The Neuroscience Behind Solitary Confinement

Solitary confinement causes measurable harm to the human brain, and when it is used on children, that harm can be permanent. Neuroscientific research shows that isolation disrupts emotional regulation, impairs cognitive development and entrenches trauma that persists long after a child leaves detention.

Despite this evidence, isolation remains a routine feature of youth detention systems, including in Australia. Children are still being confined for extended periods at critical stages of brain development, exposing them to practices known to cause neurological damage. The consequences are not limited to the time spent in detention. They shape how children process stress, relate to others and function in the community for years to come.

‘Social pain’

Various studies have explored the impact of solitary confinement and isolation on the human brain. It is accepted by the psychology field and wider society that humans have a fundamental need for social connection; the idea that we are social beings that thrive with community is not an unfamiliar one. However, the true effects of being deprived of this social connection are less understood. Through his research, neuroscientist Dr Matthew Lieberman, director of the Social Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory at the University of California, has found that individuals who are in a socially deprived state experience ‘social pain’, which involves “the same neural and neurochemical processes invoked during physical pain.” Essentially, isolation causes the brain to signal distress in the same way as physical pain.

There is increasing evidence in the neuroscience field to suggest that social pain, in activating the same regions in the brain as physical pain, not only results in similar experiences of distress as physical pain, but could also impact physiological responses that ultimately lead to negative physical and mental health outcomes. While the science behind social and physical pain is still being explored, this much is clear – social isolation and disconnection have real and lasting impacts on the human brain.

Deterioration of brain function

Apart from the infliction of social pain, studies into the effects of isolation has revealed that it can cause severe deterioration of brain function in certain areas. Studies of prisoners subjected to long-term solitary confinement show significant changes to brain structure; images demonstrated shrinkage of the hippocampus region, responsible for memory and spatial orientation, as well as increased activity in the amygdala, the area related to fear and anxiety.

In particular, the hippocampus is known for its high neuroplasticity – the ability of the brain to grow and adapt in response to life experiences, notably through reorganise its own connections and pathways. The hippocampus is critical in controlling levels of emotional reactivity and responding to stressors, as well as long-term memory. Under sustained and severe stress, however, the hippocampus loses this ability; it physically shrinks, ultimately causing brain function in this area to fail. The result is loss of emotional and stress regulation, defects in memory and spatial orientation, and in severe cases, lasting changes in mood including depression. This kind of neurological damage persists long after release from detention, and has irreparable effects on an individual’s ability to reintegrate and subsist successfully in society.

Particular effect of isolation on children’s brains

The AHRC’s recent ‘Left Alone’ report into the use of solitary confinement in youth detention in Australia highlighted that children in detention are particularly vulnerable to the effects of isolation due to the fact that they are undergoing significant stages of childhood development. The report emphasised that isolation directly impacts cognitive and physical development of youth detainees. Experiences of isolation and confinement are already traumatising and stressful for children in detention, but this damage is further compounded by the potentially irreparable impacts on essential developmental processes.

Further, the prefrontal cortex area of the brain continues to develop until well into our twenties. This region is responsible for executive functioning such as emotional regulation, reasoning, and decision-making. This means that children in detention are developmentally far less capable of dealing with the stress of isolation. As such, they are far more susceptible to the long-lasting, damaging effects of solitary confinement.  

The Victorian Ombudsman in 2019 acknowledged that while children in detention can be irrational, volatile and unable to self-regulate, this kind of behaviour cannot be fixed through harmful practices that actively hinder rehabilitative prospects.

The science is clear; isolation causes severe neurological damage. Combined with the crucial developmental needs of children’s brains, young people are being put at risk of irreparable, long-term trauma that will follow them far beyond their time in detention.

We need structural reform to ensure that the enduring harm of isolation are widely recognised and acknowledged. The Australian youth justice system must commit to eliminating solitary confinement, not just at law, but in practice, to ensure that children are protected from harm and enabled to grow and thrive past their experiences in detention.