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Regional Brain Activity in Women Grieving a Romantic Relationship Breakup
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Separation from loved ones commonly leads to grief reactions. In some individuals, grief can evolve into a major depressive episode. The brain regions involved in grief have not been specifically studied. The authors studied brain activity in women actively grieving a recent romantic relationship breakup. It was hypothesized that while remembering their ex-partner, subjects would have altered brain activity in regions identified in sadness imaging studies: the cerebellum, anterior temporal cortex, insula, anterior cingulate, and prefrontal cortex. METHOD: Nine right-handed women whose romantic relationship ended within the preceding 4 months were studied. Subjects were scanned using blood-oxygen-level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging while they alternated between recalling a sad, ruminative thought about their loved one (grief state) and a neutral thought about a different person they knew an equally long time. RESULTS: Acute grief (grief minus neutral state) was associated with increased group activity in posterior brain regions, including the cerebellum, posterior brainstem, and posterior temporoparietal and occipital brain regions. Decreased activity was more prominent anteriorly and on the left and included the anterior brainstem, thalamus, striatum, temporal cortex, insula, and dorsal and ventral anterior cingulate/prefrontal cortex. When a more lenient statistical threshold for regions of interest was used, additional increases were found in the lateral temporal cortex, supragenual anterior cingulate/medial prefrontal cortex, and right inferomedial dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, all of which were adjacent to spatially more prominent decreases. In nearly all brain regions showing brain activity decreases with acute grief, activity decreases were greater in women reporting higher grief levels over the past 2 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: During acute grief, subjects showed brain activity changes in the cerebellum, anterior temporal cortex, insula, anterior cingulate, and prefrontal cortex, consistent with the hypothesis. Subjects with greater baseline grief showed greater decreases in all these regions except for the cerebellum. Further imaging studies are needed to understand the relationship between normal sadness, grief, and depression.
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“In fact, acute grief after a relationship breakup (128,129) or the loss of an unborn child (130) is related to intense responses of the physical pain network encompassing the ACC and insula.”
From Dissecting the Role of Oxytocin in the Formation and Loss of Social Relationships (2016) · cites this paper as [128]
In the citing paper
“Finally, they found that activity in the anterior cingulate, insula, and amygdala was inversely related to the level of a subject’s grief.”
From The human parental brain: In vivo neuroimaging (2011) · cites this paper as Najib et al., 2004
In the citing paper
“In contrast to the romance-studies which found activations in the anterior cingulate, they also found that romantic grief was consistently associated with deactivations in this region.”
From The human parental brain: In vivo neuroimaging (2011) · cites this paper as Najib et al., 2004
In the citing paper
“They found that acute grief related to the loss of a romantic attachment figure modulated activity in some of the same areas implicated in social attachment and parenting when they recalled sad thoughts about their loved one (Najib et al., 2004).”
From The human parental brain: In vivo neuroimaging (2011) · cites this paper as Najib et al., 2004
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“In fact, acute grief after a relationship breakup (128,129) or the loss of an unborn child (130) is related to intense responses of the physical pain network encompassing the ACC and insula.”
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“The first two phases are those with the greatest reactive and externalizing vulnerability (Sbarra and Emery, 2005; Emery, 2011) and tend to cover the first year after the dissolution (Sprecher et al., 1998; Najib et al., 2004; Norona and Olmstead, 2017; Verhallen et al., 2019; Lee et al., 2020; Cope and Mattingly, 202…”
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“We additionally included the breakup of a steady relationship (item 6) as there is evidence that the breakup of a steady relationship is experienced as an AL and increases the risk for poor mental health (Najib et al., 2004; Sbarra, 2006).”
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“Additionally, both romantic rejection (Fisher et al., 2010; Najib et al., 2004; Yttredahl et al., 2018) and PTSD (Etkin & Wager, 2007; Morey et al., 2012; Shin & Liberzon, 2010) have been linked to amygdala and insular cortex activation in response to traumatic (i.e., fear inducing) stimuli.”
