S THE ORIGINATOR OF LOOKING AT THE
HEALTH BENEFITS IN MARRIAGE AND WE FIND THAT HEALTH BENEFITS IN
MARRIAGE ARE TWO-FOLD; HIGHER INCOME AND YOU FEEL LESS LONELY.
IF YOU TAKE THOSE TWO THINGS OUT THERE ISN'T A HEALTH BENEFIT.
HERE'S THE EXERCISE. THEY HAVE BIG EFFECTS.
NOTICE THOUGH WHEN YOU ADD HEALTH BEHAVIORS, YOU'RE BARELY
LOWERING THE HEALTH RATIO AT ALL.
IT'S NOT THAT HEALTH BEHAVIORS AREN'T IMPORTANT, OF COURSE THEY
ARE, BUT HEALTH BEHAVIORS ARE OPERATING THROUGH A DIFFERENT
ROUTE THAN THIS FEELING OF ISOLATION.
SO WHAT'S THE KIND OF GENERAL MODEL THAT I'M GOING TO BE
ARGUING? WELL, YOIF YOU'VE SEEN PART OF
IT. THE SECOND IS THAT WHEN
OFFSPRING HAVE PERIODS OF DEPENDENCY, SELFISH GENES
INCLINE SOCIAL BRAINS AND BONDS. AGAIN, THINK ABOUT THE PIN
BEGINS. IT WASN'T THE INDIVIDUAL
BEHAVIOR, IT WAS THE HUDDLE THAT WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THOSE GENES
MAKING IT TO THE GENE POOL. HUMANS HAVE MUCH MORE FLEXIBLE
GROUPS. THAT'S A FAIRLY STEREO TYPED
SUPERORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE THAT GETS CREATIVE AND
DISSIPATES. WE CREATE OCCASIONS LIKE TODAY
WHEN THE INDIVIDUALS IN THIS ROOM ARE UNLIKELY TO EVER BEEN
IN THE SAME ROOM AGAIN AND YET WE CAN SHARE COMMON IDEAS.
FINALLY, PERCEIVED SOCIAL IELATION EVOLVED
[INDISCERNIBLE] -- COME ON „iIN, THERE'S ROOM.
[LAUGHTER] WELCOME.
>> SORRY. >> THAT'S FINE.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. [LAUGHTER]
OKAY. SO VERY MUCH LIKE HUNGER, PAIN,
AROUND THIRST, WE CONCEIVE LONELINESS THAT HAS BIOLOGICAL
SIGNAL THAT PROMOTES INDIVIDUAL LENS FOR ASSAULTS, THREATENS AND
OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE SOCIAL CONNECTION NECESSARY FOR ONE'S
LONG-TERM SURVIVAL. WE HAVE THIS SHORT AND LONG-TERM
EFFECT. OH AND IT'S TIME FOR THE RILEY
LECTURE. [LAUGHTER]
I'M GLAD TO BE REMINDED OF THAT. JUST A SECOND.
I'VE GOT MULTIPLE REMINDERS OF IT.
[LAUGHTER] YOU SEE MY INSTRUCTIONS THERE.
>> [LOW AUDIO]. >> YES, YES.
[LAUGHTER] THAT'S WHY I HAVE iPHONES AND
COMPUTERS RIGHT? NOW, WE TURN THE PAGE BECAUSE
WE'VE LOOK AT SOME OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF
THAT LITTLE MODEL. I'M GOING TO START WITH
PERCEIVED ISOLATION. REMEMBER THIS IS THE EXCEPTION
RATHER THAN RULE. IF YOU LOOK AT THE DISTRIBUTION
OF LONELINESS, MOST PEOPLE AREN'T LONELY.
IT'S THE EXCEPTION RATHER THAN THE RULE.
ALL RIGHT. BUT WHEN THEY'RE ISOLATED, WE'RE
ARGUING THERE'S THIS MOTIVATION TO CONNECT BUT ALSO THIS
IMPLICIT HYPER VIGILANCE FOR SOCIAL THREATS.
THAT'S THERE BECAUSE BEING NOT PART OF A GROUP IS ALSO A
DANGEROUS CIRCUMSTANCE. YOU MIGHT WANT TO PUSH YOUR WAY
BACK IN BUT THAT CAN BE DANGEROUS.
IF YOU HAVE EVER SAT WAITING TO BE SELECTED ON A SPORTS TEAM AND
EVERYBODY ELSE IS SELECTED, YOU KNOW, KIND OF PUSHING YOUR WAY
IN DOESN'T SERVE YOU WELL. ALL RIGHT.
SO THERE'S THIS [INDISCERNIBLE] CONFIRMATORY AND MEMORY BIAS
THAT RESULTS FROM THIS IMPLICIT HYPER VIGILANCE THAT LEADS TO
BEHAVIOR, THAT BRINGS ABOUT THE VERY THINGS THAT YOU'RE WOR RID
ABOUT. COME ON THROUGH, IT'S ALL RIGHT.
[LAUGHTER] WE CALL IT A SELF-FULFILLING
PROPHESY AS WELL. [LAUGHTER]
THAT LEADS TO MORE NEGATIVE DISPLAYS OF SOCIAL INTERACTIONS
AND AFFECT. NOW YOU'RE INTERACTING WITH
OTHERS IN A NEGATIVE FASHION, AND THAT PRODUCES CONSEQUENCES
THAT CAN BE REINFORCING LEADING TO GREATER FEELINGS OF
ISOLATION. IF ONE MAINTAINS THIS CYCLE,
THAT THEN HAS NEUROLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES THAT WE'RE GOING TO
REVIEW AND I WOULD ARGUE EARLIER MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY.
NOW YOU MIGHT SAY, WHY WOULD THIS EVOLVE?
I THINK THERE'S A VARIETY OF REASONS BUT ONE IS THAT JUST
LIKE HUNGER, THIRST, AND PAIN, IT'S NOT GOOD TO REMAIN IN ANY
OF THOSE STATES, BUT HAVING THOSE IS IS A SIGNAL THAT
MOTIVATES YOU TO RECONNECT WITH CAUTION IS ACTUALLY QUITE
ADAPTIVE FOR US. THE SECOND, I'VE USED THIS SLIDE
TO CAPTURE, AND THAT IS THE EVOLUTION OF THIS AVERSIVE
REACTION GIVES US A CAPACITY THAT MOST SPECIES DON'T HAVE.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE MANY FEWER GENES THAT WE WERE QUOTE SUPPOSE
TO GIVEN THE COMPLEXITY OF OUR BEHAVIOR.
ONE OF THE QUESTIONS IS WHY DO WE HAVE SO FEW GENES?
WE HAVE MORE NEURONS. NO, WE DON'T.
WE SEEM TO HAVE MORE WHITE MATTER.
THERE SEEM TO HAVE MORE CONNECTIONS.
THE SYNAPSES ARE CAPABLE OF MORE COMPLEX TRANSFER AND CONNECTIONS
WITH OTHER PEOPLE INCREASES INFORMATION, COMPLEXITY AND
TRANSFER. THAT SEEMS TO BE WHERE THE REAL
VALUE IS AND IN THAT LAST COMPONENT IN TERMS OF SOCIAL
LEARNING, AND WHAT SOMETHING LIKE GETS EPITOMIZED IN TIME-OUT
DOES IS IT ALLOWS US TO TRAIN ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL IN THE
SPECIFIC NORMS OF THAT PARTICULAR GROUP NO MATTER WHAT
ERA OR CULTURE. WHAT IS THIS?
EVERY CHILD IS DOING SOMETHING IS WHAT?
COUNTER TO WHAT IS GOOD FOR THE GROUP IF THEY'RE ACTING
SELFISHLY. THAT'S TYPICALLY THE REASON WE
PUT THEM IN TIME-OUT. ONE MINUTE PER YEAR YOU PUT THEM
ASIDE, IN FACT PRESENTLY NOT IN THE ROOM WITH TOYS BUT IN THE
SAME ROOM THEY'RE NOT ALLOWED TO INTERACT.
WHAT DO THEY DO? THEY SHOW EXPRESSIONS LIKE THIS,
AND IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, IF YOU HAVE TO NOW BE VIGILANT BUT
WANT TO BE RECONNECT, DEPRESSION IS A TERRIFIC AFFECTIVE RESPONSE
TO IT. FIRST OF ALL, IT DIMINISHES YOUR
LIKELIHOOD OF HAVING THE ENERGY TO POUND YOUR WAY BACK IN.
SECONDLY, IT HAS AUDITORY SIGNALS SAYING IF THERE'S ANYONE
AROUND WHO'S WILLING TO RECONNECT PLEASE DO SO NOW.
IF YOU PUT YOUR CHILD IN TIME-OUT, YOU KNOW IT'S HARD TO
LEAVE THEM THERE ONE MINUTE PER YEAR OF LIFE BECAUSE THEY LOOK
AND SOUND SO SAD. [LAUGHTER]
SO THOSE OF US WHO'VE MANAGED TO TRY TO DO THAT, MY WIFE WAS MORE
ABLE TO DO IT THAN I WAS, BUT THOSE WHO HAVE DONE IT, YOU
BRING THEM BACK INTO THE GROUP, EMBRACE THEM AND WHAT DO THEY DO
AS A AS A RESULT? THEY ACT LESS SELFISH, MORE IN
KEEPING WITH THE NORMS OF THE GROUP.
THIS IS A REMARKABLE CAPACITY. IT HAS A GREAT ADVANTAGE IN
TERMS OF SHAPING PRODUCTIVE MEMBERS OF A PARTICULAR SOCIAL
GROUP. ALL RIGHT.
SO THAT'S KIND OF THE OVER ARCHING MODEL.
[INDISCERNIBLE] ONE ANOTHER COME APPROPRIATE THOOFS MODEL IS YOU
HAVE THIS HYPER VIGILANCE FOR SOCIAL THREATS.
WHAT'S GREAT ABOUT IT, SINCE IT'S IMPLICIT, WE CAN'T TEST IT
EXCEPT WE CAN. MANY OF YOU KNOW THE STRIP TAB.
READ THE COLOR, TELL ME WHAT THE COLOR IS OF THE STRINGS.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO READ THE WORDS, THAT'S IR REL HAVEN'T.
JUST TELL ME THE COLOR IN WHICH THE LETTER STREAMS APPEAR AND
YOU LOOK AT THIS AND SAY, BLUE, ORANGE, GREEN, RED.
