Boing Boing » diane ackerman http://boingboing.net Brain candy for Happy Mutants Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:04:52 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 Diane Ackerman: The Brain on Love http://boingboing.net/2012/03/25/diane-ackerman-the-brain-on-l.html http://boingboing.net/2012/03/25/diane-ackerman-the-brain-on-l.html#comments Mon, 26 Mar 2012 03:01:12 +0000 Xeni Jardin http://boingboing.net/?p=151241 an essay in the New York Times today about the neuroscience of romantic love, by author Diane Ackerman:
While they were both in the psychology department of Stony Brook University, Bianca Acevedo and Arthur Aron scanned the brains of long-married couples who described themselves as still “madly in love.” Staring at a picture of a spouse lit up their reward centers as expected; the same happened with those newly in love (and also with cocaine users).
]]> an essay in the New York Times today about the neuroscience of romantic love, by author Diane Ackerman:

While they were both in the psychology department of Stony Brook University, Bianca Acevedo and Arthur Aron scanned the brains of long-married couples who described themselves as still “madly in love.” Staring at a picture of a spouse lit up their reward centers as expected; the same happened with those newly in love (and also with cocaine users). But, in contrast to new sweethearts and cocaine addicts, long-married couples displayed calm in sites associated with fear and anxiety. Also, in the opiate-rich sites linked to pleasure and pain relief, and those affiliated with maternal love, the home fires glowed brightly.

The Brain on Love (NYT)]]> http://boingboing.net/2012/03/25/diane-ackerman-the-brain-on-l.html/feed 3