Neuroscience of Grief: What happens inside our brain after a loss?

Published by Aaradhana Reddy

Counselling Psychologist

Grief is a time of overwhelming emotions and distress. Everybody processes grief and its emotions in their own way. People often experience sadness, anger, shock, yearning in response to a loss. Grief has been perceived exclusively as a socio-cultural and psychological phenomenon, but with scientific advancements in neuroscience and brain imaging we now realize that grief has neurobiological underpinnings that in turn influence emotional processing and regulation, cognitive functioning etc. Socio-cultural aspects again can also have an impact on our neurobiology as well. Depending on the loss and type of grief, the internal working of the brain and the activation and deactivation of certain brain circuits takes place. For example: how our brain responds to the loss of a pet or a friend or a partner differs. Heightened or suppressed activity in amygdala, prefrontal cortex, hippocampus differs greatly in case of delayed grief, complicated grief and disenfranchised grief.

You can read more about the types of grief and how to cope with it in our article.

Neuroscience of Grief

Scholars look at grief as a learning process. After any significant loss, our brain needs to rewire itself as it learns to cope and deal with moving on without the person/relationship etc. This involves various regions in the brain and the consequent activation or reduction in different brain regions depends on the stage of grief. Below are some of the areas in brain that are frequently associated with grief.

• Amygdala: Especially in the initial stages of grief, there is heightened activity in amygdala. Amygdala is part of the limbic system in our brain responsible for emotional processing, processing emotional memories, threat detection etc. In the initial stages of grief, loss is perceived as a threat to survival, leading to heightened activity in the amygdala. Fear, sadness, yearning and other emotional responses are associated with the heightened activity in amygdala. In typical processing of grief, as the individual moves towards acceptance, activity resumes back to normal.

• Prefrontal Cortex: Prefrontal cortex is responsible for higher order thinking like decision making, emotional regulation, impulse control, problem solving etc. During grief there is diminished activity in this area. The overwhelming emotions and increased activation of amygdala can take over the brain and reduce activity in the prefrontal cortex. That’s why during the initial stages, some are inconsolable. Emotional regulation, clarity and decision making becomes tough as amygdala takes over and also with diminished activity in the prefrontal cortex. But with time if the individual is moving forward towards adjustment and acceptance, amygdala activity reduces and activity is resumed in the prefrontal cortex leading to clarity, processing the loss and restorative orientation.

• Hippocampus: Hippocampus is associated with memory formation and retrieval and during grief there is reduced activity. Grief is known to physically alter the size and structure of the hippocampus. During grief, there is elevated cortisol levels which leads to neural connections being altered. During the reduced activity, cognitive functions associated with hippocampus are affected, leading to memory lapses and forming new memories. But, there can also be increased activity in the hippocampus since emotional memories with the person, relationship, pet etc. are also stored here. Retrieval of these memories can trigger strong emotional responses often complicating the grief process. With time and neuroplasticity, size, structure and function are restored.

• Posterior Cingulate Cortex (PCC): There is increased activity in PCC, which plays a significant role in processing grief. It is involved in retrieving autobiographical memories, processing its emotional attachment and also processing the pain associated with the loss. Once acceptance and restorative orientation is reached, activity goes back to normal.

• Anterior cingulate Cortex (ACC): There is increased activity in ACC. ACC is involved in processing emotional responses to stress. Pain, sadness, yearning etc. associated with grief are processed and regulated here. It’s an attempt made by the brain to process grief. Heightened activity in ACC is a good sign of grief being processed; meaning that it is facilitating the individual towards adaptation and good emotional processing and regulation. Diminished activity is associated with prolonged grief disorder.

• Nucleus Accumbens: Nucleus Accumbens is associated with reward processing. During typical or normal grief there is low activity. But it comes active especially during Prolonged Grief Disorder. We will understand more about the role of Nucleus Accumbens in the following section (Statharakos, 2025).

Neuroscience and Neurological underpinnings of Prolonged Grief Disorder:

            As we have seen above prolonged grief disorder is when grief processing goes beyond the typical time or is not in conformity with cultural expectations. In PGD we see prolonged heightened activity in amygdala and sustained diminished activity in the prefrontal cortex making it difficult to regulate emotional responses to grief. This means that overwhelming and sharp emotional responses to grief do not stabilize over time giving no chance for the prefrontal cortex to process loss and regulate emotions. Sustained underactivity continues in the hippocampus continuing disturbances to memory formation and retrieval. There is sustained activity in PCC continuing the emotional attachment to the deceased. There is reduced activity in ACC, making it difficult to disengage from the loss where emotional processing and regulation is not happening.

Another area of disruption in PGD is the Default Mode network (DNM). DNM is a network of areas in the brain that are involved in self-reflective thought, processing past memories etc. During grief there is a disruption in the DNM altering cognitive processing and emotional regulation. During PGD, the DNM becomes overactive (which includes the PCC) and connects itself to other emotional processing centers like the Salience network and reward networks (contianing nucleus accumbens). Overactive DNM and the connected salience network leads to rumination about the loss, persistent negative emotions and maladaptive narratives about the loss.

Its connection with the reward networks mimics addiction. Increased activity in nucleus accumbens seen in PGD is linked to craving like responses to the deceased, their memories/things constantly reinforcing emotional attachment making it difficult to detach. Individual constantly wants to reunite with the loved one or reminded of the loved one which causes surges in dopamine. The brain just like in cases of addiction reduces the dopamine production to balance the surges. It then leads to intense craving and yearning for the deceased to balance out the deficiency. PGD is associated with reduced dopamine. PGD is also associated with persistently elevated oxytocin levels (oxytocin plays a binding role in emotional attachment) which reinforces emotional attachment to the decreased inhibiting the individual from moving on. All of the above leads to a fixation with the deceased. This coupled with poor emotional regulation and decision making, makes it difficult to process grief, adapt and move on (Statharakos, 2025).

When should i seek professional help for grief?

If your grief is interfering with your work/education, personal relationships and social life; you must seek help. If you feel like you are unable to express your grief or your grief is not being acknowledged or validated and this is causing you significant distress and you feel stuck with no support; it is important to seek professional help to process your grief in a healthy way.

At Safe Space Counselling, we provide safe spaces for expression of grief and provide counselling and emotional support for people dealing with bereavement, traumatic losses and other situations causing grief.

To understand more about our approach to grief, you can visit our grief services page.  

Alternatively, you can also reach to us or chat with us.

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References

Statharakos, N. (2025). Unraveling the Neurobiology of Grief: Insights into Brain andBehavior–Narrative Review. Brain Science Advances, 1-12.

Author

Aaradhana Reddy is a Counselling Psychologist with over 8 years of experience with both adolescents and adults. She specializes in adolescent mental health concerns and in dealing with various mental health disorders and other psychological concerns. She is a trained and experienced Cognitive Behavior Therapist and a passionate writer about mental health. She aims to raise awareness on mental health through her practice and blog.