(Press-News.org) COLUMBUS, Ohio – In lonely people, the boundary between real friends and favorite fictional characters gets blurred in the part of the brain that is active when thinking about others, a new study found.
Researchers scanned the brains of people who were fans of “Game of Thrones” while they thought about various characters in the show and about their real friends. All participants had taken a test measuring loneliness.
The difference between those who scored highest on loneliness and those who scored lowest was stark, said Dylan Wagner, co-author of the study and associate professor of psychology at The Ohio State University.
“There were clear boundaries between where real and fictional characters were represented in the brains of the least lonely participant in our study,” Wagner said.
“But the boundaries between real and some fictional people were nearly nonexistent for the loneliest participant.”
The results suggest that lonelier people may be thinking of their favorite fictional characters in the same way they would real friends, Wagner said.
Wagner conducted the study with Timothy Broom, a PhD graduate of Ohio State who is now a postdoctoral researcher at Columbia University. It was published recently in the journal Cerebral Cortex.
Data for the study was collected in 2017 during the seventh season of the HBO series “Game of Thrones.” The study involved scanning the brains of 19 self-described fans of the series while they thought about themselves, nine of their friends and nine characters from the series. (The characters were Bronn, Catelyn Stark, Cersei Lannister, Davos Seaworth, Jaime Lannister, Jon Snow, Petyr Baelish, Sandor Clegane and Ygritte.)
Participants reported which “Game of Thrones” character they felt closest to and liked the most.
“Game of Thrones” was a fantasy drama series lasting eight seasons and concerning political and military conflicts between ruling families on two fictional continents. It was ideal for this study, Wagner said, because the large cast presented a variety of characters that people could become attached to.
For the study, the participants’ brains were scanned in an fMRI machine while they evaluated themselves, friends and “Game of Thrones” characters. An fMRI indirectly measures activity in various parts of the brain through small changes in blood flow.
The researchers were particularly interested in what was happening in a part of the brain called the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), which shows increased activity when people think about themselves and other people.
While in the fMRI machine, participants were shown a series of names – sometimes themselves, sometimes one of their nine friends, and other times one of the nine characters from “Game of Thrones.”
Each name appeared above a trait, like sad, trustworthy or smart.
Participants simply responded “yes” or “no” to whether the trait accurately described the person while the researchers simultaneously measured activity in the MPFC portion of their brains.
The researchers compared results from when participants were thinking about their friends to when they were thinking about the fictional characters.
“When we analyzed brain patterns in the MPFC, real people were represented very distinctly from fictional people in the non-lonely participants,” Wagner said.
“But among the lonelier people, the boundary starts breaking down. You don’t see the stark lines between the two groups.”
The findings suggest that lonely people may turn to fictional characters for a sense of belonging that is lacking in their real life, and that the results can be seen in brain, Wagner said.
“The neural representation of fictional characters comes to resemble those of real-world friends,” he said.
But even the least lonely participants were affected by the characters they cared about most in “Game of Thrones,” the study found.
Results showed that the participants’ favorite characters in “Game of Thrones” looked more like their real friends in their brains than did other characters in the show. That was true for all people in the study, no matter how lonely and no matter who their favorite character was, Wagner said.
“Your favorite characters are more real to you, regardless of loneliness,” he said.
END
For the lonely, a blurred line between real and fictional people
How friends, story characters are represented in the brain
2023-09-28
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Should older adults with fewer years to live keep getting cancer screenings? Poll explores attitudes
2023-09-28
A majority of older adults disagree with the idea of using life expectancy as part of guidelines that say which patients should get cancer screenings such as mammograms and colonoscopies, a new poll finds.
In all, 62% of people aged 50 to 80 said that national guidelines for stopping cancer-detecting tests in individual patients should not be based on how long that person might have left to live, according to new results from the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging.
That goes against a trend in such guidelines, which national organizations develop based on medical evidence. Guidelines ...
Elk hoof disease likely causes systemic changes
2023-09-28
PULLMAN, Wash. – Elk treponeme-associated hoof disease, previously thought to be limited to deformations in elks’ hooves, appears to create molecular changes throughout the animal’s system, according to epigenetic research from Washington State University.
The findings, published in the journal Scientific Reports, also suggest those changes may be heritable. It remains to be seen though whether this means subsequent generations of elk may be more, or less, prone to catching the devastating disease that severely impairs the elk’s ability to find food and escape predators.
“It’s not just the ...
Wearable device data reveals that reduced sleep and activity in pregnancy is linked to premature birth risk
2023-09-28
A lack of sleep and reduced physical activity during pregnancy are linked to risk of preterm birth, according to new research led by the Stanford School of Medicine.
In the study, which will publish online Sept. 28 in npj Digital Medicine, the researchers collected data from devices worn by more than 1,000 women throughout pregnancy. With a machine learning algorithm, the scientists sifted through participants’ activity information to detect fine-grained changes in sleep and physical activity patterns.
“We showed that an artificial intelligence algorithm can build a ‘clock’ of physical activity and sleep ...
Predicting condensate formation by cancer-associated fusion oncoproteins
2023-09-28
(Memphis, Tenn – September 28, 2023) Many cancers are caused by fusion oncoproteins, molecules that aberrantly form when a rearrangement of DNA results in parts of two different proteins being expressed as one. Several fusion oncoproteins spontaneously form condensates inside cells that promote cancer development. New research by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital established a method to study this biophysical process in cells, then used that information as a launchpad to predict the behavior of other fusion oncoproteins. The findings, which offer insight into ...
