Social Withdrawal in Aging Tied to Shifts in Brain Networks

(Medscape, Paulina Anderson) — There is a natural decline in sociability as a result of aging influenced by brain changes, new research shows.

“Our study suggests that age-related changes in the functional wiring of the brain may impair certain abilities needed to maintain social relationships,” the study’s lead study author Yuet Ruh Dan, Duke-National University of Singapore Medical School, told Medscape Medical News.

The findings were published online on May 28 in PLOS One.

Sociability Critical to Health

Sociability, which is the capacity to communicate effectively, be socially assertive, and to manage emotions, is “critical” for maintaining and promoting health, especially as we age, said Dan.

Research has linked sociability to increased functional connectivity in and between intrinsic brain networks. Overall, the default mode network (DMN), ventral attention network, and limbic structures have been the most strongly correlated with sociability.

The aging process also involves changes in intrinsic brain networks. Studies have shown that aging results in lower within-network connectivity, as well as greater between-network connectivity.

For example, Dan noted that connectivity between the frontoparietal and DMNs decreases with age change that has been linked to poorer self-esteem and memory. Meanwhile, connectivity between the limbic and insular regions increases with age and has been shown to activate in situations involving social exclusion, she added.

 

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