The oxytocin-attention loop of loneliness

Abstract

Loneliness is a biological signal urging us to reconnect with others. However, some people fail to do so and become trapped in chronic loneliness, which leads to adverse physical and mental consequences. Here, we propose a theoretical bio-behavioral model explaining how loneliness becomes chronic through a self-reinforcing oxytocin-attention loop. We suggest that acute loneliness leads to increased oxytocin release, which projects to the mesolimbic reward system, increasing the salience of social cues. In most individuals, attention is normally biased toward affiliative social cues, thus oxytocin heightens attention toward affiliative cues, promoting reconnection and alleviating loneliness. By contrast, loneliness-vulnerable individuals show attention bias toward signs of rejection. For them, oxytocin-related social salience leads to heightened rejection vigilance, which may result in increased social avoidance and persistent loneliness. Over time, chronic loneliness causes a reduction in oxytocin system reactivity, weakening the motivational drive for reconnection, and diminishing individual’s ability to recover. This model offers an integrative perspective of neurobiological and cognitive factors and provides potential targets for therapeutic interventions for loneliness.