England: A recent study revealed that people who suffer from loneliness are unable to distinguish between imaginary characters and real-life loved ones.

According to media reports, a recent neuroimaging study published in the Oxford scientific journal Cerebral Cortex sheds light on how loneliness affects the mental process of distinguishing between real-life friends and fictional characters from television shows. can do

The study suggests that loneliness can blur the distinction between real friends and their favorite fictional characters in the mind, causing people to experience similar neural responses when thinking about both.

The background of this research is the challenging time of the Corona epidemic which has severely limited the opportunities to socialize with friends and acquaintances. People around the world have turned to other fictional worlds such as television series, books and fiction to fill their feelings of loneliness.