THEN WE PRESENT SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
BECAUSE THERE IS THIS FACT YOUR BRAIN'S READING THE WORDS
EVERYONE THOUGH YOU'RE NOT TRYING TO READ THE WORDS.
WE USE THE STRIP TEST TO TEST WHETHER YOU'RE BRAIN IS ALSO ON
ALERT FOR IMPLICIT SOCIAL THREATS.
WE DID THIS BY SHOWING THESE WORDS NOT THE ONES ON THE LEFT.
WE USED NEGATIVE SOCIAL WORDS AND WE JUST TOOK THE DIFFERENCE
IN RESPONSE [INDISCERNIBLE] AND WE TOOK POSITIVES AND DID THE
SAME THING. THEY WERE MATCHED FOR WORD
FREQUENCY AND NUMBER OF SILL SYLLABLES.
WE SIMPLY CORRELATED THE DIFFERENCES.
WE'VE NOW DONE THIS FOUR DIFFERENT TIMES AND IN EVERY
SINGLE STUDY, WE GET THE SAME RESULT.
IF I BREAK IT DOWN BY NEGATIVE SOCIAL, NEGATIVE NON-SOCIAL,
IT'S THE NEGATIVE SOCIAL WORDS SLOWING PEOPLE DOWN.
THE LONELIER YOU ARE, THE LONGER IT TAKES TO SAY THE COLOR OF THE
NON-SOCIAL WORDS. NOTICE NO SUCH EFFECT ON
POSITIVE WORDS. THE SECOND WAY IN WHICH WE HAVE
LOOKED THAT IS TO DO BRAIN IMAGING AND EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN.
WE HAVE NEGATIVE SOCIAL AND NEGATIVE NON-SOCIAL PICTURES AND
WE'RE GOING TO TAKE THE DIFFERENCE IN THE RESPONSE.
WE NOW HAVE THIS CONTRAST. WE HAVE [INDISCERNIBLE] SUBJECT
IN THIS STUDY AND YOU CAN EFFECTIVELY THINK OF IT AS I
HAVE THESE RESPONSES T BOLD SIGNAL IN EACH [INDISCERNIBLE]
AND VI I HAVE A LONELINESS SCORE AND [INDISCERNIBLE] TO SEE
HOW IT THAT THE LONELY BRAIN DIFFERS FROM THE NON-LONELY
BRAIN. THAT'S WHAT YOU SEE HERE.
THIS IS THE BACK OF THE BRAIN VISUAL CORTEX.
ORANGE MEANS THERE'S GREATER ACTIVATION IN THE LONELY THAN
NON-LONELY BRAIN WHEN LOOKING AT NEGATIVE SOCIAL PICTURE.
THESE WERE EQUALLY VISUALLY COMPLEX, EQUALLY AROUSING AND
EQUALLY NEGATIVE BASED ON LONELY AND NON-LONELY INDIVIDUALS'
RATINGS. AND YET YOU SEE GREATER VISUAL
CORTICOID ACTIVITY TO THE NEGATIVE SOCIAL PICTURES.
IF YOU'RE BRAIN IS ON ALERT FOR THE SOCIAL THREATS, A NEGATIVE
PICTURE MAKES YOU WORRY ABOUT YOUR OWN SURVIVAL.
AS YOU FOLLOW THIS VISUAL STREAM FORWARD SH YOU GET TO THE BLUE.
THAT'S BILATERAL AND ALSO CALLED THE TEMPORAL PARIETAL JUNCTION.
DO YOU WANT TO WALK THROUGH? THERE'S A CHAIR UP HERE.
THAT'S ALL RIGHT. YOU CAN SIT NEXT TO DR. HODAS.
I WOULDN'T EITHER. HE'S A LITTLE INTIMIDATING.
WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS THIS TPJ AREA ACTIVATED IN NON-LONELY
GREATER THAN IN LONELY. THIS AREA IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE
THEORY OF MIND, WITH RESPECTIVE. IT'S ASSOCIATED WITH ANYTHING
THAT REQUIRES ATTENTIONAL CONTROL SUCH AS THE ATTENTIONAL
CONTROL THAT ALLOWS YOU TO TAKE YOUR ATTENTION FROM INSIDE OF
YOUR HEAD AND MAYBE TAKE DDR
DR. CACIOPPO POINT OF VIEW ABOUT HOW THIS IS GOING.
THE LONELIER YOU RU THE LESS LIKELY YOU'RE TO SEE.
IT'S YOUR SELF-PRESERVATION THAT YOU'RE MORE CONCERNED ABOUT.
A NEGATIVE PICTURE BRINGS THAT MOTIVE TO THE FRONT.
YOU SEE LESS ACTIVATION OF THE TPJ.
WE DID THE SAME THING WITH POSITIVES AND YOU SEE A VERY
DIFFERENT AREA ACTIVE. NOTICE IT'S THREW BLEW WHICH
MEANS IT'S MORE ACTIVE IN LONELY.
THIS IS A RICH REWARD AREA OF THE BRAIN.
NON-LONELY PEOPLE SHOW A STRONGER REWARD RESPONSE TO
SOCIAL PICTURES THAN THE EQUALLY PRESENT AND AROUSING NON-SOCIAL
PICTURES. LONELY AND NON-LONELY PEOPLE ARE
RATING THESE PICTURES THE SAME. YOU'RE SITTING AT DINNER WITH
YOUR SPOUSE AND YOU SEE A LOVELY HAPPY COUPLE WALK IN.
YOU KNOW IT'S A PLEASANT OCCASION FOR THEM, RIGHT?
WHETHER YOU FEEL JOY REALLY WILL DEPEND ON WHETHER YOU ADORE YOUR
SIGNIFICANT OTHER OR YOU'RE HAVING A FIGHT AND THAT'S
EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE. THE INTERESTING THING IS THAT WE
SEE THIS OUTSIDE OF THE MAGNET AS WELL.
SO THIS IS THE UPLIFTS AND HASSLES FELT LIKE LONELY AND
NON-LONELY ADULTS GOING ACROSS THE NORMAL DAYS.
THE UPLIFTS DO NOT DIFFER AGAINST THE LONELY AND
NON-LONELY ADULTS BUT THEY'RE HASSLES ARE RATED AS MORE SEVERE
AND THE UPLIFTS ARE RATED AS LESS UPLIFTING BY LONELY
INDIVIDUALS. HOW DO WE KNOW IT'S LONELINESS?
LONELINESS DOESN'T TRAVEL ALONE IN THIS JOURNEY.
WHAT I HAVE HERE IS THE TOP AND BOTTOM QUEEN TALL OF TWO YEARS
WORTH OF INKORMING OHIO STATE FLESHMAN.
YOU SEE THAT THEY DIFFER IN LONELINESS.
WE DID EXCLUDE STUDENTS WHO WERE FROM NON-U.S. COUNTRIES.
THESE ARE ONLY U.S. CITIZENS BECAUSE A LOT OF IN FACT
DISTANCE FROM HOME IS A PREDICTOR OF LONELINESS AND AS
YOU CROSS LONELINESS, IT INCREASES A LOT.
YOU SEE THAT DIFFER IN SOCIAL SUPPORT, ANGER, ANXIETY, SOCIAL,
SELF-ESTEEM AND MOOD AND OPTIMISM.
ALL ARE SIGNIFICANT. THESE ARE TWO COMPLETELY
DIFFERENT GROUPS OF PEOPLE, AND IN FACT WHEN I FIRST STARTED
THIS RESEARCH, I WORRIED THAT WHAT WE WERE LOOKING AT IS
LONELY KIDS, THESE ISOLATED KIDS FELT ISOLATED BECAUSE THEY WERE
THE LEAST POPULAR, HAD THE LEAST SOCIAL CAPITAL TO OFFER.
THEY WERE SHRTER, HEAVIER, LESS ATTRACTIVE.
WE QUANTIFIED ALL OF THAT AND NONE OF THAT WAS SIGNIFICANT OR
EVEN APPROACHED SIGNIFICANCE. IT'S NOT THAT.
SOME OF THE THINGS WE FOUND IS THAT BILLIONAIRES ARE STUNNINGLY
LONELY. THEY ALL KNOW THE PEOPLE WHO
WANT TO BE THEIR FRIENDS HAVE SOME OTHER MOTIVE, SO THEY FEEL
TERRIBLY ISOLATED DESPITE THAT. YOU CAN SEE WHY PHYSICAL
ATTRACTIVENESS MIGHT HAVE MORE NETWORK MEMBERS BUT THEY DON'T
FEEL LESS LONELY ON AVERAGE. HOW DO WE KNOW IT'S LONELINESS?
WE'VE USED FOUR DIFFERENT METHODS.
WE USED STATISTICAL CONTROLS. WE MEASURE ALL OF THESE IN OUR
STUDIES AND WE CONTROL FOR THEM. WE DO EXPERIMENTS WHEN WHERE WE
CAN. I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU THE
RESULTS IN THE NEXT SLIDE. SHORT-TERM EFFECTS, EXPERIMENTS
ARE GREAT. HOWEVER IF WE'RE LOOKING AT
BROAD-BASED MORBIDITY OR MORTALITY, NOT A GOOD IDEA SO
FOR THAT WE DO LONGITUDINAL STUDIES.
[LAUGHTER] -- ALLOWS US TO TALK TO PEOPLE
SINCE 2001 WHO HAVE BEEN BORN SINCE 1935.
WE HAVE A NICE WIDE ANAL RANGE WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO FOLLOW FOR A
NUMBER OF YEARS. MOST OF THE DATA I'LL BE
PRESENTING ARE FROM THAT PARTICULAR GROUP.
IN THESE LONGITUDINAL STUDIES, WE DO EQUATION CROSS LAG, PANT
ANAL IS IS AND WHAT WE DO IS TEST ALTERNATIVE
INTERPRETATIONS. AN EXPERIMENT BECAUSE WE CAN
RANDOMLY SIGN E TAKE CARE OF A LOT OF INTERPRETATIONS BUT YOU
CAN MAKE CAUSAL INFERENCE BUT YOU GOT TO MAKE SURE THERE'S NOT
SOME VARIABLE THAT'S ACCOUNTING FOR IT.
[INDISCERNIBLE] YOU CAN BASICALLY DO THE SAME THING
EXCEPT YOU HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT ALL THE THINGS YOU HAVEN'T
RANDOMLY ASSIGNED. LOOK AT ALL OF THE POSSIBLE
INTERNAL [INDISCERNIBLE] IS IT OPPORTUNITY, EXTROVERSION?
