As reported in the Daily Telegraph , 23rd of May 2009.
The euphoria of young love can last for decades, a scientific study has indicated.
People married for more than 20 years experienced the same brain activity as young lovers when shown pictures of their partners.
In both groups, the photograph stimulated the part of the brain associated with euphoria, researchers found. The ventral tegmental area is also activated when people take cocaine. However, some differences between the early and late-stage lovers emerged in MRI scans. People in long-term relationships showed higher levels of activity in a part of the brain associated with calmness and pain suppression.
Those in the throes of a new romance were more stimulated in a region connected with obsession and anxiety, according to researchers at Rutgers University in New Jersey.
2 comments:
Isn't it the other way around? The brain activity explains the 20 years...
Could well be, though there are those who would argue that after 20+ years with someone they are actually pretty brain dead.
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