Men from Mars and women from Venus? No, says study
January 1st, 2011 - 2:16 pm ICT by ANILondon, Jan 1 (ANI): The 20th century adage that “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus” is a myth, says a new research.
Scientists have shown that men and women act very similarly when in love suggesting that our brains are wired exactly the same way when it comes to love, reports the Telegraph.
Professor Semir Zeki and John Romaya at University College London looked at brain activity during a love affair.
They asked 24 volunteers (half male and half female) to view pictures of their romantic partners, as well as pictures of friends of the same sex as their partners but to whom they were romantically indifferent.
At the same time their brains were scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
The subjects varied in age from 19 to 47, with their relationship lengths varying from 4 months to 23 years.
All reported being passionately in love and in a sexual relationship with their partner.
All of the study participants were asked to rate their feelings towards their romantic partners both before and after scanning.
The results showed a very similar pattern of activity between the different groups and involved activation of both cortical and subcortical areas, mainly in areas that are rich in dopaminergic (”feel good”) neurotransmitter activity.
The studies also showed that love could be blind. It found there is extensive deactivation of large parts of the cerebral cortex when lovers view pictures of their romantic partners.
The research was published in the journal PLoS One. (ANI)
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