YOU CAN FIT ALL OF THESE INTO TO THE MODELS AND TEST THEM AS LONG
AS YOU'VE MEASURED THEM, AND WE HAVE.
IF YOU REJECT ALL THE OTHERS, YOU'RE LEFT WITH THE MOST
PLAUSIBLEEXPLANATION. ANIMAL MODELS WERE POSSIBLE.
THANKS TO NIA FUNDING WE HAVE NOW DEVELOPED A MONKEY MOD UNTIL
WHICH WE'RE GOING TO START TO DO ACTUAL ISOLATION OF THESE
PRIMATES. HERE'S AN EXPERIMENT THAT WE
DID. THIS CAUGHT MY ATTENTION.
I AT THIS POINT IN TIME STILL WAS OF THAT [INDISCERNIBLE] OF
EVERYBODY ELSE WHO HAD THOUGHT ABOUT LONELINESS, IT WAS AN
AFFECTED QUALITIES. I DIDN'T HAVE THE BIOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVE I STARTED WITH IN THIS TALK THAT IT REALLY IS AS
IMPORTANT THAT CONTRIBUTES TO OUR BEING THE KIND OF SPECIES WE
ARE. THESE ARE IN FACT THE SAME 20
INDIVIDUALS. HYPNOTIZED AND MADE TO FEEL
LONELY OR NON-LONELY. DAVID AND STEVE HAD JUST
PUBLISHED A PAPER ON THESE 20 INDIVIDUALS SHOWING THAT WHEN
SHOWN THESE ARE HIGH HYPNOTIZABLE.
WHEN THEY WERE SHOWN COLOR OR BLACK AND WHITE ART, THE HIGH
HYPNOTIZABLES SHOWN BRAIN REACTIONS COMMISERATE WITH WHAT
THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE LOOKING AT, LOW, IT WAS WHAT THEY WERE
LOOKING AT. THAT IS THE MOST COMPELLING
STUDY ON HYPNOSIS I HAD SEEN. I'M NOT A BIG BELIEVER, SO WE
USED THE SAME 20 PEOPLE AND DAVID DID THE HYPNOSIS.
THEY THEN FILLED OUT THESE SCALES.
WE BROUGHT THEM OUT, PUT THEM BACK INTO THE OPPOSITE STATE,
THEY FILLED OUT THE SURVEYS AGAIN.
I HAVE NOT PLAYED WITH THESE. THE SIMILARITIES AND ABSOLUTE
VALUES STUNNED ME. ALL RIGHT.
THIS SUGGESTS THAT LONELINESS HAS A LOT OF OTHERS IN THE BUS,
BUT IT'S THE DRIVER. IT'S MUCH MORE CENTRAL AS A
TRAIT THAN ANY OF US APPRECIATED IT BEING.
THIS IS WHEN WE ACTUALLY GOT SERIOUS ABOUT THINKING IN AN
EVOLUTIONARY AND BUY LONL JIK SENSE, WHY IS THIS SO IMPORTANT?
I SUGGESTED THAT LONELINESS IS RELATED TO DEPRESSION.
IN FACT AT THE TIME WE STARTED THIS RESEARCH, MANY THOUGHT
LONELYNESS WAS NOTHING OTHER THAN DEPRESSION.
IN THIS CHASER STUDY YOU FIND THIS CORRELATION BETWEEN
LONELINESS AND DEPRESSION. WE WOULD EXPECT IT FROM A CROSS
SECTIONAL YOU CAN'T TELL WHAT'S CAUSING WHAT.
THERE'S LOTS OF COVARIANTS HERE. YOU'VE GOT ALL THE DEMOGRAPHICS,
RISK FACTORS AND PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS.
WHAT YOU SEE IS THAT LONELINESS OVER TIME IS LEADING TO HIGHER
RATES OF DEPRESSIVE SINT MOLOGY, YEAR BY YEAR.
USING A CASE-BASED MATCHING, WE KNOW THIS EFFECT IS IN FACT TWO
YEARS. IT'S A HIGHLY COOR RATED EFFECT
BUT TEFECT OF LONELINESS IMPACTS [INDISCERNIBLE] FOR AN EXTENSION
OF TWO YEARS. DEPRESSION IS NOT LEADING TO
INCREASES IN LONELINESS WHEN YOU CONTROL FOR THESE FACTORS.
WITHOUT THE COVARIANTS IT LOOK LIKE IT'S RECIPROCAL, WITH THE
COVARIANTS, IT'S UNIDIRECTIONAL. THERE WAS A THIRD WAY IN WHICH I
TRIED TO GET INTO THE [INDISCERNIBLE] PROCESS.
I THOUGHT IF LONELINESS IS ACTUALLY CAUSING THE BRAIN TO GO
ON ALERT FOR SOCIAL THREATS, THEN IT SHOULD PENETRATE THE
NIGHTS. IT CAN'T BE THE PERSON'S
INTENTIONS BECAUSE THEY'RE SLEEPING.
IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT FROM AN EVOLUTIONARY POINT OF VIEW, THIS
MAKES SENSE. IF IT'S DANGEROUS, HARD TO
SURVIVE STANDING ALONE WITH A STICK IN YOUR HAND DEFENDING
YOURSELF AGAINST WILD BEASTS, THINK OF HOW DANGEROUS IT IS TO
LAY THAT STICK DOWN TO GO TO SLEEP AT NIGHT WITH WILD BEASTS
OUT AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO SAFE SOCIAL SURROUND.
SO DOES LONELINESS PENETRATE THE NIGHT?
DOES IT DIMINISH THE SLEEP? WELL, IN OUR UNDERGRADUATES, WE
HAD THEM IN THE HOSPITAL, SIMPLY MEASURED THEIR SLEEP ONE NIGHT
IN THE HOSPITAL AND FIVE NIGHTS IN THEIR DORM ROOM WE SAW MORE
MICROAWAKENINGS IN OUR ISOLATED, LONELY KIDS.
THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT MORE AWAKE TIME AFTER SLEEP ONSET, SO
THEY AWAKEN, BUT MOST OF THIS ARE WHAT ARE CALLED
MICROAWAKENINGS. IF YOU HAVE A SPOUSE OR
SIGNIFICANT OTHER WITH SLEEP APNEA, YOU'RE USUALLY THE ONE
THAT TELLS THE SPOUSE THEY HAVE IT BECAUSE THEY'RE COMPLETELY
UNAWARE BECAUSE THEY STOP BREATHING, STARTLE AND THEN FALL
BACK TO SLEEP. THAT'S WHAT'S CHARACTERIZING THE
LONELY KIDS HERE. WE DID THIS IN THE CHICAGO
SOCIAL RELATIONS CHASER STUDY AS WELL.
WE USED THE PITTSBURGH SLEEP QUALITY INDEX IN BOTH THE
UNDERGRADUATE STUDY. MOST OF THIS DUFFERED IN THE
UNDERGRADUATES ADDS WELL. ALL OF IT DIFFERS IN OUR OLDER
ADULTS. I FIND CURIOUS THIS ONE, LONELY
OLDER ADULTS ARE TAKING SLEEP MEDICATIONS.
TRYING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT BUT JUST NOT OVERCOMING THE
DISRUPTION. THIS IS A LONGITUDINAL, THIS IS
CHASER STUDY WHERE WE'RE LOOKING LIGHT KNIGHT AFTER NIGHT IN THE
SAME INDIVIDUALS. LONELINESS IS PREDICTING DAYTIME
DYSFUNCTION. HOW TIRED THEY ARE ISN'T
PREDICTING HOW LONELY THEY FEEL THE NEXT DAY.
THESE ARE NOT PIs WRITING GRANTS.
CARTER AND I WERE TALKING ABOUT THIS KIND OF DESIGN, WE WERE
BOTH CONVINCED BUT THEN WHEN WE GO ON SLEEPNESS NIGHTS RIGHT
BEFORE GRAND PERIODS IT'S MORE EXTREME THAN IN NORMAL
POPULATIONS. THIS IS NOT NIH STAFF.
[LAUGHTER] ONE OF THE THINGS I SHOULD POINT
OUT IS THAT WE'RE ALL AWARE THAT DEPRESSION IS ASSOCIATED WITH
SLEEP DISRUPTIONS, RIGHT? WE HAVE DEPRESSION SYMPTOM IN
HERE AS A VARIANT AND IT'S NOT ACCOUNTING THE RESULTS.
WE JUST DON'T KNOW. THERE WAS INCREASINGLY, THOUGH,
OTHERS AROUND THE WORLD, TWO RECENT PAPER THIS IS YEAR, ONE
FROM ARIZONA, ONE FROM FINLAND SAYING THAT THE EFFECTS OF
SOCIAL SUPPORT ARE MEDIATED BY LONELINESS.
THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE FOUND AS WELL.
THIS IS A STUDY OF THE [INDISCERNIBLE] USING
[INDISCERNIBLE]. THE REASON WE WENT TO THE
[INDISCERNIBLE] WAS THAT ALL OF THE DATA I'VE SHOWN YOU ARE FROM
PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN URBAN AREAS, RIGHT.
AND I HAVE THIS EVOLUTIONARY STORY I'M TELLING YOU.
THERE'S A BIG DISCONNECT BETWEEN URBAN ENVIRONMENTS AND THE
EVOLUTIONARY CONTEXT. [INDISCERNIBLE] AREN'T EXACTLY
EVOLUTIONARY, BUT THEY'RE MORE VERY CONNECTED, CLOSE-KNIT SMALL
GROUP. I HAVE TO SAY THE OVERALL LEVEL
OF LONELINESS IS LOWER THIS GROUP THAN WE'VE SEEN ANY PLACE
IN THE WORLD. EVEN THOUGH THAT'S THE CASE, YOU
CAN SEE THE DATA HERE. LONELINESS IS ASSOCIATED WITH
MORE SLEEP FRAGMENTATION AS MEASURED BY RISK
[INDISCERNIBLE], MORE MICROAWAKENINGS.
IT DOESN'T SEEM TO BE LIMITED TO THE URBAN POPULATION.
WHAT ABOUT [INDISCERNIBLE] PROCESSES, CARDIOVASCULAR
PROCESSES. THIS IS FROM THE UNDERGRADUATES.
THEY SHOW DIFFERENCES IN VASCULAR RESISTANCE.
