Scientists from Aalto University in the Finnish city of Espoo have discovered an area of the brain associated with the love.
The study, published in the journal Cerebral Cortex, provides the most comprehensive insight yet into the brain activity associated with different types of love. In the study, researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure brain activity in 55 participants. They were asked to imagine different scenarios related to six types of love, including parental love, romantic love, love for friends, strangers, pets and nature.
Analysis of the data showed that the activation pattern of love was generated in social situations in the basal ganglia (subcortical nuclei of nerve ganglia), the middle frontal sulcus, the precuneus (an area of the parietal lobe), and the temporo-parietal ganglion at the side of the occiput.
At the same time, the greatest brain activity arises from parental love for children, specifically in the area of the striatum (the decision-making area). Brain activity depends not only on the proximity of the object of love, but also on its appearance. For example, love of nature activates the reward system and visual areas of the brain, but not social areas—unlike interpersonal love. Compassionate love for strangers has also been found to cause less brain activation than love for loved ones. It was also surprising that pet owners’ brain responses were stronger in areas related to social cognition than non-pet owners. This fact shows a deep connection between people and their pets at the neural level, reports BGNES.
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