Name: The brain in love
Uploaded: 2008-07-15T01:00:00Z
Duration: 15 min 36 s
Description: Why do we crave love so much, even to the point that we would die for it? To learn more about our very real, very physical need for romantic love, Helen Fisher and her research team took MRIs of people in love -- and people who had just been dumped.

Why do we crave love so much, even to the point that we would die for it? To learn more about our very real, very physical need for romantic love, Helen Fisher and her research team took MRIs of people in love -- and people who had just been dumped.

The brain in love

Romantic love lights up the same deep brain circuits as powerful drugs, driving obsession, craving, and even pain when rejected. MRI scans reveal that people in love, and even those still devoted after 25 years, show intense activity in the brain’s reward and attachment centers. Nearly everyone is affected—95 percent of people have both loved deeply and been rejected—showing that the drive for love is universal. Our biology shapes who we desire, as much as our upbringing or culture.