THAT'S MEASURED HERE. BASELINE, UM, WHILE PREPARING US
A SPEECH AND THEN DELIVERING THE PUBLIC SPEECH.
CARDIAC OUTPUT IS THE OTHER -- [INDISCERNIBLE] YOU SHOW A
DECREASE IN [INDISCERNIBLE], THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT YOU SEE
HERE. WHAT'S INTERESTING TO ME IS THAT
THERE IS A MAIN EFFECT THERE ISN'T AN INTERACTION.
THERE ISN'T GREATER STRESS REACTIVITY IN LONELY
INDIVIDUALS. THEY SIMPLY SHOW GREATER
VASCULAR RESISTANCE WHICH IS SENSITIVE TO PERCEIVE THREAT.
THEY'RE IN THIS STATE AS JUST A WAY OF BEING, WHEN THEY AWAKEN
AS THEY GO THROUGH THE COURSE OF THEIR DAY.
THIS IS NOT THE TRADITIONAL STRESS REACTIVITY STORY, IT'S A
DIFFERENT KIND OF STRESSOR, AN IMPLICIT STRESSOR OF A
PARTICULAR KIND. THIS IS AGAIN ALL
UNDERGRADUATES. WHAT WE DID IN THE MORNINGS WHEN
THEY AWAKE FRN THE HOSPITAL NIGHT, WE TOOK OFF THE SLEEP
CAP, WE PUT ON AN AMBULATORY CARDIOGRAPH AND CARDIO DEVICE
AND GAVE THEM A BEEP. THEY WERE BEEPED RANDOMLY, NINE
TIMES DURING THE DAY, SAT DOWN AND FILLED OUT A DIARY ABOUT WHO
THEY WERE WITH, WHAT THEY WERE DOING.
YOU SEE THEIR NORMAL INTENSIVE AS THEY GO AROUND IN THEIR
NORMAL DAY, THEY SHOW HIGHER VASCULAR RESISTANCE AND NORMAL
OUTPUT DURING THE DAY AS WELL. IF THAT'S THE CASE, THEN
VASCULAR RESISTANCE IN S A PREDICTOR OF WHO DEVELOPS
[INDISCERNIBLE] BY THE TIME WE LOOK AT CHASERS, LONELY SHOULD
HAVE HIGHER BLOOD PRESSURE. THAT DOESN'T MEAN LONELINESS IS
CAUSING IT IN ANY WAY. WE DO THE SAME MODELLING WITH
LOTS OF COVARIANTS. WHAT YOU SEE IS AFTER ABOUT
THREE OR FOUR YEARS, LONELINESS NOW PREDICTS INCREASES THE BLOOD
PRESSURE. IT'S ACCRUING OVER THAT TIME THE
IT'S JUST BLOOD PRESSURE IS NOT LIKE DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMOLOGY.
IT TAKES A WHILE. HERE THE REGULATORY MECHANISMS
ARE STARTING TO DECAY SO IT TAKES A WHILE FOR YOU TO SEE
TEFECT. THE EFFECT SIZE IS ABOUT
POINTICS CENTIMETERS [INDISCERNIBLE].
NEUROENDOCRINE MECHANISMS. NOTHING I'VE SHOWN YOU IS A
SURPRISE EXCEPT WHAT I HAVEN'T SHOWN YOU IS LONELINESS IS NOT
ASSOCIATED WITH SYMPATHETIC OR PARASYMPATHETIC ACTIVATION OF
THE HEART. THAT'S SOMETHING IN WHICH I
SPENT A DECADE STUDYING AND WE DON'T SEE THAT DIFFERENCE IN
LONELINESS. IT'S BARELY ASSOCIATED IF AT ALL
WITH SYMPATHETIC ADRENAL [INDISCERNIBLE] ACTIVATION, THE
SECOND, IF YOU WILL BIG MAJOR STRESS SYSTEM.
THERE ARE STUDY WHERE [INDISCERNIBLE] HAVE BEEN
MEASURED AN YOU SEE WHERE LONELINESS IS ASSOCIATED WITH
HIGHER EPINEPHRINE. IT'S A SMALL EFFECT IF IT'S
THERE AT ALL AND MANY TIMES YOU DON'T SEE IT.
THOSE OF YOU WHO KNOW CAT KOE COLON MEAN -- THE EFFECT THAT'S
BIG AND THAT WE SEE ON THE OTHER SEA IS [INDISCERNIBLE].
THAT'S WHAT I HAVE HERE IS THE MORNING RISE IN CORD SOL.
THE TWO FACTORS THEY WERE RELATED WERE FEELING FATIGUED
AND FEELING ISOLATED AND THREATENED.
THESE WERE THE TWO. AND SO WE THEN TURNED THIS
AROUND. THIS IS CROSS ACTIONAL AND DID
THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS. THIS IS THE SAME INDIVIDUAL.
THE DAY WHICH YOU FEEL ISOLATED THE NEXT MORNING YOU SHOW A
GREATER RISE IN COURT SOL. THAT DOESN'T PREDICT HOW
ISOLATED YOU FEEL THE NEXT DAY. FEELING FATIGUED THE DAY BEFORE
DOESN'T PREDICT THE RISE IN COURT SOL.
COURT SOL IS A VERY POWERFUL HORMONE THAT BREAKS DOWN FATS TO
GIVE YOU ENERGY. IT DOES MOBILIZE YOU TO DEAL
WITH EMERGENCY, SO THIS IS NOT AN UNEXPECTED EFFECT.
WE'VE LOOKED AT GENE EXPRESSION OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS AGO AND
STARTED TO FOCUS ON THIS IN COLLABORATION WITH STEVE AT
UCLA, AND THE INITIAL STUDY, WHAT WE DID WAS TO TAKE ABOUT
SEVEN LONELY INDIVIDUALS FROM THE CHASER SAMPLE MATCHED ON AS
MANY THINGS AS WE COULD, AND WE LOOKED AT GENE EXPRESSION
BECAUSE THIS IS KIND OF AN UNFUNDED PILOT THAT WE DID, AND
WE FOUND ABOUT TWO HUNDRED STANCE CRYPTS TO DIFFER.
79 WERE UP REGULATED IN THE LONELY OLDER ADULTS, 131
UNDEREXPRESSED. WE THEN LOOKED AT THESE
TRANSCRIPTIONAL FACTOR AND FOUND REMARKABLY SENSIBLE PATTERN OF
DATA. THE CORTICOID RESPONSE -- WERE
DOWN REGULATED IN THE LONELY INDIVIDUALS.
THAT IS IT LOOKS LIKE THEY WERE SHOWING [INDISCERNIBLE]
RESISTANCE. IF YOU LOOK AT CELL
DISTRIBUTION, IT ALSO LOOKS LIKE LONELY INDIVIDUALS ARE BECOMING
[INDISCERNIBLE] RESISTANT. ONE OF THE THINGS LONELINESS
DOES IS TO BREAK DOWN FAT DISTRIBUTORS TO GIVE YOU ENERGY.
ANOTHER THING IT DOES IS TO CONTROL INFLAMMATION.
IN THE NUCLEUS OF THE CELL T TRANSCRIPTS PRODUCING
PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINDS AND PROTEINS ARE NF KAPPA B
TRANSCRIPT FAMILY. WE SEE AN UP TAKE IN THOSE
BECAUSE THE COURT SOL ITSELF IS BEING MUTED IN THOSE
INDIVIDUALS. WE GET CELLAR RESPONSES TO
STRESS. REMEMBER THE FRUIT FLY DIES
ISOLATED BECAUSE OF OXIDATED STRESS.
REMEMBER THE MOUSE -- OH, I DOESN'T TELL YOU THIS.
REMEMBER THE MOUSE THAT HAD A LARGER INFARCT WHEN IT WAS
INDIVIDUALLY HOUSED. IF YOU BLOCK INTERLUKEN SIX T
INFARCT DOESN'T GROW LARGER. AS WE GO UP THE SPECIES, GO TO
HUMANS, IT'S NOT JUST THAT, IT'S A MUCH WIDER RANGE, BUT YOU GET
THE SHIFT TO INFLAMMATORY BIOLOGY.
WE ALSO GET THE DOWN REGULATION THAT'S IN TYPE ONE INTERFERON
AND ANTIMICROBIAL RESPONSES. WE KNOW THAT IT'S PERCEIVED
STRESS BECAUSE WE LOOKED, IT'S NOT OBJECTIVE ISOLATION.
WE ALSO LOOKED AT DEPRESSIVE [INDISCERNIBLE] HOSTILITY, THE
STANDARD PROFILE OF ONES WE LOOK AT AS WELL.
WE THEN WERE ABLE TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT EVERYONE IN THE CHASER
SAMPLE WHO CONSENTED TO HAVE US USE THEIR GENE DATA AND THERE
WAS A SAMPLE OF 93 AND WE REPLICATED THESE RESULTS.
THE NEXT QUESTION WE ASKED, WAS, YOU HAVE THIS WHOLE FAMILY OF
LEUKOCYTES, IS IT ALL OF THE CELLS BEING REGULATED OR
SUBSETS? THE REASON WE ASKED THAT
QUESTION IS THERE'S TWO BIG FAMILIES OF PATH GENERALS.
THE OLDEST PATH GIN THAT LIFE HAD TO DEAL WITH WERE BACTERIA.
WE HAVE TO DEFEND AGAINST BACTERIA.
THE IMMUNE SYSTEM DEVELOPED IN PART TO BE ABLE TO DEFEND
AGAINST BACTERIA PATHOGENS. THOSE THINGS HANG OUT ON THEIR
OWN. IF YOU'RE OUT ON YOUR OWN AND
GET INJURED, THAT'S A THREAT YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH.
VIRUSS ARE ANOTHER BROAD FAMILY, BUT VIRUSS ARE NOT THE SAME, ARE
THEY? VIRUSES GET TRANSMITTED THROUGH
BIOLOGICAL FLUIDS. YOU DON'T CATCH THEM TR FROM A
FENCE POST THAT YOU SCRATCH YOURSELF ON THAT NO ONE'S BEEN
AROUND FOR DAYS. RIGHT?
YOU CATCH IT FROM SHAKING THE HAND OF SOMEONE WHO JUST SNEEZED
IN THEIR HAND OR WALKING THROUGH THE SPRAY OF A SNEEZE IN A
SUBWAY OR THROUGH SEX OR THROUGH OTHER SUCH MEANS BY TRADING
BIOLOGICAL FLUIDS. WHEN WERE YOU LIKELY TO DO THAT?