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Acevedo, B. P. (2015) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-9622-9_9 · Cited by 13
“The accumbens has also been implicated in studies of unrequited love (e.g., Fisher et al. 2010; Najib et al. 2004) and grief for a loved one (O’Connor et al.”
BackgroundThe Neurobiology and Genetics of Affiliation and Social Bonding in Animal Models
Donaldson, Z. R., & Young, L. J. (2016) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-3777-6_4 · Cited by 12
The Speed of Passionate Love, As a Subliminal Prime: A High-Density Electrical Neuroimaging Study
Cacioppo, S., Grafton, S. T., & Bianchi-Demicheli, F. (2012) · NeuroQuantology · doi:10.14704/nq.2012.10.4.509 · Cited by 11
The role of amygdala during auditory verbal imagery of derogatory appraisals by others
Kim, J.-W., Choi, E. A., Kim, J., Jeong, B., Kim, S. E., & Ki, S. W. (2008) · Neuroscience Letters · doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2008.09.019 · Cited by 11
Romantic Relationship Dissolution, Microbiota, and Fibers
Chuang, J.-Y. (2021) · Frontiers in Nutrition · doi:10.3389/fnut.2021.655038 · Cited by 10
“Furthermore, aberrant brain activations in the cerebellum, insula, pre-frontal cortex, anterior temporal cortex, and anterior cingulate after romantic relationship dissolution have been documented (19).”
BackgroundKoliatsos, V. E., Wisner-Carlson, R., & Watkins, C. C. (2020) · Psychiatric Clinics of North America · doi:10.1016/j.psc.2020.02.007 · Cited by 10
Hatfield, E. C., Rapson, R. L., & Purvis, J. (2020) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190647162.001.0001 · Cited by 18
Behold the Once and Future Me: Online Identity After the End of a Romantic Relationship
Pinter, A. T., & Brubaker, J. R. (2022) · Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction · doi:10.1145/3555097 · Cited by 10
“, [76]), and social work and therapy (e.”
BackgroundA Hypothalamic Perspective of Human Socioemotional Behavior
Carìa, A. (2023) · The Neuroscientist · doi:10.1177/10738584221149647 · Cited by 10
Gilet, A.-L. (2008) · Cited by 8
L’addiction amoureuse existe-t-elle ?
Reynaud, M. (2010) · Annales Médico-psychologiques revue psychiatrique · doi:10.1016/j.amp.2010.06.006 · Cited by 7
When Love Dies: Further Elucidating the Existence of a Mate Ejection Module
Boutwell, B. B., Barnes, J. C., & Beaver, K. M. (2015) · Review of General Psychology · doi:10.1037/gpr0000022 · Cited by 7
“…of romantic love, neuroimaging analysis of subjects who report currently being in love, as well as those who report enduring the end of a relationship, are helping to provide insight into the origins of attraction and romance in humans (Aron et al., 2005; Fisher et al., 2006; Najib et al., 2004).”
