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Cited by 241Health disparities and outcomesNeuroendocrine regulation and behaviorDeath Anxiety and Social Exclusion

Loneliness Across Phylogeny and a Call for Comparative Studies and Animal Models

Open access
Cacioppo, John T., Cacioppo, Stephanie, Cole, Steven W., Capitanio, John P., Goossens, Luc, Boomsma, Dorret I.·2015·Perspectives on Psychological Science
DOI 10.1177/1745691614564876PMC PMC5090712
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Abstract

Loneliness typically refers to the feelings of distress and dysphoria resulting from a discrepancy between a person’s desired and achieved levels of social relations, and there is now considerable evidence that loneliness is a risk factor for poor psychological and physical health. Loneliness has traditionally been conceptualized as a uniquely human phenomenon. However, over millions of years of evolution, efficient and manifold neural, hormonal, and molecular mechanisms have evolved for promoting companionship and mutual protection/assistance and for organizing adaptive responses when there is a significant discrepancy between the preferred and realized levels of social connection. We review evidence suggesting that loneliness is not a uniquely human phenomenon, but, instead, as a scientific construct, it represents a generally adaptive predisposition that can be found across phylogeny. Central to this argument is the premise that the brain is the key organ of social connections and processes. Comparative studies and animal models, particularly when integrated with human studies, have much to contribute to the understanding of loneliness and its underlying principles, mechanisms, consequences, and potential treatments.

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Crossref · 10.1177/1745691614564876

Cites

96 of 96 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Health behaviors and physiologic mechanisms are likely, in part, responsible for the negative health outcomes associated with social isolation and loneliness.

    “Health behaviors and physiologic mechanisms are likely, in part, responsible for the negative health outcomes associated with social isolation and loneliness [31–34].”

    From Examining social isolation and loneliness in combination in relation to social support and psychological distress using Canadian Longitudinal Study of Aging (CLSA) data (2020) · cites this paper as [31]

    In “Consequences of human loneliness” (page not provided), the paper says biological pathways may contribute to loneliness’s harmful health effects. But it also reports that health behaviors did not explain the observed association between loneliness and mortality in older Americans, so the claim’s attribution of a role to health behaviors is not supported for that outcome. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Both social isolation and loneliness are related to physiologic responses, including increased blood pressure and heightened inflammatory reactivity to stress.

    “as well as physiologic responses, including increased blood pressure and heightened inflammatory reactivity to stress [30–34].”

    From Examining social isolation and loneliness in combination in relation to social support and psychological distress using Canadian Longitudinal Study of Aging (CLSA) data (2020) · cites this paper as [31]

    The Physiological activation section reports an association between loneliness and higher blood pressure in older adults. It also reports higher blood pressure in baboons housed alone or with an unfamiliar animal, but says social isolation per se was not the important factor. The Complexities section discusses proinflammatory gene regulation in models of repeated social threat; it does not establish heightened inflammatory reactivity to stress for both loneliness and social isolation. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • An emerging social neuroscience model holds that conserved neurophysiological mechanisms underlie a short-term self-preservation response to lacking social connections.

    “Therefore, an emerging social neuroscience model posits that evolutionarily conserved neurophysiological mechanisms underlie the adaptive, short-term, self-preservation mode triggered by a lack of social connections/mutual protection14,31.”

    From Neural mechanisms of social homeostasis (2019) · cites this paper as [14]

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. Tillich P Feifel H The external now The meaning of death 1959 New York, NY McGraw-Hill 30 38

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Authors
Cacioppo, J. T., Cacioppo, S., Cole, S. W., Capitanio, J. P., Goossens, L., & Boomsma, D. I.
Affiliations
  • University of Chicago (US)
  • David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles
  • University of California, Davis (US)
  • KU Leuven (BE)
  • Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL)
ORCID
Venue
Perspectives on Psychological Science
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2015-03
Volume
10
Issue
2
Pages
202-212
ISSN
  • 1745-6916 (ISSN-L)
  • 1745-6924
DOI
10.1177/1745691614564876
PMC
PMC5090712
OpenAlex
W2105989054
Cited by
241
References
96
Citations by year
2026: 20 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 25 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 36 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 17 · 2014: 1
FWCI
24.85
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
  • Perspectives on Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • VU Research Portal (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • Lirias (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (P51OD011107)
  • National Institute on Aging (R37AG033590)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
Keywords
loneliness, social connectedness, social behavior, brain and social behavior
MeSH terms
Animals, Humans, Loneliness

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