UNDER SOCIALLY [INDISCERNIBLE] CONDITIONS, RIGHT?
INDEED, THE OLDEST CELLS IN THE IMMUNE SYSTEMS ARE THE ONES
BEING REGULATED BY FEELING ISOLATED.
AND IF ANYTHING, HERE'S OUR DISCOVERY SAMPLE, OUR LARGER
CONFIRMATION SAMPLE. FEELING LONELY IS ACTUALLY
AFFECTING THE B CELLS AS WELL, BUT IT'S THROUGH DOWN
REGULATION. SO BASICALLY WHAT WE'RE SEEING
SHEER A PATTERN OF WHEN ONE FEELS LONELY, THE IMMUNE SYSTEM
IS ADJUSTING TO PROTECT AGAINST BACTERIAL INFECTIONS, AND IT'S
SACRIFICING SOME OF THE DEFENSE AGAINST VIRAL INFECTIONS.
WHEN YOU'RE IN SOCIAL AFINED CONNECTIONS, YOU FEEL CONNECTED,
THEN THE IMMUNITY'S SHIFTING MORE TOWARD VIRAL DEFENSE AWAY
FROM BACTERIAL DEFENSE. IT MAKES SENSE.
IT ALSO LEADS TO A PREDICTION WHICH IS NOT THE ONE THAT LED ME
TO DO THIS STUDY IN THE FIRST PLACE.
REMEMBER, I SUGGESTED AS YOU GET OLDER THESE REGULATORY
MECHANISMS START TO DEGRADE. WE THOUGHT GLUCOCORTICOID
RESIST -- WE SHOULD FIND THIS SAME RESPONSE IN YOUNG ADULTS AS
WELL AS OLDER ADULTS. AT LEAST AS STRONG AS YOUNG
ADULTS BECAUSE EVOLUTION WASN'T DOING THIS TO SAVE THE
87-YEAR-OLDS, IT WAS DOING THIS TO SAVE THE 25-YEAR-OLDS.
BY DECEMBER, WE WILL HAVE THE DATA COLLECTED FROM THEDOWNER
PART OF CHASER SAMPLE TO TEST WHETHER WE GET THE SAME EFFECT
IN OUR YOUNG ADULT AND WHETHER THAT'S RELATED TO GLUCOCORTICOID
RESISTANCE. THIS ALSO RAISED ANOTHER
QUESTION ABOUT WHAT IS THE MECHANISM OF THIS?
WE NEED TO COLLECT AND FINISH THIS NEXT PORTION TO SEE.
FINALLY, TALKED ABOUT CON DAY JOHN PROCESSES.
LONELINESS, ITSELF, CAN BE CONTAGIOUS.
THERE'S A COLLABORATION WITH NICK LAST AND JAMES WHO HAVE
QUANTIFIED SOCIAL NETWORK DATA FROM THE FRAMING HAM STUDY.
BOTH NICK LAST AND NICHOLAS AND I ARE ON THE BOARD
[INDISCERNIBLE] AT ONE OF THOSE BOARD MEETINGS NICHOLAS SAID
HAVE LOOK AT LONELINESS IN THE CON DAY JOHN?
I SAID NO. DO YOU WANT TO DO THAT?
OF COURSE I WANT TO DO THAT. EACH DOT'S A RESIDENT.
THE DARKER THE DOT T LONELIER THE INDIVIDUAL.
LONELINESS IS ON THE PERIPHERY. HERE'S THE SURPRISING PART.
LONELINESS DID NOT START AT THE PERIPHERY.
LONELYNESS WAS JUST AS LIKELY TO START AS A YELLOW DOT WHEN
PEOPLE BECAME LONELY, THEY MOVED TO THE PERIPHERY AND THEY TOOK
THEIR FRIENDS WITH THEM. ALL RIGHT.
IF YOU -- KEEP IN MIND THE SAME END STUDY ABOUT EVERY THREE TO
FOUR YEARS THAT YOU HAVE A DATA POINT.
WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT HOURLY, DAILY, OR YEARLY.
THIS IS ABOUT EVERY THREE TO FOUR YEARS.
WHEN I GROW LONELY AND YOU'RE MY NEIGHBOR WHO'S MY FRIEND, THREE
OR FOUR YEARS LATER, WE'RE LESS LIKELY TO BE FRIENDS AND 52%
MORE LIKELY TO BE LONELY. YOU AS A FRIEND OF
[INDISCERNIBLE] YOU'RE ABOUT 26 MORE LIKELY.
YOU'RE ABOUT 10% MORE LIKELY AND FORTUNATELY YOU'RE NOT LIKELY TO
BE MORE LONELY. THAT'S THE FINDING.
THIS IS A JOINT PROBABILITY. SO THE REASON YOU GET THAT
DESCENDING IS BECAUSE IT'S NOT A PERFECT -- THE LIKELIHOOD YOU'RE
GOING TO BE EXPOSED TO ANYTHING FROM THESE PEOPLE -- IF YOU TAKE
FIVE AND GO TO THE FOURTH, YOU'RE OUT CLOSE TO FIVE ALL
RIGHT. WHAT IS THE MECHANISM?
IT'S NOT STATUSstTIST CALL ART FACT.
ONE OF THE COVARIANCE -- JAMES RAN THIS ANALYSIS.
I ASKED HIM TO PUT IN DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AS A COVARIANT.
IT DIDN'T CHANGE THE RESULTS, WHICH REALLY SURPRISED ME.
IT DIDN'T CHANGE THEM AT ALL. DIDN'T CHANGE ANYTHING OF
SIGNIFICANCE AND I WAS REALLY STUNNED BY THAT.
IF IT WAS A STATISTICAL ART FACT USING THAT THE AS A COVARIANT
WITH THE SAME FEEFRPS, WE WOULD HAVE ELIMINATED THE EFFECT.
THE SAME REASON I THINK IT'S REAL, I CAN'T SAY WHY OBESITY
AND OTHER THINGS ARE TRANSMITTED, LONELINESS KI
BECAUSE WE'VE DONE AN EXPERIENCED SAMPLING STUDY.
THIS IS OVER A NINE-DAY PERIOD AND BASICALLY, WHAT WE FIND IS
AS I GET LONELY, I'M MORE LIKELY TO INTERACT WITH YOU, MY FRIEND
N A NEGATIVE FASHION. THE MORE SUCH„i NEGATIVE
INTERACTION OVER A THREE TO FOUR YEAR PERIOD T LESS CLOSE WE'RE
LIKELY TO BE. THAT'S WHY I'M MOVING TO THE
MARGINS, RIGHT. BECAUSE EVERYONE THOUGH I
HAVEN'T GEOGRAPHICALLY MOVED, I'M LOSING MY FRIENDS BECAUSE OF
HOW I'M ACTING TOWARD THEM. YOU'RE MORE LONELY BECAUSE YOU
LOST ME AS A FRIEND AND IF SOMEBODY INTERACTS WITH YOU
NEGATIVELY, YOU'RE MORE LIKELY TO INTERACT WITH SOMEBODY ELSE
AT THE NEXT BEEP IN A MORE NEGATIVE FASHION AS WELL.
YOU KNOW THAT JOURNAL OR THAT GRANT THAT'S REJECTED HAS A
BIGGER IMPACT THAN THE ONE THAT'S ACCEPTED.
YOU'RE GOING TO BE VERY HAPPY WHEN IT'S ACCEPTED BUT IT'S DUE
TO YOU. WHEN YOU GET REJECTED IT'S DUE
EVERYBODY TO ELSE AROUND YOU BEING NASTY AND MEAN.
THE EFFECTS OF NEGATIVE INTERACTIONS ARE GREATER THAN
POSITIVE INTERACTIONS AND YOU SHARE THAT.
SO THAT'S THE MECHANISM BY WHICH WE THINK LONELINESS ACTUALLY
GETS TRANSMITTED AN THAT'S WHY IT TAKES BOTH PROXIMITY AND TIME
FOR THIS TO GET TRANSMITTED. JUST WANT TO POINT OUT THAT
WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS RESEARCH FOR ABOUT 20 YEARS, BUT IT HAS
BECOME A MORE POPULAR TARGET OF INVESTIGATION AROUND THE WORLD,
AND THERE'S A NUMBER OF STUDIES THAT ARE BOTH REPLICATING OURS
AND THAT ARE SHOWING OTHER EFFECTS.
THERE ARE LONG-TERM STUDIES SHOWING THAT LONELINESS PREDICTS
COGNITIVE DECLEAN DECLINE AND TWO STUDIES SHOWING IT LEADS TO
INCREASES IN ALZHEIMER'S. DAVID BENNETT LOOKED AT WHETHER
IT WAS DEPRESSION. IT DOESN'T DEPRESSION.
IT'S NOT MRAKS AND TANGLES. HE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS.
AS WE SEE MORE AND MORE OF THESE EFFECTS LOOKING LIKE LONELINESS
AFFECTS BIOLOGY BEING ADJUSTED. ONE CAN'T HELP BUT THINK THAT
WE'RE SEEING THE SAME THING WE SEE IN THE MICE WHERE THE
ISOLATED MOUSE IS SHOWING GREATER INFLAMMATION AND GREATER
NEURAL DAMAGE TO THE SAME EXPERIMENTAL INPAFARCT.
-- THE OTHER THING I WANTED TO POINT OUT IS THAT LONELINESS IS
A STIGMATIZED TOPIC. I WROTE A BOOK CALLED
LONELINESS, AND NEW FROM MY OWN RESEARCH THAT LONELINESS IS
SOMETHING PARTICULARLY MEN CAN'T ADMIT.
IN ONE OF THE STUDIES THE CHASERS WE ACTUALLY ASK PEOPLE,
DO YOU FEEL LONELY. PEOPLE WILL UNDERREPORT,
PARTICULARLY MEN. I KNEW THAT, I DIDN'T ACTUALLY
FEEL IT. THEN I WAS ON THIS BOOK TOUR
WITH THIS BIG WHITE BOOK WITH LONELINESS ACROSS THE FRONT
GOING THROUGH AIRPORTS AND SITTING IT DOWN NEXT TO ME ON
THE PLANE. YOU START LOOKING AROUND AND
THEN I UNDERSTOOD WHAT IT MEANT TO HAVE A STIGMATIZED TOPIC.
