Love is more than just a kiss: a neurobiological perspective on love and affection

Love, attachment, and truth of human monogamy have become important research themes in neuroscience. After the introduction of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET), neuroscientists have demonstrated increased interest in the neurobiology and neurochemistry of emotions, including love and affection. Neurobiologists have studied pair-bonding mechanisms in animal models of mate choice to elucidate neurochemical mechanisms underlying attachment and showed possible roles for oxytocin, vasopressin, and dopamine and their receptors in pair-bonding and monogamy. Unresolved is whether these substances are also critically involved in human attachment. The limited number of available imaging studies on love and affection is hampered by selection bias on gender, duration of a love affair, and cultural differences. Brain activity patterns associated with romantic love, shown with fMRI, overlapped with regions expressing oxytocin receptors in the animal models, but definite proof for a role of oxytocin in human attachment is still lacking. There is also evidence for a role of serotonin, cortisol, nerve growth factor, and testosterone in love and attachment. Changes in brain activity related to the various stages of a love affair, gender, and cultural differences are unresolved and will probably become important research themes in this field in the near future. In this review we give a resume of the current knowledge of the neurobiology of love and attachment and we discuss in brief the truth of human monogamy.

▶We evaluate psychological and neurobiological studies of love and affection. ▶We focus on neurochemical mechanisms identified in animal models of pair-bonding. ▶We describe the process of love and affection in humans. ▶We identify knowledge gaps and propose possible studies to bridge these gaps. ▶We discuss in brief the value of human monogamy from an evolutionary perspective.