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Archives of Sexual Behavior PP593-379300 July 16, 2002 16:58 Style file version July 26, 1999
FOR PROOFREADING ONLY
Archives of Sexual Behavior, Vol. 31, No. 5, October 2002, pp. 413–419 (
C
2002)
Defining the Brain Systems of Lust, Romantic Attraction,
and Attachment
Helen E. Fisher, Ph.D.,
1,5
Arthur Aron, Ph.D.,
2
Debra Mashek, M.A.,
2
Haifang Li, Ph.D.,
3
and
Lucy L. Brown, Ph.D.
4
Received January 8, 2001; revisions received June 4, 2001, and May 13, 2002; accepted May 13, 2002
Mammals and birds have evolved three primary, discrete, interrelated emotion–motivation systems
in the brain for mating, reproduction, and parenting: lust, attraction, and male–female attachment.
Each emotion–motivation system is associated with a specific constellation of neural correlates and a
distinct behavioral repertoire. Lust evolved to initiate the mating process with any appropriate partner;
attraction evolved to enable individuals to choose among and prefer specific mating partners, thereby
conserving their mating time and energy; male–female attachment evolved to enable individuals
to cooperate with a reproductive mate until species-specific parental duties have been completed.
The evolution of these three emotion–motivation systems contribute to contemporary patterns of
marriage, adultery, divorce, remarriage, stalking, homicide and other crimes of passion, and clinical
depression due to romantic rejection. This paper defines these three emotion–motivation systems.
Then it discusses an ongoing project using functional magnetic resonance imaging of the brain to
investigate the neural circuits associated with one of these emotion–motivation systems, romantic
attraction.
KEY WORDS: romantic attraction; sex drive; FMRI; neural circuits.
INTRODUCTION
Neuroscientists currently believe that the basic emo-
tions arise from distinct circuits (or systems) of neural ac-
tivity; that humans share several of these primary
emotion–motivation circuits with other mammals; and that
these brain systems evolved to direct behavior (Damasio,
1999; Davidson, 1994; Panksepp, 1998). It is hypothesized
that among these primary neural systems are at least three
discrete, interrelated emotion–motivation systems in the
1
Department of Anthropology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick,
New Jersey.
2
Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Stony
Brook, Stony Brook, New York.
3
Department of Radiology, State University of New York at Stony Brook,
Stony Brook, New York.
4
Department of Neurology and Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College
of Medicine, Bronx, New York.
5
To whom correspondence should be addressed at Department of An-
thropology, Rutgers University, 4 East 70th Street, New York, New York
10021; e-mail: hefisher@worldnet.att.net.
mammalian brain for mating, reproduction, and parenting:
lust, attraction, and attachment (Fisher, 1998).
The sex drive (the libido or lust) is characterized by
a craving for sexual gratification and it is associated pri-
marily with the estrogens and androgens.
The attraction system is characterized by increased
energy and focused attention on a preferred mating part-
ner. In humans, the attraction system (standardly called ro-
mantic love, obsessive love, passionate love, being in love,
infatuation, or limerence) is also characterized by feelings
of exhilaration, “intrusive thinking” about the love object,
and a craving for emotional union with this partner or po-
tential partner. There is some evidence that this affective
state is primarily associated with elevated levels of central
dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE) and decreased
levels of central serotonin (5-HT) (Bartels & Zeki, 2000;
Fisher, 1998; Wang et al., 1999).
The adult male–female attachment system, as defined
by ethologists, is characterized in birds and mammals by
mutual territory defense and/or nest building, mutual feed-
ing and grooming, the maintenance of close proximity,
413
0004-0002/02/1000-0413/0
C
2002 Plenum Publishing Corporation
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Archives of Sexual Behavior PP593-379300 July 16, 2002 16:58 Style file version July 26, 1999
414 Fisher, Aron, Mashek, Li, and Brown
separation anxiety, shared parental chores, and other af-
filiative behaviors. In humans, adult male–female attach-
ment (often called “companionate love”) is also charac-
terized by feelings of calm, security, social comfort, and
emotional union. The neural circuitry of this brain sys-
tem has been associated primarily with the neuropeptides,
oxytocin and vasopressin (Carter, 1992; Carter, DeVries,
& Getz, 1995; see also Pedersen, Caldwell, Jirikowsk, &
Insel, 1992; Winslow et al., 1999).
