New study highlights the role of social support and psychological resilience on functional connectivity in the brain
Nibal Khudeish, Shukti Ramkiran, Dominik Nießen, Dilsa Cemre Akkoc, Ravichandran Rajkumar, Jürgen Dammers, N. Jon Shah, Tanja Veselinovic and Irene Neuner
20th May 2024
Recent research on psychological resilience has shifted towards examining the protective factors in mentally healthy populations, adding to the traditional focus on psychopathology. Within this context, social support has been identified as a key element in the complex interaction of individual and socio-environmental factors that contribute to psychological resilience.
Using advanced neuroimaging techniques at 7 T MRI, this study, conducted by INM-4 researchers, examines how social support influences the relationship between psychological resilience and brain connectivity in a group of 30 healthy participants.
Key results from this research reveal that perceived social support significantly (p<0.001) alters functional connectivity in several brain regions, including the right and left frontopolar cortex (FP), the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), and the left hippocampus, affirming the pivotal roles of these regions in the brain’s resilience network. Notably, the right FP demonstrated a significant interaction effect where high social support levels were linked to increased connectivity with regions involved in socio-cognitive processing, while low social support showed opposite effects. Similar patterns were observed in the left FP, with connectivity changes in regions associated with emotional regulation and cognitive functions. The PCC’s connectivity was distinctly influenced by support levels, elucidating its role in emotional and social cognition. Interestingly, the connectivity of the left hippocampus was not significantly impacted by social support levels, indicating a unique pattern within this region.
These findings emphasise the importance of strong social support networks in enhancing the brain’s resilience and adaptive responses to challenges. Understanding these neural mechanisms can inform better mental health strategies and interventions. Future studies from the group will focus on investigating targeted interventions that leverage social support to foster resilience, providing new pathways to support recovery in individuals facing traumatic brain injury, and trauma and stress-related disorders.
Original publication: The interaction effect of high social support and resilience on functional connectivity using seed-based resting-state assessed by 7-Tesla ultra-high field MRI