Fig. 4.
The loneliness cycle. The proposed neural mechanism for the herding model of loneliness. AMY: amygdala; premotor: premotor cortex. In relation to loneliness, we postulate that due to disturbances in the repulsion and attraction system, and perhaps in the gap detection too, individuals with high loneliness are unable to reach a state of alignment and therefore sense of connection, as their interpersonal distance is poorly regulated.