Word: brained
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...BRAIN IN LOVE...
Before we could understand the results of our scanning, we had to make an in-depth analysis of the brain pictures. The fMRI machine that we were using shows only blood-flow activity in specific brain regions rather than the chemicals involved. But because scientists know which kinds of nerves connect which kinds of brain regions, they can often surmise which brain chemicals are active when specific regions begin to glow...
...Many brain parts became active in our love-struck subjects when they focused on their beloved. However, two regions appear to be central to the experience of being in love. Perhaps our most important finding concerned activity in the caudate nucleus. This is a large, C-shaped region that sits deep near the center of your brain. It is very primitive--part of what is called the reptilian brain because it evolved long before mammals proliferated, some 65 million years ago. Our brain scans showed that parts of the body and the tail of the caudate became particularly active...
...astonished. Scientists have long known that this brain region directs bodily movement. Only recently have they come to realize that it is also a key part of the brain's "reward system," the mind's network for general arousal, sensations of pleasure and the motivation to acquire rewards. Not only did our subjects exhibit activity in the caudate, but also the more passionate they were, the more active their caudate...
...discovered this in a curious way. Before our subjects entered the brain scanner, we asked each to fill out several questionnaires, including a survey designed by psychologist Elaine Hatfield and sociologist Susan Sprecher called the Passionate Love Scale (see box). We wanted to compare the brain activity of each subject to what that subject reported on a questionnaire. We found a positive correlation: those who scored higher on the Passionate Love Scale also showed more activity in a specific region of the caudate...