Lust, attraction, and attachment are not only asso-
ciated with different neurotransmitters and/or hormones;
these emotion–motivation systems are also associated
with different behavioral repertoires, and they evolved
to direct different aspects of reproduction (Fisher, 1998).
AU: OK
The sex drive evolved principally to motivate individu-
als to seek sexual union with any appropriate member of
the species. The constellation of neural circuits associated
with attraction evolved to motivate individuals to select
among potential partners or suitors, prefer specific con-
specifics, and focus their courtship attention on genetically
appropriate individuals, thereby conserving mating time
and energy. The neural circuitry for adult male–female
attachment evolved primarily to motivate individuals to
sustain affiliative connections long enough to complete
species-specific parental duties (Fisher, 1998).
Because different species pursue different reproduc-
tive strategies to coordinate their specific ecological and
biological needs, the neural correlates of these three
emotion–motivation systems can be expected to vary
across species. These neural systems are also expected
to vary among individuals within a species and across the
life course of each individual (Fisher, 1998).
These neural systems also vary by gender. In Homo
sapiens, for example, the male sex drive is stimulated to a
greater degree by visual stimuli than is the female sex drive
(Ellis & Symons, 1990); men use visual pornographic
materials of every kind more frequently than women do
(Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, & Michaels, 1994). Women
are more sexually aroused by romantic words, images, and
themes in films and stories (Ellis & Symons, 1990). It is
also likely that the male sex drive is more constant while
the female sex drive is more periodic but more intense;
the male sex drive is focused more directly on copulation
while the female sex drive is embedded in a wider range
of stimuli; and women express more bisexuality than do
men (Fisher, 1999)
Gender differences can also be seen in the expres-
sion of romantic attraction. Both sexes express romantic
love with approximately the same intensity (Hatfield &
Rapson, 1996; Tennov, 1979). And both men and women
are attracted to partners who are dependable, mature, kind,
healthy, smart, educated, sociable, and interested in home
and family (Buss, 1994). But there are some gender dif-
ferences in what men and women find attractive in a mate.
Men tend to be more attracted to a partner’s physical
appearance—particularly signs of youth and beauty (Buss,
1989; Buss, 1994), while women are more inclined to be
attracted to men with money, education, and/or position
(Buss, 1994).
Men and women also vary in what triggers feelings
of attachment, for example, American men are more likely
to define emotional closeness as doing things side-by-
side; while American women often view intimacy as talk-
ing face-to-face (Fowlkes, 1994; Gottman, 1994; Tavris,
1992).
These three emotion–motivation systems regularly
act in concert with one another and with other bodily sys-
tems (Fisher, 1998). But they can also act independently
of one another. In approximately 90% of avian species, for
example, individuals form seasonal or lifelong pair-bonds.
Yet, in 90% of some 180 species of socially monogamous
songbirds, individuals engage in “extra-pair” copulations
as well (Black, 1996; Morell, 1998). In these cases, so-
cial attachment to one conspecific is expressed in tandem
with the expression of attraction and/or the sex drive for
different conspecifics.
The independence of these three emotion–motivation
systems is also observable in humans. An example is the
response of middle-aged men and women who are admin-
istered testosterone to increase sexual desire. These indi-
viduals subsequently experience increased sexual
thoughts and elevated levels of sexual activity (Sherwin
& Gelfand, 1987; Sherwin, Gelfand, & Brender, 1985).
But they do not report feeling increased romantic pas-
sion or increased attachment to this sexual partner. More-
over, men and women can express deep attachment for a
long-term spouse or mate, while they express attraction
for someone else, while they feel sex drive in response to
visual, verbal, or mental stimuli unrelated to either partner.
And men and women can copulate with individuals with
whom they are not “in love”; they can be “in love” with
someone with whom they have had no sexual contact; and
they can feel deeply attached to a mate for whom they
feel no sexual desire or romantic passion. Hence, these
three emotion–motivation systems—lust, attraction, and
attachment—can and often do operate independently of
one another in Homo sapiens.
Because these three emotion–motivation systems for
mating, reproduction, and parenting have been defined
elsewhere (see Fisher, 1998, 2000a, 2000b), the remain-
der of this paper focuses on discussion of romantic attrac-
tion, including (1) its primary characteristics; (2) the pri-
mary neurotransmitters that the authors hypothesize are
associated with this affective state; (3) and the authors’
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Archives of Sexual Behavior PP593-379300 July 16, 2002 16:58 Style file version July 26, 1999
Brain Systems for Love 415
in-progress investigation, using functional magnetic reso-
nance imaging (fMRI) of the brain, to establish the neural
correlates associated with romantic attraction.
