Solitary confinement

===Physical===

Solitary confinement has been reported to cause [[hypertension]], [[headaches]], profuse sweating, [[dizziness]], and [[heart palpitations]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shalev |first1=Sharon |title=Prisons in health |date=2014 |publisher=World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe |location=Copenhagen |isbn=978-92-890-5059-3 |pages=27–35}}</ref> Many individuals in solitary experience extreme weight loss due to digestion complications and abdominal pain. They can also develop neck and back pain and muscle stiffness due to long periods of little to no physical activity. These symptoms have been linked to the intense anxiety and [[sensory deprivation]] caused by isolation, and often worsen with repeated visits to solitary.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Corcoran |first1=Mary|title=Effects of Solitary Confinement on the Wellbeing of Prison Inmates|url=https://wp.nyu.edu/steinhardt-appsych_opus/effects-of-solitary-confinement-on-the-well-being-of-prison-inmates/|access-date=27 May 2021|website=Applied Psychology Opus|publisher=NYU Steinhardt|archive-date=29 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829162343/https://wp.nyu.edu/steinhardt-appsych_opus/effects-of-solitary-confinement-on-the-well-being-of-prison-inmates/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Studies have shown that solitary confinement also has a marked effect on the [[human brain]]. [[Functional magnetic resonance imaging|fMRI scans]] have found that social isolation causes brain activity nearly identical to hunger cravings, and that it activates the same regions of the brain as physical pain.<ref name = factsheet>{{cite web |last1=Riccobene |first1=Veronica |title=Solitary Confinement and the Brain: The Neurological Effects |url=https://solitarywatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/SW-Fact-Sheet-5-Neurological-Effects-v230613.pdf |publisher=Solitary Watch |date=June 2023}}</ref> Furthermore, the sensory deprivation of solitary has been found to cause reduced [[electroencephalography]] (EEG) frequency on brain scans.<ref name = factsheet /> The part of the brain that plays a major role in memory has been shown to physically shrink after long periods without human interaction.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Herring |first=Tiana |date=December 8, 2020 |title=The research is clear: Solitary confinement causes long-lasting harm |url=https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2020/12/08/solitary_symposium/ |access-date=2023-12-08 |website=Prison Policy Initiative |language=en}}</ref> One study that placed adult rats in solitary-like conditions found that, after a month in isolation, the rats' [[neurons]] had shrunk by 20 percent.<ref>{{cite conference |vauthors=Heng V, Zigmond MJ, Smeyne RJ |date=5 November 2018 |title=Neurological effects of moving from an enriched environment to social isolation in adult mice |url=https://www.abstractsonline.com/pp8/#!/4649/presentation/20940 |conference=Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting}}</ref>