The science behind break-ups

MRIs reveal state of love activates same areas in the brain as cocaine use does

NEW YORK: People are hardwired to fall out of love and move onto new romantic relationships, shows research from Saint Louis University.”We have a mechanism in our brains designed by natural selection to pull us through a very tumultuous time in our lives,” said Brian Boutwell, associate professor at Saint Louis University.

“It suggests people will recover; the pain will go away with time. There will be a light at the end of the tunnel,” he added. Men and women might break up for different reasons. For instance, a man is more likely to end a relationship because a woman has had a physicalrelationship with another man.

“For evolutionary reasons, men should be wired to try and avoid raising children that are not genetically their own,” the authors wrote.”Men are particularly sensitive to infidelity between their partner and someone else,” Boutwell said. “That is not to say women do not get jealous. They certainly do but it is especially acute for men regarding infidelity.”

On the other hand, a woman may be more likely to break up if her partner has been emotionally unfaithful partly because of evolutionary reasons. Sometimes both men and women end a relationship for the same reason.

“For instance, neither gender tends to tolerate or value cruelty on the part of their partner,” Boutwell noted.

Brain imaging studies of men and women who claimed to be deeply in love also provided important clues about dealing with breakups. Functional MRIs showed an increase in neuronal activity in the parts of the brain  — the pleasure areas  — that also become active with cocaine use.

“Ultimately, trying to move on from a former mate may be similar in some ways to an attempt at breaking a drug habit,” the authors noted.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 28^th, 2015.

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