Researchers have found that the strength of young people’s brain responses to social rewards influenced their feelings of social satisfaction and loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic, a period with limited in-person interactions. Adolescents aged 10 to 17 whose brains are highly sensitive to social rewards felt lonelier when they had fewer in-person and virtual interactions than those whose brains are less sensitive to social rewards.

Researchers have developed a promising new framework for studying the link between social disconnection and poor physical health in people living with serious mental illnesses (SMI). Drawing on published research from animal models and data from the general population, this framework builds on existing social isolation and loneliness models by integrating insights from evolutionary and cognitive theories. This research was supported by the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research and the National Institute of Mental Health.

Deep Neural Network algorithm successfully predicts incident cardiovascular disease in non-Hispanic Black adults, indicating significance of social determinants of health

Black-White residential segregation and cardiovascular mortality rates

The roles of aging and reward sensitivity on auditory and reward networks

ABCD joins the band: the shared musical environment during childhood, language, and executive function

How infant-directed song captures attention