Most brains react in the same way to romantic love, regardless of sexuality or gender, a new study has revealed.
A detailed study of the emotions that can be triggered by love has revealed how they overwhelm the brain.
Professor Semir Zeki and John Romaya, from the Wellcome Laboratory of Neurobiology at University College London, UK, measured the brain activity of 24 participants when they viewed pictures of their romantic partners – and of friends of the same sex as their partners but to whom they were romantically indifferent.
The functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) results showed a similar pattern of activity between the different groups involving the cortical and sub-cortical areas, mainly in areas that are rich in dopaminergic ("feel good") neurotransmitter activity.
Dopaminergic activity is strongly linked to other neurotransmitter activities, such as those mediated by oxytocin and serotonin, which are thought to be important in regulating emotional relationships and bonding between individuals.
The study also revealed a de-activation of large parts of the cerebral cortex when lovers – whether heterosexual or homosexual, female or male – view pictures of their romantic partners.
These de-activated areas involve parts of the temporal, parietal and frontal cortex and include cortical areas thought to be critical in judgment, which may lend credence to the old adage “love is blind”.
“Passionate romantic love is commonly triggered by a visual input and is an all-consuming and disorienting state,” said Professor Zeki.
“Previous studies have demonstrated that despite the complexity of this emotion, the brain patterns triggered when viewing the face of someone you’re in love with are limited to only a few, though richly connected, brain regions.”
This study is a continuation of earlier work from the same lab which described brain activity in terms of romantic and maternal love.
Twenty-four participants – an equal split between male/female, homosexual/heterosexual – aged between 19 and 47 were involved in the study. All had been in relationships between four months to 23 years and all claimed to being passionately in love and in a sexual relationship with their partner.
They were asked to rate their feelings towards their romantic partners both before and after scanning and declare their sexual orientation on the Kinsey rating, which includes groups ranging from exclusively heterosexual to exclusively homosexual.
The brain reaction to viewing faces of opposite- and same-sex romantic partners. Semir Zeki and John Paul Romaya. PLoS One December 31 2010
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