Stony Brook Researchers: Romantic Love Can Last

New evidence published this week by a team of scientists from suggests that long-term love can last.

Led by Dr. Bianca Acevedo and Dr. Arthur Aron and published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, the study found similarities in brain activity between couples who had recently fallen in love and those who have been married an average of 21 years. 

The researchers used a method called functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure brain activity in ten men and seven women, all of whom said they were still madly in love with their long-term spouses, while they viewed photos of their spouses. Researchers established control data by measuring brain activity while the participants looked at pictures of friends and acquaintances. The study utilized Aron's previous work studying new couples, conducted in 2005.

The scientists noted neural correlations in the area of the brain associated with reward and motivation, known as the ventral tegmental area.

"Interestingly, the same [ventral tegmental area] region showed greater activation for those in the long-term couple group who scored especially high on romantic love scales and a closeness scale based on questionnaires," Acevedo said in a statement.

Said to be the first of its kind, according to a university statement, this research may help scientists determine why people can stay in love.

The scientists themselves are involved in related endeavors, the university said Friday. Acevedo has founded The Foundation for Healthy Relationships & Lives and Aron, who recently was honoring innovative educators, will explore ways the new research can help improve the marriages of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. One co-author, Dr. Helen Fisher of Rutgers University, works with Chemistry.com, which helps people meet potential love interests through personality profiling.