I TURNED THE BOOK OVER. [LAUGHTER]
BUT IN FACT, THE EFFECT SIDE IS LARGE.
THIS IS FROM A META-ANALYSIS PUBLISHED IN THE SUMMER OF 2010.
HERE'S OBESITY. THIS IS THE EFFECTS ON MORTALITY
ACROSS SEVERAL CONDITIONS. HERE'S BMI.
ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION. SMOKING CESSATION.
HERE'S YOUR SOCIAL INTEGRATION EFFECTS.
THERE ARE HUGE EFFECTS AND WE'RE NOT APPRECIATING THEM IN PART
BECAUSE WE THOUGHT THOSE LONELY PEOPLE HAD BROUGHT IT UPON
THEMSELVES, THEY'RE DIFFERENT. WHAT WE HAVE FOUND THAT THE
EFFECT SIZES FOR LONGITUDINAL STUDIES ARE AS LARGE AS LOOKING
CROSS SECTIONALLY. IT SEEPS US BONDED, BUT IF WE'RE
LEFT IN THAT STATE JUST LIKE IF WE'RE LEFT IN A CHRONIC PAIN,
HUNGER OR THIRST STATE THERE [INDISCERNIBLE].
I WOULD ARGUE THAT IT'S A RISK FACTOR WE MIGHT WANT TO ATTEND
TO. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR
TIME. [APPLAUSE]
I WANT VERY MUCH TO THANK TWO GROUPS.
ONE IS THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AGING WHO HAS PROVIDING THE UH
SUPPORT FOR MOST OF THE RESEARCH I'VE SPOKEN, AND THE SECOND IS
THE VILLAGE INTERNATIONAL THAT H
HAS. I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS.
[APPLAUSE] DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION?
>> THANK YOU, I REALLY ENJOYED YOUR TALK BECAUSE WE OFTEN [LOW
AUDIO]. >> THANK YOU.
>> I'M JUST CURIOUS ABOUT THE ISSUE OF STIGMA WHEN IS KIND OF
AN EXTERNAL [LOW AUDIO]. >> WE'VE LOOKED AT THE EFFECTS
OF CULTURE WHICH IS KIND OF THE INTERNALLY AND I'LL TELL YOU
SOMETHING THAT MIGHT SOUND SURPRISING AT FIRST AND THAT IS
COLLECTIVIST CULTURES IS LONELIER THAN INDEPENDENT
CULTURES. YOU MIGHT SAY THAT THEY VALUE
CONNECTIONS, WHY WOULD THAT BE. THEN I'LL ASK YOU, WHEN DO YOU
THINK PEOPLE IN THE U.S. ARE LONELINESS?
IS IT DURING THE WORKWEEK OR AT A HOLIDAY?
IT'S OBVIOUS IT'S AT THE HOLIDAYS.
WHY? BECAUSE THE CULTURAL NORM IS
THAT YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY SHARING THE
WEALTH OF COMMON BONDS AND IF YOU FEEL LONELY IN THAT
CIRCUMSTANCE, IT'S ANYTHING BUT THAT SO THAT HEIGHTENS THE
INTENSITY. IT'S NOT THAT THERE ARE MORE
LONELY PEOPLE IN COLLECTIVIST CULTURES, IT'S THAT THE PAIN
ASSOCIATED WITH THAT SEPARATION IS GREATER WHEN YOU'RE IN THAT
CONDITION. THAT'S KIND OF ANOTHER EFFECT OF
THIS FEELING STIGMATIZED, FEELING THAT YOU'RE DIFFERENT
AND NOT ENJOYING WHAT IT IS YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE AS A
MEMBER OF THAT SOCIETY. LY ALSO SAY SOMETIMES PEOPLE ASK
IF HUNGER STIGMATIZED LONELINESS, WE'D HAVE A LOT MORE
ANOREXICS. YES.
>> [LOW AUDIO]. >> YEAH.
>> [LOW AUDIO]. WE'VE TON TWIN STUDIES WITH
[INDISCERNIBLE] AND SHE'S THE DIRECTOR OF THE NETHERLANDS TWIN
REGISTER. WE NOW HAVE A SERIES OF TWIN
STUDIES WE'VE DONE. LONELINESS IN ADULTS IS ABOUT
50%. IN CHILDREN THERE'S A COMMON
ENVIRONMENTAL COMPONENT. AS YOU KNOW, HERITABILITY
CHANGES ACROSS TIME. WHAT'S BEING INHERITED IS NOT A
FEELING OF LONELYNESS, THOUGH. IT'S THE INTENSITY OF THE PAIN
FROM SOCIAL CONNECTION, FROM SOCIAL DISCONNECTION, PARDON ME.
THE BEST EVIDENCE WE HAVE FROM THAT COMES FROM HOFR.
HE LOOKS AT MA TERRIBLE DISTRESS IN RAT PUPS AND FINDS
INDIVIDUALLY VARIABILITY. SOME SCREAM LOUDLY, SOME SCREAM
SOFTLY. YOU WANT THAT GENETIC VARIANCE
BECAUSE THOSE WHO SCREAM LOUDLY ARE LIKELY TO BE DISCOVER BID
MOTHERS AND THEREFORE FOUND, PREKDED, NURTURED, SURVIVE.
PREDATORS ALSO HEAR RAT PUPS CRYING AND SO THEY'RE MORE
LIKELY TO BE FOUND BY„i PREDATORS AS WELL.
WHETHER THAT'S ADAPTIVE DEPENDS ON THE PREDATOR DENSITY IN THE
ENVIRONMENT. WHAT HE THEN DID WAS TO TAKE
LOUD-CRYING AND SOFT-CRYING RAT PUPS AND SELECTIVELY BRED THEM
FOR 25 GENERATIONS. HE THEN LOOKED WHAT THE DO THOSE
ADULT RATS LOOK LIKE? THEY LOOK VERY MUCH LIKE OUR
ADULT HUMANS. GREATER COURT SOL, MORE
DEPRESSIVE BEHAVIOR, MORE WITHDRAWAL, ANXIETY AND ONE
OTHER THAT LOOKED LIKE OUR HUMAN.
THAT'S NOT PERFECT BUT THAT'S THE BEST EVIDENCE THAT I HAVE
THAT IT'S SENSITIVITY, NOT LONELINESS PER SE.
THE OTHER PART IS THAT WE SEE LONGITUDINALLY, YOU MIGHT HAVE
SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT INTERCEPTS BUT MOST PEOPLE GO UP AND DOWN
IN LONELINESS ACROSS YEARS. THE TEST, RETEST IS ABOUT .75
FOR ONE YEAR AND ABOUT .72 FOR A FIVE AND TEN YEAR PERIOD.
YOU GET A LOT OF ISOLATION FROM YEAR TO YEAR BUT STAYING IN THAT
SAME ORDER OF MAGNITUDE CHANGE. SO I CONSIDER IT BOTH, YES.
JOHN. >> [LOW AUDIO].
HAVE YOU LOOKED AT THIS AS A EXPLANATION OR MECHANISM OR [LOW
AUDIO]. >> UM, WE HAVE JUST LOOKED AT
MARRIAGE AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE HRS DATA ON MARRIAGE.
I SUMMARIZED WHAT WE FOUND AT THAT.
WE HAVE NOT LOOKED AT WIDOW HOOD YET.
THE [INDISCERNIBLE] EXAMPLE ISN'T THAT OLD.
WE'VE STARTED LOOKING AT RETIREMENT.
IT WAS SO SURPRISING. RETIREMENT'S DIFFERENT THAN AGE.
WE'RE FINDING TRAUMATIC EFFECTS JUST FROM RETIREMENT.
HERE'S A SURPRISE. LONELINESS GOES DOWN WHEN YOU
RETIRE, TEMPORARILY. WHETHER YOU STAY LESS LONELY
DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU DO AFTER THAT.
PARTLY WHAT IT DEPENDS ON IS IF YOU STAY IN CONTACT WITH THE
COMMUNITY, STAY IN CONTACT WITH COWORKERS LONELINESS REMAINS
LOW. IF YOU STOP DOING THAT AND DEAL
WITH THIS NEW LIFE BY WATCHING TV, SOCIAL NETWORKING ALONE,
THEN LONELINESS STARTS TO CLIMB AGAIN.
OF COURSE, HEALTH STATUS ALSO IS A FACTOR THERE.
SO THE HEALTH AMONG US IS PREDICTING STEEPER DECLINE IN
HEALTH AND DISABILITIES ARE FEEDING BACK ON THE LONELINESS.
IT STARTS TO HAVE A -- YES.
>> [LOW AUDIO]. >> THAT'S A GREAT -- I'LL ANSWER
BOAT OF THOSE IN THE SAME BREATH.
THE SIMPLE EFFECT. OKAY, IF YOU DON'T READ THE
LITERATURE, THE MORE FRIENDS YOU HAVE ON FACEBOOK, THE MORE
LIKELY YOU ARE TO DO SOCIAL NETWORKING, THE LESS LONELY YOU
ARE. HOWEVER, IT REALLY DEPENDS ON
WHAT YOU'RE DOING WITH IT. IF YOU'RE ISOLATED DUE TO SOME
CHRONIC DISEASE, DISABILITY OR YOU HAVE A SPOUSE WITH
ALZHEIMER'S THAT MEANS YOUR HOUSE-BOUND AS WELL, SOCIAL
NETWORKING IS BETTER THAN NOTHING.
CARETAKERS TEND TO SHOW MORE STRESS.
THESE KINDS OF CONTACTS ARE BETTER THAN NOTHING FOR THAT
GROUP. THAT'S A SMALL GROUP IN THE
POPULATION BUT NON-TRIF Y'ALL. FOR THE REST, IT DEPENDS HOW
YOU'RE USING IT. IF YOU'RE USING IT TO LEVERAGE
FACE-TO-FACE, THEN LONELINESS GOES DOWN.
IF YOU'RE USING IT AS A SUBSTITUTE WHICH IS WHAT THE
VERY LONELY ARE DOING, THEN IT'S LIKE EATING CELL RI.
