Study Shows How Social Isolation Disrupts Myelin Production in Brain

Animals that are socially isolated for prolonged periods produce less myelin in the region of the brain responsible for complex emotional and cognitive behavior, say researchers at the University at Buffalo and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Their report appears online in Nature Neuroscience.

The study sheds new light on brain plasticity — the brain’s ability to adapt to environmental changes. For one, it reveals that neurons aren’t the only brain structures that undergo changes in response to environment and experience, according to one of the paper’s lead authors, Karen Dietz, PhD, a research scientist in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology in the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. For more information, click here to read the full release.