METHOD
In Phase I of the investigation of this emotion–
motivation circuit, the cross-cultural literature on romantic
passion was canvassed. In a survey of 166 societies, an-
thropologists found evidence of romantic attraction in 147
of them (Jankowiak & Fischer, 1992). People sang love
AU: Ref list
followed is it
Ok?
songs, composed romantic verse, performed love magic,
carried love charms, and/or brewed love potions. Some
eloped. Some committed suicide or homicide because of
unrequited love. And in many of these cultures, myths
and fables portrayed romantic involvements. No nega-
tive evidence appeared. In the balance of these societies
(19 cultures), field scientists had simply failed to examine
this aspect of daily living. Romantic attraction, it was con-
cluded, is a universal or near-universal human experience
(Jankowiak & Fischer, 1992), a conclusion that suggests
AU: Ref. list
followed is it
Ok?
that romantic attraction is a distinct emotion–motivation
system in the hominid brain.
The currently available American psychological lit-
erature was then canvassed and a list of 13 psychophys-
iological properties often associated with this excitatory
state was compiled (see Fisher, 1998; Hatfield & Sprecher,
1986; Harris, 1995; Tennov, 1979). Then these primary
psychophysiological characteristics of romantic attraction
were compared with the behavioral effects of central
dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin (Fisher, 1998).
This comparison led to the hypothesis that the af-
fective state of romantic attraction is primarily associ-
ated with elevated levels of central dopamine and nore-
pinephrine and decreased levels of central serotonin
(Fisher, 1998).
Then 72-item questionnaire was compiled, based on
these common properties of romantic attraction and this
questionnaire was administered to 437 American and 402
Japanese men and women (Fisher et al., 2002). Prelim-
inary analysis of these data indicates that individuals in
these populations expressed the same feelings of romantic
attraction as did the populations recorded in the psycho-
logical literature. So this questionnaire was subsequently
administered (along with several others) to all participants
prior to their participation in Phase II of this study which
involved fMRI of the brains of individuals who reported
that they had “just fallen madly in love.”
An important step in understanding the brain chem-
istry associated with an emotion–motivation system is to
identify the major brain regions involved. So Phase II of
this project was launched using fMRI of the brain in an
attempt to locate the anatomical regions associated with
the affective state of romantic attraction.
To establish the protocol for this experiment, 11 fe-
male and 3 male volunteers who reported that they had
“just fallen madly in love” were asked to answer ques-
tionnaires and orally interviewed about their feelings of
romantic love. Then these participants used a computer-
based response device to indicate the intensity of their
current feelings of romantic love while being exposed
to a series of stimuli. It was established that feelings of
romantic attraction were stimulated most effectively by
photographs of the beloved, “thinking back” to specific
relationship events, and songs relevant to the relationship
(Mashek, Aron, & Fisher, 2000).
These data on the effectiveness of photographs
formed the basis of the protocol for Phase II of this project.
In this investigation, volunteers who reported that they had
“just fallen madly in love” were first administered several
questionnaires and orally interviewed to establish the ex-
tent of their romantic passion. Appropriate participants
were then educated regarding the fMRI procedure and the
protocol of the experiment and the brain scanning session
was scheduled and completed. Among the tasks that each
participant was required to do during the brain scanning
process was to look at a photograph of the beloved and
a photograph of a familiar individual for whom the sub-
ject felt no strong positive or negative feelings. During this
12-min experiment, 3,200 brain images were collected for
each participant. These brain scans were then compared,
using several statistical methods.
This study is currently in progress. It is predicted
that some of the brain regions associated with the feeling
of intense romantic attraction will be those with high con-
centrations of receptor sites for dopamine, norepinephrine,
and serotonin.
RESULTS
Data collected during Phase I of this project indi-
cated that there are 13 psychophysiological characteristics
commonly associated with romantic attraction and that 5
of these traits correlate with either elevated levels of cen-
tral dopamine and/or norepinephrine or decreased levels
of central serotonin.
1. When someone falls in love, they begin to feel
that their beloved is unique; their “love object”
takes on “special meaning” (Tennov, 1979). This
phenomenon is coupled with the inability to feel
romantic passion for more than one person at a
time. Elevated concentrations of central dopamine
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416 Fisher, Aron, Mashek, Li, and Brown
are associated with exposure to a novel environ-
ment as well as with heightened and focused atten-
tion (Kiyatkin, 1995; Salamone, 1996; Scatton,
D’Angio, Driscoll, & Serrano, 1988; Tassin,
Herve, Blanc, & Glowinski, 1980). These paral-
lels suggest that increased levels of central
dopamine contribute to the lover’s focused atten-
tion on the beloved and the lover’s tendency to
regard the beloved as unique.