IT FEELS GOOD MOMENTARILY, BUT THERE'S NOTHING NUTRITIOUS ABOUT
IT AND IT SENDS UP MAKING YOU FEEL MORE LONELY AND DEPRESSED
OVERTIME. [LAUGHTER]
THAT'S THE MORE SUBTLE EFFECT. IN OLDER ADULT SAMPLE, THERE'S
NOT ENOUGH SOCIAL NETWORKING, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE NEW
COHORTS THAT HAVE COME OUT. I'M TEACHING A COURSE ON
LONELINESS THIS QUARTER, AND ONE OF THE STUDENTS CAPTURES IT
BEAUTIFULLY. HE CAME FROM A SMALL TOWN,
EVERYBODY ELSE IN HIS TOWN, ALL HIS FRIENDS STAYED CLOSE, HE
CAME TO THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, SAID HE WAS ON FACEBOOK
DOING AND HE GOT TERRIBLY LONELY@&EI IN CHICAGO.
HE REALIZED, HE HAD TO GET OFF FACEBOOK.
HE HAD TO TURN IT OFF AND TURN AROUND AND START MAKING NEW
FRIENDS AT CHICAGO. SO THAT'S EXACTLY THE KIND OF
CASE WE SEE WHERE SOCIAL NETWORKING LEADS TO INCREASES IS
WHEN IT'S SUBSTITUTES AND AS A CONSEQUENCE YOU LOOK BACK AND
SEE WHAT EVERYBODY -- WHAT UH YOU SEE ON FACEBOOK IS WHAT
YOU'RE NOT ENJOYING. YES.
>> [LOW AUDIO]. >> THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
SO WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING IS JUST, YOU KNOW, IF YOU ISOLATE
THE ANIMAL YOU SAY IT'S ROUGHLY THE SAME THING.
THE NICE THING ABOUT MONKEYS -- THIS IS JOHN WHO HAD THE
RESEARCH DIRECTOR AT THE CALIFORNIA NATIONAL PRIMATE
CENTER. HE'S THE PERSON WITH WHOM WE'RE
COLLABORATING ON THIS. I FLUE FLEW OUT THERE, WE
LOOKED AT THEFLEW OUT THERE, WE LOOKED AT THE FLEW OUT THERE, WE LOOKED
AT THE FLEW OUT THERE, WE LOOKED AT T
THEFLEW OUT THERE, WE LOOKED AT THE MONKEYS.
THEY JUST LOOK LIKE FURRY BALLS OF ENERGY, DIDN'T TELL THE
DIFFERENCE. THEY SEE THINGS IN THOSE ANIMALS
I DON'T SEE, BUT HE CAN CHARACTERIZE.
PEOPLE CAN LOOK AT STABLE WAYS OF RESPONDING AND HE BASICALLY
ARGUES THERE'S THREE CATEGORIES. HIGHLY INTEGRATED ANIMALS WITH
LOTS OF CONTACT, LOTS OF PEOPLE GROOMING THEM.
LOTS OF PRIMATES ARE GROOMING THEM.
THERE'S ANOTHER GROUP WHO'S JUST ISOLATED, DON'T INTERACT VERY
OFTEN WITH ANIMALS. A THIRD GROUP WHO WALKS TOWARD
ANIMALS AN THEN WALKS AWAY AND DOES THAT A LOT.
HIS NOTION WAS THAT THAT'S THE LONELIEST GROUP.
HE THOUGHT THE ISOLATE AND THE ONE THAT HAS A LOT OF
INTERACTIONS WERE NON-LONELY. SO WE THEN WENT BACK AND
BEHAVIORALLY CHARACTERIZED OUR HUMANS IN THE CHASER STUDY THE
STATEMENT WAY, AND WE FOUND OUT THAT THIS GROUP THAT WAS ALONE
WAS INTERMEDIATE IN LONELINESS. I WORRIED THERE WAS A BIMODE L,
THERE ISN'T. WE HAVE MORE RECENTLY BEEN DOING
FAIRLY SOPHISTICATING CLUSTER ANALYSIS AND WE FIND TEMPORALLY
STABLE TYPES, FOUR, NOT THREE. WE'RE WORKING WITH JOHN TO GET
THE DATA WE NEED TO DO THE SAME ANALYSIS ON HIS MONKEYS.
THAT'S HOW WE'RE TRYING TO GET AT THE LONELINESS IN THE MONKEYS
IS BY USING OUR PRIMATE DATA AND HIS PRIMATE DATA USING THE SAME
INPUT DATA AND SEEING WHAT OUR PRIMATES SAY AND IMPUTING THAT
INTO HIS MONKEYS. ONCE WE'VE DONE THAT, THE NEXT
STEP IS TO LOOK AT THE GENE TRANSCRIPTS.
IF WE GET A PAIR ALONG THEM AS WELL, THEN WE'RE GOING TO SAY WE
THINK WE HAVE A REALLY GOOD ANIMAL MODEL.
THAT'S THE IDEA. RICHARD.
>> [LOW AUDIO]. >> YEAH.
>> [LOW AUDIO]. >> WE'VE DONE THE EXPERIMENT
SAMPLING BUT ALSO LOOKED AT LONELINESS IN THE CHASING DATA
BOTH CROSS SECTIONALLY AND LONGITUDINALLY.
CROSS SECTIONAL IS SHOWING YOU WHO'S FEELING LONELY.
LONGITUDINAL TELLS YOU WHY. LONGITUDINAL WE FIND INCOME,
AGE, AND LOWLINESS TO BE THE VARIABLES THAT ARE RELATED TO
SUBJECTIVE WELL BEING THAT ARE ALSO RELATED TO IT
LONGITUDINALLY. IF YOU LOOK CROSS SECTIONALLY,
YOU ALSO FIND A LOT OF PERSONALITY FACTORS.
PERSONALITY FACTORS AREN'T CHANGING OVER TIME IN A WAY THAT
RELATES TO SUBJECTIVE WELL BEING.
WHEN WE LOOK AT THOSE LONGITUDINALLY, SUBJECTIVE WELL
BEING IS LEADING TO LONELINESS LEADING TO SUBJECTIVE WELL
BEING. THE EFFECTIVE SUBJECTIVE WELL
BEING ON LONELINESS IS LONGER. THAT'S A TWO-YEAR EFFECT.
THE EFFECT OF LONELINESS TO WELL BEING IS A ONE-YEAR EFFECT.
THE INCOME IS THE CONSEQUENCE, NOT THE ANT SEE DENT.
AND ANAL IS INDEPENDENT. LOOKS LIKE A [INDISCERNIBLE]
INDEPENDENT OF THOSE THAT [INDISCERNIBLE].
>> [LOW AUDIO]. >> INTERVENTIONS?
YOU MEAN FOR LONELINESS? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
WE HAVE BEEN COMPELLED BY RICHARD TO START THINKING ABOUT
THAT QUESTION, AND WHAT WE HAVE IN PREZ NOW IS A META-ANALYSIS
DONE TO LOWER LONELINESS. THERE ARE 53 SUCH STUDIES.
THERE ARE THREE DESIGNS, PRE/POST MATCHED CONTROL GROUP
AND RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIALS. MOST WERE THE RANDOMIZED
CLINICAL TRIALS. IF YOU LOOK AT PRE/POST, THE
EFFECT SIZE IS FAIRLY LARGE, ABOUT .5 EFFECT SIZE AND
INTERVENTIONS SEEM TO WORK. WHAT KIND OF INTERVENTION?
THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT KINDS IN THOSE 53 BUT THERE ARE FOUR
MAIN CATEGORIES; PROVIDING SOCIAL SUPPORT, SOCIAL
ENGAGEMENT -- I DIDN'T SAY THIS BUT LONELINESS AND PHYSICAL
ISOLATION ARE ACTUALLY UNRELATED.
THE IDEA IS THAT IF LONELINESS IS BEING ALONE, PUT THEM WITH
OTHER PEOPLE. COLLEGE FRESHMAN HAVE SEEN THIS.
YOU PROBABLY IN YOUR FIRST WEEK OF COLLEGE WENT TO THE A MIXER
WHERE YOU WERE THERE WITH A LOT OF OTHER ISOLATED FRESHMAN.
YOU PROBABLY TALKED TO THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU AND FELT
ISOLATED TALKING TO THEM AND LOOKED OUT AND SAW EVERYBODY
ELSE TALKING TO SOMEONE AND SAID, SEE I'M THE ONLY ISOLATED
HERE. WHEN YOU PUT LONELY PEOPLE
TOGETHER IT STARTS OUT WELL AND FALLS OFF THE RAILS.
THAT DOESN'T WORK VERY WELL, BUT IN THIS PRE/POST EFFECT.
THE FIRST KIND IS SOCIAL SKILLS TRAINING.
WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT ADULTS, THEY HAVE ASSOCIATE --
SOCIAL SKILLS, IT'S GETTING CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR OWN
SELF-PRESERVATION, NOT THINKING ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE THAT MAKE
THOSE SOCIAL SKILLS NOT AS WELL DEPLOYED WHEN YOU FEEL LONELY.
IF YOU'RE TRAINED IN SOCIAL SKILLS -- THE EFFECT SIZE IS
ABOUT THE SAME, BUT THERE ARE THESE CONFOUND NSZ EACH.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE CLINICAL TRIALS, INTRER VENGSS T FOURTH
KIND STARTS TO APPEAR AND IT'S SOCIAL COGNITION BEHAVIOR
THEERP. TRYING TO GET YOU TO THINK
DIFFERENTLY ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE. STARTING TO THINK ABOUT OTHERS.
WHAT WE FIND THERE IS HETEROGENEITY.
THE FIRST THREE THAT I MENTIONED THE EFFECT SIZE IS ABOUT .19 ON
AVERAGE. THE EFFECT SIZE FOR THE SOCIAL
COGNITION, BEHAVIOR THERAPY, .6. NOW THERE AREN'T MANY SUCH
STUDIES, SO I THINK WE'RE GOING TO SEE SMALLER THAN .6, BUT IT'S
I THINK IT'S GOING TO REMAIN HIGHER THAN THE OTHER THREE.
WE'RE ACTUALLY WORKING ON AN INTERVENTION WITH THE ARMY RIGHT
NOW TO SEE WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT SOME OF THE PROBLEMS THAT
THEY'RE SUFFERING AND THE IDEA T REASON FOR DOING THAT WAS, A,
BECAUSE GENERAL CAME IN AND CONVINCED ME, AND SECOND IS, IF
WE CAN SUCCEED THERE, THEN WE CAN TRANSLATE THAT INTO OLDER
ADULTS AND THAT'S OUR ULTIMATE GOAL.
