Romantic Love (original) (raw)

This research review based on literature derived from a Pubmed search on the terms romantic love revealed only 149 studies from 1953 to 2016. These include self-report and behavior observation studies as well as research on neurotransmitter/ neurohormonal systems and electrophysiological monitoring and neuroimaging. The protocol used in most of these studies involved fMRI responses by the romantic love person viewing photos of the loved one versus photos of familiar and/or unfamiliar others. Although as many as nine areas have been activated by love photos, the most frequently included the orbitofrontal cortex, the ventral tegmental area, the caudate nucleus and the anterior and posterior cingulates.