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. 2012 Feb;7(2):145-59.
doi: 10.1093/scan/nsq092. Epub 2011 Jan 5.

Neural correlates of long-term intense romantic love

Bianca P Acevedo  1 , Arthur Aron, Helen E Fisher, Lucy L Brown
Affiliations

Neural correlates of long-term intense romantic love

Bianca P Acevedo et al. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2012 Feb.

Abstract

The present study examined the neural correlates of long-term intense romantic love using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Ten women and 7 men married an average of 21.4 years underwent fMRI while viewing facial images of their partner. Control images included a highly familiar acquaintance; a close, long-term friend; and a low-familiar person. Effects specific to the intensely loved, long-term partner were found in: (i) areas of the dopamine-rich reward and basal ganglia system, such as the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and dorsal striatum, consistent with results from early-stage romantic love studies; and (ii) several regions implicated in maternal attachment, such as the globus pallidus (GP), substantia nigra, Raphe nucleus, thalamus, insular cortex, anterior cingulate and posterior cingulate. Correlations of neural activity in regions of interest with widely used questionnaires showed: (i) VTA and caudate responses correlated with romantic love scores and inclusion of other in the self; (ii) GP responses correlated with friendship-based love scores; (iii) hypothalamus and posterior hippocampus responses correlated with sexual frequency; and (iv) caudate, septum/fornix, posterior cingulate and posterior hippocampus responses correlated with obsession. Overall, results suggest that for some individuals the reward-value associated with a long-term partner may be sustained, similar to new love, but also involves brain systems implicated in attachment and pair-bonding.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Postscan emotion intensity ratings. The y-axis indicates the mean of the intensity ratings given by participants to their long term, intensely loved partner (Partner), close friend (CF), a highly-familiar neutral (HFN) acquaintance and a low-familiar neutral (LFN) acquaintance. A score of 1 indicates not at all and 4 indicates a great deal. Bars indicates ±s.d.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
(A) Individuals self-reporting intense love for a long-term spouse show significant neural activation in dopamine-rich, reward regions of the VTA/SN in response to images of their partner vs a highly familiar acquaintance (HFN). (B) Image and scatter plot illustrating the association between brain response in the VTA and Partner minus close friend (CF), Inclusion of Other in the Self (IOS) scores. Greater closeness with the Partner was associated with greater response in the VTA for the Partner vs a CF. (C) Image and scatter plot illustrating the association between brain response in the NAcc/Caudate and number of years married to the partner. Greater years married was associated with stronger response in the NAcc/Caudate for the Partner (vs a CF). (D) Image and scatter plot illustrating greater response to the Partner (vs HFN) in the region of the posterior hippocampus is associated with higher sexual frequency.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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