Is it Really Love You are Feeling Right Now? Brain Scans Can Now Tell!

Love is probably the most inexplicable word in the dictionary, yet all humans are fascinated by it. There are many descriptions about love, and different people have varied opinions on what love truly is.

I guess there is no concrete definition, and that the dictionary just included the word for the sake of not skipping words in alphabetical order. So really now, what is love?

The Father of Biology, Aristotle even gave his own interpretation of what love is through this famous line:

“Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.”

In the modern times, scientists theorize love as,

“A motivational state associated with a desire to enter or maintain a close relationship with a specific other person.”

Can This Be Love?

Both statements have a point but we think the best way to know the most accurate answer is by performing a scientific study involving diagnostic tests and thorough research. A group of scientists performed brain imaging studies among male and females students of Southwest University in China. The resting state functional MRI (rsfMRI) results published by the Frontiers in Human Neuroscience journal reveal that there are huge differences between the brains of people in love, previously in love, and never have loved.

During the test, the participants were not asked to think about anything.

Even so, the brain scans show that people who said that they are in love have more brain activity in the motivation, rewards, and social parts of the brain than those who said that they are not in love.

The scan also determined the extent of the ‘love feeling’ based on how long the participant has had those feelings.

Additionally, the individuals who have not been in love for a long time have shown decreased brain activity. Although the brain can tell if the person is currently in love, it doesn’t exactly determine how long the feelings will last.

Hmmm… So, there’s no way to tell if this love could last?

This field of study has a long way to go. At present, there are so much more to discover and investigate so that a concrete scientific answer can surface. But with the current studies being performed, such as the one mentioned above, the future is bright for this kind of neuronal love discipline.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below!