Our best buddies are good for our brains

Friends are the family we choose. A family that does us good, especially our brains. Dutch neuroscientists have investigated the effects on the brain of stable friendships in adolescence as opposed to those who frequently change best friends. “It seems friendships in your early years can impact your friendships later in life.”, continues developmental psychologist Lisa Schreuders, author of the study published on January 12 in the journal NatureCommunications.

The ventral stratium in light

For the study, participants had to nominate a best friend for whom they will play and try to win money. They were also asked to complete a questionnaire on the quality of their friendships. The results showed that in the group with the best stable friendships, the answer always referred to the same person, while in the group where the best friendships changed regularly, the young people spoke of different friends. “The development of the brain activity pattern of a young person with a stable best friend is different from that of a young person who does not have such a stable friendship.found Berna Güroğlu, author of the study. We see from their brain activity that these young people react differently, and we also see differences in the quality of friendships between the two groups..”

The researchers focused their study on adolescents, a crucial period for the development of our brain and our social relationships. “A lot happens in adolescencecontinues Lisa Schreuders. Friendships grow closer and the nature of those friendships also changes. We wanted to know if we could identify different developmental pathways from a neuroscientific perspective. Or, in other words, how does the brain of young people who have stable friendships react compared to that of young people with the best unstable friendships?“The researchers focused on a specific area of ​​the brain, the ventral striatum, a region of the brain involved in reward.

A stable friendship, less likely to fade later in life

The young participants then played, several times over four years, a game to try to win money for their best friend. When young people with stable best friendships earn money for their best friend, activity in the ventral striatum first increases and then decreases in the developmental phase from 8 to 30 years. “We don’t see that same curve in teens without a stable best friendship.”, observed the psychologist.

The emphasis on stable friendships increases during adolescence and best friends is important. “At the beginning of your development, it is important to work on your social network first and gather a larger group of young friends around you.advises Lisa Schreuders. Later in adolescence, the need for a stable best friend becomes stronger. We also see that the stability of friendship is related to the bond between friends. For the group with the best stable friendships, the bond with your best friend remains strong throughout the teenage years. For the group with the unstable Best Friendships, the bond with new Best Friends crumbles as people get older. It seems that the type of relationships you had in your youth has consequences for your future friendships..”