Biological particles play crucial role in Arctic cloud ice formation
2023-09-28
An international team of scientists from Sweden, Norway, Japan, and Switzerland, has presented research findings that reveal a crucial role of biological particles, including pollen, spores, and bacteria, in the formation of ice within Arctic clouds. These findings, published today in Nature Communications, have far-reaching implications for climate science and our understanding of the rapidly changing Arctic climate.
The research, whose outcomes have unveiled the connection between biological particles and the formation of ...
Fitness and staving off weight gain may be more important than weight loss for preventing kidney disease in obese adults, Drexel study says
2023-09-28
Fitness and Staving Off Weight Gain May Be More Important than Weight Loss for Preventing Kidney Disease in Obese Adults, Drexel Study Says
As obesity is a contributing factor to chronic kidney disease, weight loss can help mitigate a patient’s risk. But new research suggests that fitness and preventing weight gain could actually play a more important role in reducing risk than weight loss. The findings were published today in the journal Obesity from researchers at Drexel University’s College of Medicine and Dornsife School of Public Health.
The researchers followed 1,208 overweight ...
Child Development journal Q&A: Music intervention programs can enhance parent and baby language interactions
2023-09-28
Previous research shows that conversational turns (interactive conversations) between parents and children are important for a child’s long-term language development and academic achievement and that these conversations can be enhanced via parent-coaching language interventions. The neural networks responsible for language develop rapidly even before a child can talk, making these interactive conversations especially important during infancy.
Music is an engaging and social experience between parents and children that is often part of daily routines during infancy. Emerging literature also documents links between music experiences and child language outcomes. Researchers ...
New program helps improve toddlers’ self-control skills and healthy eating habits
2023-09-28
Two of the best predictors of life-long health and well-being are early childhood self-control skills and healthy eating habits. A new program that teaches parents how to cook with their 2-year-olds is helping toddlers excel on both fronts. Doing things like stirring ingredients together without spilling and singing a song while something is in the microwave helps toddlers learn multiple important self-control skills, like paying attention, controlling their bodies, waiting patiently, and cooperating with their parents. Toddlers also get excited about being involved in the “grown-up” activity and are more likely to try the new foods they help make. Previous research has shown that ...
Cannabis use disorder may be linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease
2023-09-28
A new study has found that Canadian adults with cannabis use disorder appear to have an approximately 60% higher risk of experiencing their first heart attack, stroke, or other major cardiovascular event than those without cannabis use disorder.
The study, published in Addiction, measured the association between problematic marijuana use and the first-time occurrence of adverse cardiovascular disease events such as heart attack, stroke, cardiac dysrhythmias, and peripheral vascular disease.
Researchers used five Canadian health databases to create a cohort of nearly 60,000 participants, half with a cannabis use disorder ...
Fish reveal cause of altered human facial development
2023-09-28
Some substances in medicines, household items and the environment are known to affect prenatal child development. In a study published in Toxicological Sciences, researchers tested the effects of five drugs (including caffeine and the blood thinner warfarin) on the growth of zebrafish embryos. They found that all five had the same effect, impairing the migration of bone-forming cells which resulted in the onset of facial malformation. Zebrafish embryos grow quickly, are transparent and develop outside of the parent’s body, ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Making an impact. Research studies a new side of helmet safety: faceguard failures
Specific long term condition combinations have major role in NHS ‘winter pressures’
Men often struggle with transition to fatherhood amid lack of targeted information and support
More green space linked to fewer preventable deaths in most deprived areas of UK
Immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab improves outcomes for patients with soft tissue sarcoma
A formula for life? New model calculates chances of intelligent beings in our Universe and beyond
Could a genetic flaw be the key to stopping people craving sugary treats?
Experts urge complex systems approach to assess A.I. risks
Fossil fuel CO2 emissions increase again in 2024
Winners of Applied Microbiology International Horizon Awards 2024 announced
A toolkit for unraveling the links between intimate partner violence, trauma and substance misuse
Can everyday physical activity improve cognitive health in middle age?
Updated guidance reaffirms CPR with breaths essential for cardiac arrest following drowning
Study reveals medical boards rarely discipline physician misinformation
New treatment helps children with rare spinal condition regain ability to walk
'Grow Your Own' teacher prep pipeline at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette funded by US Department of Education
Lab-grown human immune system uncovers weakened response in cancer patients
More than 5 million Americans would be eligible for psychedelic therapy, study finds
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia researchers find community health workers play critical role in coordinating asthma care across home, school and community
Comprehensive Genomic Profiling leads to better patient outcomes, new joint study says
Animated movie characters with strabismus are more likely to be villains, study finds
How retailers change ordering strategy when a supplier starts its own direct channel
Young coral use metabolic tricks to resist bleaching
Protecting tax whistleblowers pays off
Bioluminescent proteins made from scratch enable non-invasive, multi-functional biological imaging
New study links air pollution with higher rates of head and neck cancer
LSU researchers excavate earliest ancient Maya salt works
Building a diverse wildland fire workforce to meet future challenges
MBARI researchers discover remarkable new swimming sea slug in the deep sea
Decentralized social media ‘increases citizen empowerment’, says Oxford study
[Press-News.org] For the lonely, a blurred line between real and fictional peopleHow friends, story characters are represented in the brain