SO THAT'S THE PLAN. BUT IT'S -- I THINK WE'RE GOING
TO FIND IT TO BE A TOUGH NAIL, AND I THINK GETTING AT THIS WAY
IN WHICH THEY'RE LOOKING AT OTHER PEOPLE IS GOING TO BE THE
ROUTE TO GO, NOT THESE OTHER METHODS.
YES. >> [LOW AUDIO].
>> THAT'S AN INTERESTING QUESTION.
SO THE FIRST PART OF YOUR QUESTION, MOST OF THE DATA I'VE
SHOWED YOU, WE DON'T PICK LONELY PEOPLE.
WE ARE DOING POPULATION-BASED RESEARCH.
THERE'S A SAMPLE IN CHASERS IS POPULATION-BASED.
EVERYBODY WE CAN GET FROM A RANDOM SAMPLE.
WHEN YOU DRAW THIS SAMPLE, YOU WERE KNOCKING DOORS BECAUSE IF
THEY'RE ON YOUR LIST, YOU REALLY, REALLY NEED TO GET THEM
IN OUR STUDY. WE DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO GET A
REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE. COOK COUNTY IS OUR SURVEY AREA.
IN THE OHIO STATE STUDY, WE DID IT ON ONE ASSESSMENT.
WHEN THEY FIRST CAME IN WE TESTED 5,500 KIDS, AND FOLLOWED
THEM. WHEN YOU TAKE QUEEN TALLS
THERE'S SOME REGRESSION TO THE MEAN BUT NOT ANY CROSS OVER.
THAT'S HOW WE SELECTED THAT PARTICULAR.
THAT'S THE ONLY SAMPLE WE EVER PRESELECTED.
ARE WE INFLICTING MORBIDITY, MORTALITY ON THOSE WE ISOLATE?
THERE WAS A NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC DOCUMENTARY ON SOLITARY
CONFINEMENT. IT'S BEEN ABOUT A WEEK IN MY LAB
AND I REFUSE TO GENERALIZE TO PEOPLE WHO GET ASSIGNED SOLITARY
CONFINEMENT BECAUSE THAT'S A VERY DIFFERENT POTENTIAL
POPULATION. NOW THE TERRY ANDERSON'S WHO WAS
CAPTURED AND ISOLATED FOR YEARS, THAT'S DIFFERENT.
THE PEOPLE WHO ARE PUT IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT, THEY'RE
NOT A RANDOM SAMPLE, AND JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA, LONELINESS, I
THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR HUMANITY.
CONSIDER WHY VARIANCE IS IMPORTANT.
PEOPLE WHO HAVE VERY LITTLE PAIN OF SOCIAL DISCONNECTIONS ARE
LIKELY TO BE EXPLORERS. WE NEED PEOPLE WHO ARE WILLING
TO GO OUT BUT WHO CARE ENOUGH ABOUT THE CONNECTIONS THEY LEFT
THAT THEY'RE GOING TO COME BACK AT SOME POINT, BUT WE NEED
OTHERS WHO ARE SO PAINED BY THAT DISCONNECTION THAT THEY'RE GOING
TO SIT AND DEFEND. THERE ARE PERHAPS SOME WHO HAVE
NO PAIN OF DISCONNECTION. I ACTUALLY HAVE NEVER LOOKED AT
A CLINICAL POPULATION, BUT I WOULD PSYCHO PATHS MAY HAVE THE
LEAST PAIN OF DISCONNECTION AND THEY MAY BE THE MOST LIKELY TO
END UP IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENTS. WHEN I DON'T WANT TO GENERALIZE,
THERE'S A REASON. THAT POPULATION IS NOT
REPRESENTATIVE STAFF OF WHAT WE TRIED TO STUDY.
>> [LOW AUDIO]. >> WE HAVEN'T STUDIED PRISONERS.
THERE'S A VERY DIFFERENT -- THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION OF WHO DO
WE KNOW HOW LONG THEY'VE BEEN LONELY?
YES, BECAUSE WE'VE MEASURED THEM FOR TEN YEARS.
YOU CAN ASK THEM HOW LONG THEY'VE BEEN LONELY.
I DON'T JUST THOSE REPORTS SO THAT'S THE REASON FOR THE
LONGITUDINAL. IN THIS INTERVENTION STUDY THAT
I HOPE TO COME TO NIH AND PROPOSE, WE WILL USE THE CHASER
SAMPLE, THE WHOLE AGE RANGE AND RANDOMLY ASSIGN HALF TO THE
INTERVENTION AND HALF TO AN ACTIVE CONTROL GROUP AND THEN
WE'LL HAVE STRONG LONGITUDINAL DATA FROM A HOST OF LEVELS OF
ORGANIZATION THAT WE CAN LOOK AT, AND THAT, TO ME SSHG REALLY
KIND OF AN EXAMPLING POSSIBILITY LOOKING FORWARD.
YES. >> [LOW AUDIO].
>> NO. AGAIN W THE POPULATION
[INDISCERNIBLE] BUT WE HAVE LOOKED AT RELIGIOUS BELIEFS.
ONE OF THE THINGS WE FIND IS THAT IF I -- LONELINESS
INCREASES [INDISCERNIBLE] OF GADGETS, OF PETS, OF BODIES, OF
BODY. SO WE RANDOMLY ASSIGN PEOPLE TO
LONELY AND NON-LONELY CONDITIONS.
WE MAKE ONE HALF OF THIS GROUP FEEL LONELY AND WE ASK HOW MUCH
DO YOU BELIEVE IN GOD. MOST AMERICANS BELIEF IN GOD.
GO FIGURE. IF YOU MAKE THEM LONELY, IT GOES
UP EVEN THOUGH IT'S A HIGH NUMBER, IT'S SIGNIFICANTLY
HIGHER IF YOU MAKE THEM FEEL LONELY.
WHAT TRULY IS INTERESTING, SAME FOR GADGETS, WE TOOK PICTURES OF
THE NEBULA AND WENT TO GRANDS PARK AND WE DID AN EXPERIMENT ON
THE CAMPUS. IN THE GRANDS PARK WE CORRELATED
HOW MUCH THEY SAID THIS CRAB NEBULA HAD A MIND WITH THEIR
LONELINESS IT WAS POSITIVELY CORRELATED.
NOW WE ASKED ALSO HOW MUCH AN MA IS I DID IT HAVE.
A NON-HUMAN DISPOSITION, IT DIDN'T DIFFER BY LONELINESS.
OKAY. SAME THING WHEN WE RANDOMLY
ASSIGNED PEOPLE AND WE DID AN EXPERIMENT.
WHEN WE DID A BRAIN IMAGING OF THAT PARTICULAR PHENOMENA, WE
FOUND THE SAME ACTIVATED WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT YOURSELF
[INDISCERNIBLE] P REASON IT'S NOT BENEFICIAL IS BECAUSE
TALKING TO YOURSELF IS NOT THE SAME AS TALKING TO OTHER PEOPLE.
YES. >> [LOW AUDIO].
>> SO I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT BOTH DIRECTIONS.
THERE'S ANIMAL STUDIES DONE SHOWING FOR INSTANCE WITH CANCER
THAT LONELINESS INCREASES TUMOR GROWTH IN RATS THAT ARE PROTUMOR
PRODUCING. WHAT'S THE NAME FOR THAT?
ANYWAY, SO YOU HAVE SOME EVIDENCE THAT LONELINESS MAY
CONTRIBUTE TO THAT. IN THE AARP STUDY, WHICH IS THIS
NATIONAL SAMPLE, THEY LOOKED AT DISEASE CONDITIONS AND
LONELINESS AND MOST CHRONIC DISEASES, LONELINESS WAS HIGHER.
IN CANCER, LONELINESS WAS LOWER. IT MIGHT BE DUE TO THE SOCIAL
SUPPORT GROUPS THAT EXIST FOR CANCER PATIENTS AT THIS TIME.
YOU KNOW, THERE WASN'T ENOUGH DATA TO BE ABLE TO TELL, BUT
THAT WAS THE ONLY DISEASE CONDITION IN WHICH LONELINESS
WAS ACTUALLY LOWER IN THOSE PATIENTS THAN IN THE OTHER
CHRONIC DISEASES. >> [LOW AUDIO].
>> LONELY INDIVIDUALS, WE DIDN'T DO THE RESEARCH BUT OTHERS DID.
LONELINESS IS ASSOCIATED WITH HIGHER FREQUENCY OF GOING TO
PHYSICIANS, AND I'VE STARTED TO TALK TO MEDICAL AUDIENCES TABD
PHYSICIANS IN THE AUDIENCE SAY, OH YEAH, THEY'RE ALL AWARE OF
THIS EVIDENTLY. WE DID A STUDY LOOKING AT HEART
ATTACK VICTIMS IN THE ER. THERE'S THIS PROTEIN ANALYSIS
YOU CAN DO TO DETERMINE HOW MUCH MYOCARDIAL DAMAGE WAS DONE AND
THEY DO A PAIN RATING. WHAT WE FOUND IN THAT STUDY WAS
THAT IF THEY CAME INTO THE HOSPITAL ALONE, THAT IS THE
BALANCE DELIVERED THEM ALONE, UH, THE PAIN RATINGS WERE
SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN IF THEY WERE ACCOMPANIED BY ANYONE.
IT WAS ALL THE MEDICAL RECORD, RIGHT.
SO MEDICAL RECORDS, BUT IF THEY HAD SOMEBODY ON RECORD WITH
THEM, THEIR PAIN RATINGS WERE LOWER BUT THE PROTEIN INDICATING
MYOCARDIAL DAMAGE WAS COMPARABLE FOR THE TWO GROUPS.
THERE DOES SEEM TO BE BUFFERING BY [INDISCERNIBLE] BY FEELING
LESS LONELY. THAT'S AN INFERENCE, NOT A
FINDING FROM THAT, THAT'S MY INTERPRETATION FROM THAT.
I THINK MY TIME IS UP. >> ANYMORE BURNING QUESTIONS?
BEFORE WE WRAP UP IRK WANT TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO THANK
SARAH JOHNSON [LOW AUDIO] WHO HAVE BEEN PUTTING TOGETHER THIS
LECTURE SERIES. SARAH DID ALL THE HARD WORK
PUTTING IT TOGETHER TODAY. ALSO RON ABLE SITTING UP HERE
WHO IS A RECENTLY RETIRED PART OF OUR GROUP.
THANK YOU. JOHN, THANK YOU FOR A WONDERFUL
TALK. >> THANK YOU.
[APPLAUSE] [APPLAUSE]