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The neural basis of romantic love
Abstract
The neural correlates of many emotional states have been studied, most recently through the technique of fMRI. However, nothing is known about the neural substrates involved in evoking one of the most overwhelming of all affective states, that of romantic love, about which we report here. The activity in the brains of 17 subjects who were deeply in love was scanned using fMRI, while they viewed pictures of their partners, and compared with the activity produced by viewing pictures of three friends of similar age, sex and duration of friendship as their partners. The activity was restricted to foci in the medial insula and the anterior cingulate cortex and, subcortically, in the caudate nucleus and the putamen, all bilaterally. Deactivations were observed in the posterior cingulate gyrus and in the amygdala and were right-lateralized in the prefrontal, parietal and middle temporal cortices. The combination of these sites differs from those in previous studies of emotion, suggesting that a unique network of areas is responsible for evoking this affective state. This leads us to postulate that the principle of functional specialization in the cortex applies to affective states as well.
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The initial stage of a romantic relationship is associated with greater neural activity in the left posterior cingulate cortex and caudate regions than later stages.
“In particular, the initial stage of a romantic relationship has been associated with greater neural activity in the left posterior cingulate cortex and caudate regions (Aron et al., 2005; Bartels and Zeki, 2000; Kim et al., 2009) as compared to later stages of the relationship.”
From Oxytocin during the initial stages of romantic attachment: Relations to couples’ interactive reciprocity (2012) · cites this paper as Bartels and Zeki, 2000
Long-term pair-bonds show increased activation in the anterior cingulate, insular cortex, and ventral pallidum.
“On the other hand, activations of cortical regions including the anterior cingulate, insular cortex, and ventral pallidum were increased in long-term pair-bonds (Aron et al., 2005; Bartels and Zeki, 2000; Kim et al., 2009).”
From Oxytocin during the initial stages of romantic attachment: Relations to couples’ interactive reciprocity (2012) · cites this paper as Bartels and Zeki, 2000
Individuals in long-term romantic relationships show similar activation of dopamine-rich reward and social regions when viewing pictures of their partner.
“Interestingly, individuals in long-term romantic relationships show similar activation of DA-rich rewards and social regions when viewing pictures of their partner [46,47].”
From The Neurobiology of Love and Pair Bonding from Human and Animal Perspectives (2023) · cites this paper as [47]
The caudate and putamen show activation upon exposure to partner stimuli.
“The caudate and putamen also show activation upon exposure to partner stimuli, and these regions are involved in emotional processing, motivation, and reward, as well as the execution of movement.”
From The Neurobiology of Love and Pair Bonding from Human and Animal Perspectives (2023) · cites this paper as [47]
Viewing or thinking about a long-term partner activates the IC and ACC.
“Other regions involved in emotional processing are activated when viewing or thinking about a long-term partner. These include the IC and ACC, which are both associated with complex social processes such as empathy and in integrating social, sensory, and emotional information [46,47].”
From The Neurobiology of Love and Pair Bonding from Human and Animal Perspectives (2023) · cites this paper as [47]
The caudate-putamen is activated in humans when viewing faces of loved ones, and this activation correlates with romantic love and passion scores.
“Additionally, the CP is activated in humans when viewing the faces of loved ones, and this activation is correlated with romantic love and passion scores (Bartels and Zeki 2000; Aron et al 2005; Acevedo et al 2012).”
From The behavioral, anatomical and pharmacological parallels between social attachment, love and addiction (2012) · cites this paper as Bartels and Zeki 2000
The Social Rejection task was modeled after prior fMRI research using photographs to elicit powerful emotions and behavioral research indicating that cueing recall of autobiographical rejection experiences effectively reactivates social rejection-related distress.
“The Social Rejection task was modeled after ( i ) fMRI research that used photographs provided by participants to elicit powerful emotions, including maternal love, romantic love, and rejection (8, 44 -46), and ( ii ) behavioral research indicating that cueing people to recall autobiographical rejection experiences is an effective way of reactivating social rejection-related distress (e.g., refs.”
From Social rejection shares somatosensory representations with physical pain (2011) · cites this paper as [45]
Brain regions implicated in feelings of reward, such as VTA, NAcc, and caudate, are activated during perception of a romantic partner's face.
“Neuroimaging studies showed that brain regions implicated in feelings of reward, such as the VTA, NAcc, and caudate that were previously documented in pair bond formation in animal species, are activated during the perception of romantic partner’s face (Acevedo et al. 2012; Aron et al. 2005; Bartels and Zeki 2000; Scheele et al. 2013).”
From A precision medicine approach to oxytocin trials (2017) · cites this paper as Bartels and Zeki 2000
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Metadata
- Authors
- Bartels, A., & Zeki, S.
- Affiliations
- University College London (GB)
- Venue
- NeuroReport
- Published
- 2000-11
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 17
- Pages
- 3829-3834
- ISSN
- 0959-4965 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2114251136
- Cited by
- 1,020
- References
- 16
- Citations by year
- 2026: 16 · 2025: 24 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 43 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 34 · 2020: 88 · 2019: 53 · 2018: 52 · 2017: 59 · 2016: 49 · 2015: 51 · 2014: 30 · 2013: 52 · 2012: 55
- FWCI
- 6.76
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Neuroreport (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Keywords
- romantic love, neural correlates of emotion, anterior cingulate cortex, caudate nucleus, putamen, amygdala, posterior cingulate cortex, hemispheric lateralization, romantic partners, affective states
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Arousal, Attention, Brain, Face, Female, Galvanic Skin Response, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Love, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Nervous System Physiological Phenomena, Sexual Behavior
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