Schedule of Events | Symposia

Resting Parasympathetic Activity Moderates Loneliness-Related Approach Behaviors Across Populations

Poster Session D - Monday, March 31, 2025, 8:00 – 10:00 am EDT, Back Bay Ballroom/Republic Ballroom

Mary S. Mousa¹, Anita Restrepo², Emily Silver², Alexander C. Henoch¹, Kelly E. Faig³, Karen E. Smith¹; ¹Rutgers University-Newark, ²University of Chicago, ³Hamilton College

Loneliness, or perceived social isolation, is thought to simultaneously motivate individuals to seek social engagement (approach) while avoiding potential further rejection. However, the extent to which individuals flexibly leverage these competing motivations varies. The parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) is innervated by prefrontal cortical and subcortical circuits that facilitate motivated responding. Resting PNS activity has been linked to variability in self-regulatory processes. Here, we examine whether resting PNS activity moderates the effects of loneliness on approach and avoidance behaviors in two U.S. populations recruited from Madison, WI, and Newark, NJ. Methods: 191 participants (Madison: 74; Race: majority White Non-Hispanic: 52.7%; Newark: 117; Race: majority Black/African American: 32.7%) aged 18 to 53 years completed a task in which they saw neutral shapes paired with either a positive or negative stimuli and were asked to make decisions about whether to approach or avoid the stimuli. Participants also completed measures of resting PNS activity and self-reported loneliness. Results: Resting PNS activity moderated the effects of loneliness on approach and avoidance behaviors. However, these effects differed across the samples. In the Madison sample, higher loneliness and higher resting PNS activity were associated with increased approach of stimuli regardless of valence. In the Newark sample, higher loneliness and higher resting PNS were associated with increased approach of positive stimuli but increased avoidance of negative stimuli. Conclusions: The findings suggest that while high resting PNS consistently moderates approach and avoidance behaviors in response to loneliness, its effects may differ across contexts and populations.

Topic Area: EMOTION & SOCIAL: Emotional responding