Regional brain activity during early-stage intense romantic love predicted relationship outcomes after 40 months: An fMRI assessment

► We followed up with participants from an fMRI study of early-stage romantic love. ► Follow-up assessed relationship status, happiness, and commitment 40 months later. ► Early-stage activations and deactivations in several regions predicted better outcomes. ► We discuss results in relation to reward, evaluation, mood, and emotion regulation.