The neural basis of romantic love

Citation
A. Bartels et S. Zeki, The neural basis of romantic love, NEUROREPORT, 11(17), 2000, pp. 3829-3834
Citations number
34
Categorie Soggetti
Neurosciences & Behavoir
Journal title
NEUROREPORT
ISSN journal
09594965 → ACNP
Volume
11
Issue
17
Year of publication
2000
Pages
3829 - 3834
Database
ISI
SICI code
0959-4965(20001127)11:17<3829:TNBORL>2.0.ZU;2-9
Abstract
The neural correlates of many emotional states have been studied, most rece ntly through the technique of fMRI. However, nothing is known about the neu ral substrates involved in evoking one of the most overwhelming of all affe ctive states, that of romantic love, about which we report here, The activi ty in the brains of 17 subjects who were deeply in love was scanned using f MRI, while they viewed pictures of their partners, and compared with the ac tivity produced by viewing pictures of three friends of similar age, sex an d duration of friendship as their partners. The activity was restricted to foci in the medial insula and the anterior cingulate cortex and, subcortica lly, in the caudate nucleus and the putamen, all bilaterally. Deactivations were observed in the posterior cingulate gyrus and in the amygdala and wer e right-lateralized in the prefrontal, parietal and middle temporal cortice s. The combination of these sites differs from those in previous studies of emotion, suggesting that a unique network of areas is responsible for evok ing this affective state. This leads us to postulate that the principle of functional specialization in the cortex applies to affective states as well . NeuroReport 11:3829-3834 (C) 2000 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.