Research: Wounds of the Isolated Take Longer to Heal

We naturally turn to good friends when we feel emotionally wounded. Now a study conducted by University of Ohio professor of psychology and neuroscience Courtney DeVries suggests that bosom buddies may hasten the healing of physical wounds as well. DeVries and her colleagues monitored the healing of small skin wounds on hamsters when they were isolated and stressed and when they shared a cage with siblings. It turned out that the wounds of socially isolated hamsters took nearly twice as long to heal.

To find out how social contact may aid healing, the researchers then measured levels of the stress hormone cortisol in their subjects. In the isolated hamsters, the level proved to be one-and-a-half times that of the paired hamsters. In another experiment, the researchers treated one group of socially isolated hamsters with oxytocin, a hormone released during social bonding, while another socially isolated group was treated with an oxytocin blocker. The hamsters with increased levels of oxytocin healed faster.

So the next time somebody tells you "Time heals all wounds," speed things up by calling a friend. (See Psychoneuroendocrinology, Volume 29, Issue 8.)