Fighting Social Atrophy

Most of us have grown less sociable—and less capable of being sociable—in the years since the pandemic, and researcher and writer **Dr. Sarah Stein Lubrano** explains why. She explores the most recent neuroscience research on how the brain responds to social isolation, and what the measurable sharp rise in hours spent alone over recent decades in countries like the US and the UK might mean for society.

Drawing on dozens of studies and her own interviews with the scientists behind them, she illuminates what really happens when people spend more time alone. In this *Ethical Matters* talk Sarah shows how the social brain can atrophy much like an unused muscle, diminishing the regions that govern memory, emotion, and social trust, while paradoxically activating those engaged in imagination. The result is a mind less able to read others, yet keener to invent stories about them.

**Dr Sarah Stein Lubrano** holds a PhD from the University of Oxford and a Master’s degree from the University of Cambridge. Her thinking often reaches the public through the Sense and Solidarity Initiative and the Future Narratives Lab. She was previously the Head of Content at The School of Life, tutored in prisons and wrote obituaries. She regularly appears on public radio and a variety of podcasts.

Presented by Conway Hall.

This is an all ages event. Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.