Contact cravings

After months of social distancing, it's not surprising that many people have felt starved for human companionship. Now a study from MIT has found that to our brains, the longings we feel during isolation are indeed similar to the food cravings we feel when hungry. After subjects endured one day of total isolation, looking at pictures of people having fun together activated the same brain region that lights up when someone who hasn't eaten all day sees a picture of pasta. "People who are forced to be isolated crave social interactions similarly to the way a hungry person craves food," says cognitive sciences professor Rebecca Saxe, PhD '03, the senior author of the study. "Our finding fits the intuitive idea that positive social interactions are a basic human need."