Cognitive Impairment under Prolonged Social Isolation: Insights from Human Studies and Animal Experiments

Abstract

Abstract—Having close social connections is essential for mental and physical health and overall well-being, regardless of age. A considerable portion of the world’s population has experienced lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An increasing amount of scientific literature is emerging, focusing on the negative impact of social isolation on attention, memory, perception, executive functions, and other aspects of cognitive processes. These effects can significantly complicate people’s daily lives and diminish their quality of life. In this review, we aim to organize the existing scientific findings on the relationship between social isolation and the development of cognitive impairments in individuals, as observed in longitudinal population studies. Additionally, we analyze data from experimental research on animals to examine how different durations of social isolation impact learning and memory processes. We briefly address the potential links between these social isolation-induced impairments and alterations in the functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, one of the stress-reactivity systems, and the immune-inflammatory response.