Have you ever wondered if it’s love or lust that you’re feeling when you begin a new relationship? Well the answer lies in which part of your brain you’re using.
The study was released in the Journal of Sexual Medicine and analysed 20 different studies related to the effects of sex and love on the body.
Research included brain scans of people looking erotic images, pictures of loved ones, food and other pleasure triggers.
According to researchers from the study, lust triggers the parts of the brain that control pleasurable feelings, associated with sex and food, but love triggers the parts of the brain that associate with habit.
Researchers said there are two parts of the brain that a responsible for tracking how sexual desire develops into love, the insula and the striatum.
Jim Pfaus, a professor of psychology at Concordia University in Montreal and lead author of the study told ABC News, “We assign different language to love and sexual desire and addiction, but really, they’re all being processed in a similar place.”
The study showed that the brain treats love like a habit that has formed over a long period of time. So what used to be lust, may turn to love and transfer to the habit part of the brain.
The same pattern occurs when people become addicted to drugs, so love really is like a drug!
Jim Pfaus said, “Habits usually get a bad reputation, but it’s an important thing that the brain imposes. The change from desire to love is the bonding mechanism in relationships.”
Pfaus believes that this research will act as a cornerstone to other research in the field.
He said, “This research speaks to evolution and it could help understand addiction, love and other social neuroscience research.
Cara Mason @Cara_FAM
by Cara Mason
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