Backgroundvan der Watt, A. S. J., du Plessis, S., Ahmed-Leitao, F., Roos, A., Lesch, E., & Seedat, S. (2024) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2024.04.059 · Cited by 8
Yang, Y., Wang, C., Shi, J., & Zou, Z. (2024) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2024.109003 · Cited by 6
Data-driven analysis of functional brain interactions during free listening to music and speech
Fang, J., Hu, X., Han, J., Jiang, X., Zhu, D., Guo, L., & Liu, T. (2014) · Brain Imaging and Behavior · doi:10.1007/s11682-014-9293-0 · Cited by 7
Chapter 14. Role of Couples Relationships in Understanding and Treating Mental Disorders
Whisman, M. A. (2006) · American Psychiatric Association Publishing eBooks · doi:10.1176/appi.books.9781615377695.lg14 · Cited by 6
Cognition, emotion and reward networks associated with sex differences for romantic appraisals
Yin, J. L., Zou, Z., Song, H., Zhang, Z., Yang, B., & Huang, X. (2018) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-018-21079-5 · Cited by 6
Parkes, C. M. (2006) · OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying · doi:10.2190/8trv-k2yw-lwf2-49ex · Cited by 6
“The recent research in MRI scanning (Gundel et al., 2003; Najib et al., 2004), immune response systems, and neuro-endocrinology (Goodkin et al., 2001) are beginning to provide us with an understanding of grief as a distinct neurobiological entity and people working in these fields will all be…”
BackgroundChild mortality and parental grief: An evolutionary analysis
Reynolds, T. A., Boutwell, B. B., Shackelford, T. K., Weekes‐Shackelford, V. A., Nedelec, J. L., Beaver, K. M., & Abed, M. G. (2020) · New Ideas in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.newideapsych.2020.100798 · Cited by 5
Passionate love and sexual desire: Multidisciplinary perspectives.
Hatfield, E. C., & Rapson, R. L. (2008) · Cited by 5
Alizadehgoradel, J., Razavi, S. D., Shirani, Z., Barati, M., Taherifard, M., Nejati, V., & Nitsche, M. A. (2024) · Journal of Psychiatric Research · doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2024.05.020 · Cited by 5
The Roles of Spirituality and Sexuality in Response to Romantic Breakup
Hawley, A. R. (2012) · OhioLink ETD Center (Ohio Library and Information Network) · Cited by 4
How Partner Support of an Adolescent Affects Her Pregnancy Outcome
Ney, P. G. (2013) · Cited by 4
The Effects of Romantic Dissolution on Well-Being
Docherty, G. (2009) · cIRcle (University of British Columbia) · doi:10.14288/1.0086033 · Cited by 4
“Originally the item read “Do you experience images of the events surrounding ‘x’s death?” This was modified to “Do you experience images of the events surrounding the breakup with ‘x’?” One prior study (Najib et al., 2004) used the Inventory of Complicated Grief as a measure of reaction to romantic dissolution.”
MethodΤherapists’ accounts of relationship breakup experiences: A narrative analysis
Sahpazi, P., & Balamoutsou, S. (2015) · European Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling · doi:10.1080/13642537.2015.1059867 · Cited by 3
Neurobiological Basis of Emotions
Daum, I., Markowitsch, H. J., & Vandekerckhove, M. M. P. (2008) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-0-387-09546-2_6 · Cited by 6
Love and brain: From mereological fallacy to “folk” neuroimaging
Fusar‐Poli, P., & Broome, M. R. (2007) · Psychiatry Research Neuroimaging · doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2006.11.001 · Cited by 3
Murphy, T. R. (2010) · NeuroQuantology · doi:10.14704/nq.2010.8.4.362 · Cited by 3
Metadata
- Authors
- Najib, A., Lorberbaum, J. P., Kose, S., Bohning, D. E., & George, M. S.
- Affiliations
- Medical University of South Carolina (US)
- ORCID
- George, Mark S.
- Venue
- American Journal of Psychiatry
- Published
- 2004-12-01
- Volume
- 161
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 2245-2256
- ISSN
- 0002-953X (ISSN-L)
- 1535-7228
- OpenAlex
- W2116869263
- Cited by
- 161
- References
- 51
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 25 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 9
- FWCI
- 7.60
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
- Keywords
- acute grief, romantic breakup, brain activity, women, cerebellum, anterior cingulate cortex, prefrontal cortex, insula, anterior temporal cortex, sadness, major depressive episode, ruminative thoughts
- MeSH terms
- Brain, Courtship, Depression, Depressive Disorder, Emotions, Female, Grief, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Functional Laterality, Love, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Oxygen, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Sex Factors, Temporal Lobe, Prefrontal Cortex
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