For many people, it seems like a natural assumption that love and desire are related in the brain. However, scientists were curious about what areas of the brain become active when feelings of love and desire arise. In a recent study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, researches found that the brain is, indeed, the center of emotional love and desire and they are interrelated.
You Light Up My Brain
Researchers from Concordia University examined brain studies of individuals as they were looking at erotic photographs and pictures of their spouses or partners. According to Jim Pfaus of Concordia University, previous brain studies had not examined the connection between emotional feelings of love and physical desire to determine where brain activity is triggered.
Interestingly, researchers discovered that the area of the brain related to sexual desire was adjacent to the area of the brain that became excited when feelings of love were stimulated. They also discovered that the same area of the brain that is connected to drug addiction is where sexual pleasure and desire are centered. When sexual desire is rewarded with pleasurable neurochemicals, the adjacent emotional area where love is located also becomes aroused as a secondary neurological response.
Researchers hypothesize that love is the result of pleasure centers in the brain becoming habituated to enjoyable feelings through sexual arousal and desire. When those enjoyable neurochemicals are repeatedly associated with one person, they become interpreted as emotional feelings of love.
From a psychological perspective, the results of this study pose an interesting question regarding the underlying triggers for romantic love. In surveys of couples with successful long term relationships, many couples report that continued sexual activity over the course of their relationship is one of the cornerstones of their love and commitment.
Do you believe that sexual attraction is what stimulates romantic love? How do you and your partner keep the spark going in your relationship?
– The Alternative Daily
