The ventral tegmental area holds great significance between love and the brain; the primitive neural network works together with the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex control. In fMRI studies conducted by a neuroscientist, Stephanie Cacioppo, those three regions (amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex) showed a significant increase in blood flow when talking about a significant other. From Medical News Today, the article “What does love do to our brains?” states, “...in romantic love, a small brain area called the amygdala becomes deactivated. The amygdala is the part of the brain that coordinates fear responses, helping humans stay safe in potentially dangerous situations” (MNT 3). Love skews the mind in uncontrollable ways, The deactivation of the amygdala proves how love goes without bounds so much so that one who is in love blurs out realities and bases everything on perception. The hippocampus, associated with memory, responses to stress, and learning, tend to be larger when exposed to love at an early age. The research by the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and other researchers at Washington University School of Medicine indicated that mothers who psychologically nurture their children are more likely to have a larger hippocampus. Love not only clouds judgment and the mind with the amygdala, but it also correlates with an increase in memory, stress, and learning within children. The hippocampus’ significance with love does not end there though, Forbes reports, that women, who have larger hippocampuses, present greater activity in that area when in love. The brain’s response to love can let women remember more of their romantic partner and cloud judgments. Lastly, the prefrontal cortex also holds significance with love. “The frontal cortex is the center of executive functioning, judgment, and logic, all of which get thrown overboard in love” (Castro 8). In the frontal cortex and love, there is decreased activation where it relaxes the judgemental criteria from which our mind controls. Like the saying “Love is Blind” such phrases can be classified as true in a way, as humans tend to fall in love, and deactivation of the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex occurs.
Other areas of the brain are also connected with love. The basal ganglia, known for being responsible for motor control, activates when looking at their long-term partner. The area only activates with long-term companionship. As initial attraction and excitement from love wears off, commitment between partners occurs and activation areas increase and expand. The basal ganglia activates when humans become heavily involved in attachment which explains the reason couples stay together even through hard times. The basal ganglia is responsible for lasting and longer relationships as it forms attachments and long-term bonds in our brain. Love also increases activation in the angular gyrus, an area associated with complex language functions, and the mirror neuron system, the region in your brain that helps you anticipate the actions of a loved one. The mirror neuron system is a prime example of how couples can complete each other’s sentences and understand each other even without speaking. From the repetitive phrases that come with love, the phrase “some couples are better together than the sum of their parts” can relate to this and be shown through the mirror neuron system. (Novotney). The nucleus accumbens located in the central forebrain, floods the brain with dopamine and can be responsible for increasing infatuation or obsession with an initial crush.
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