Overview

⏱️Schedule:  Doors 18:30 → Talk 19:00→ Q&A → Mingle

Loneliness is everywhere — and almost nobody talks about it honestly. We confuse it with being alone. We treat it as a personal failing. We assume it's a modern problem, a byproduct of screens and cities and busy lives.

But loneliness is far older than any of that. It's biological. And understanding what it actually is — and what it isn't — changes everything about how we respond to it.

Social neuroscience is revealing just how deeply isolation marks us: how it reshapes the way we perceive others, how it affects our health, and why the human brain, above all else, was built for connection. This talk brings that science into the room — and asks what it means for how we live, individually and together.

What we'll cover

• What loneliness actually is — and the common misconceptions that get in the way of addressing it
• The evolutionary roots of loneliness — why humans are biologically wired for connection, and what happens when that need goes unmet
• How chronic loneliness shapes the brain and alters social perception
• What neuroscience tells us about the links between loneliness, health, and well-being
• What individuals and societies can do — evidence-based directions for building genuine connection

Speaker

Ananda Zeas-Sigüenza

Postdoctoral Researcher in Social Neuroscience — Max Planck Society / Developmental Social Vision Lab, Bangor University

Originally from Ecuador, Ananda Zeas-Sigüenza is a social neuroscientist researching loneliness and its impact on mental health, well-being, and social functioning. Drawing on fMRI and behavioural research, her work explores how people process social information and how chronic loneliness influences perception, resilience, and interpersonal experience. She is a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Society and affiliated with the Developmental Social Vision Lab at Bangor University. 

Location