Different types of love activate distinct neurological pathways
Neuroimaging and neurobiological evidence indicates that different types of love, such as maternal and romantic love, recruit both shared and distinct neural pathways and brain regions.
The retrieved papers provide robust fMRI and meta-analytic evidence showing that different types of love (e.g., romantic, maternal, friendship, and love for nature or pets) engage distinct patterns of brain activity, particularly across reward and social cognition networks, while sharing common evolutionary underpinnings.
Blumenthal SA, Young LJ. The Neurobiology of Love and Pair Bonding from Human and Animal Perspectives.. 2023. https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12060844
This review highlights how distinct neurochemicals and neural circuits regulate different bond types, such as maternal bonding versus partner pair bonding.
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Shih HC, Kuo ME, Wu CW, Chao YP, Huang HW, Huang CM. The Neurobiological Basis of Love: A Meta-Analysis of Human Functional Neuroimaging Studies of Maternal and Passionate Love.. 2022. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12070830
A meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies identifies both overlapping and dissociable neural substrates (such as VTA activation patterns) associated with maternal versus passionate love.
Rinne P, Lahnakoski JM, Saarimäki H, Tavast M, Sams M, Henriksson L. Six types of loves differentially recruit reward and social cognition brain areas.. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhae331
An fMRI study investigating six types of love demonstrates that brain activity during feelings of love depends significantly on its object, differentially recruiting reward and social cognition areas.
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