Lonely Minds - Characterizing the neurocognitive effects of social disconnection in adolescence

Social disconnection is increasingly affecting adolescents. Brain development in this developmental stage is particularly sensitive to social cues, and loneliness in adolescence has been associated with mental health problems. Yet, the neural pathways of how social disconnection impacts brain function in adolescence are not clear. While animal studies provide important insights on the effects of social disconnection on adolescent brains, it is unclear to what extent these findings can be directly translated to humans. I will combine experimental methods, neuroimaging, as well as longitudinal and large-scale data analyses to 1) test the causal effects of social disconnection on neurocognitive processes underlying reward and aversive processing in adolescents; 2) study longitudinal links between adolescent real-life social disconnection, alterations in functional and structural brain measures and development of mental health problems; and 3) investigate interactions between social disconnection and social media use in adolescents. The proposed research aims to provide a step-change in our understanding of the impacts of social disconnection on young people and open new avenues for interventions at the time point of greatest likely impact.