2. Individuals reporting feelings of romantic attrac-
tion tend to focus their attention on the positive
qualities of the beloved and overlook or falsely ap-
praise his/her negative traits (Murray & Holmes,
1997). They also focus on specific events, ob-
jects, and other phenomena that they have come
to associate with the beloved. In the 72-item ques-
tionnaire based on the common properties of ro-
mantic love and administered to 437 American
and 402 Japanese men and women, 73% of men
and 85% of women reported remembering triv-
ial things that the beloved said and did; 83% of
men and 90% of women said they replayed these
precious moments as they mused (Fisher et al.,
2002).
As mentioned above, increased levels of cen-
tral dopamine are associated with focused atten-
tion. So this tendency to dwell on specific traits
of the beloved and specific moments linked with
the beloved are additional indications that ele-
vated levels of central dopamine are associated
with the feeling of romantic attraction. Because
elevated levels of central norepinephrine are as-
sociated with increased memory for new stimuli
(Griffin & Taylor, 1995), increased levels of
central norepinephrine are most likely also
involved.
3. Individuals reporting feelings of romantic
attraction experience a host of labile psychophysi-
ological responses, including exhilaration, eupho-
ria, increased energy, sleeplessness, loss of
appetite, trembling, a pounding heart, and acceler-
ated breathing. Many also report feeling anxiety,
panic, and/or fear in the presence of the beloved.
They are subject to abrupt mood swings as well. If
the relationship suffers a setback, the attracted in-
dividual may fall into listlessness, brooding, and
feelings of despair.
Increased concentrations of dopamine in the
brain are associated with euphoria, loss of ap-
petite, hyperactivity, increased mental activity, a
delay of the onset of fatigue, and a decreased need
for sleep, as well as with anxiety, panic, and a
fearlike state (Colle & Wise, 1988; Fisher, 1998;
Kruk & Pycock, 1991; Post, Weiss, & Pert, 1988;
Wise, 1988). Hence, elevated levels of dopamine
are a likely agent for the ecstacy, increased energy,
sleeplessness, reduced appetite, fear, and anxiety
associated with romantic attraction.
Data on drugs of abuse also suggest that
dopamine is an agent in the feeling of roman-
tic attraction. Amphetamines and cocaine elevate
concentrations of dopamine in the brain (Wise,
1989, 1996). And these drugs produce the same
exhilaration, excessive energy, sleeplessness, and
loss of appetite that are characteristic of individ-
uals who report being “in love.”
4. In times of adversity, infatuated individuals ex-
perience an intensification of romantic attraction.
This reaction may also be associated with elevated
levels of central dopamine because when a re-
ward is delayed, dopamine-producing neurons in
the midbrain increase their productivity (Martin-
Soelch et al., 2001; Schultz, 2000).
5. Individuals reporting feelings of romantic attrac-
tion think about the beloved obsessively, what is
known as “intrusive thinking.” Many informants
report that they muse about their “love object”
over 85% of their waking hours (Tennov, 1979).
Intrusive thinking is a form of obsessive behav-
ior and serotonin-reuptake inhibitors are currently
the agents of choice in treating most forms of
obsessive–compulsive disorder (Flament,
Rapoport, & Bert, 1985; Hollander et al., 1988;
Thoren, Asberg, & Bertilsson, 1980). These par-
allels suggest that decreased levels of central sero-
tonin contribute to the intrusive thinking associ-
ated with romantic attraction (Fisher, 1998).
The remaining psychophysiological traits as-
sociated with obsessive romantic attraction have
not been linked with specific neural systems or
neurochemicals.
6. Individuals reporting feelings of romantic attrac-
tion regularly exhibit signs of emotional depen-
dency on the relationship, including possessive-
ness, jealousy, fear of rejection, and separation
anxiety.
7. They experience longing for emotional union with
the beloved.
8. They feel a powerful sense of empathy toward the
beloved and a willingness to sacrifice for him or
her.
9. They tend to reorder their daily priorities and/or
change their clothing, mannerisms, habits, or
values to become available to the beloved.
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Brain Systems for Love 417
10. People reporting feelings of romantic attraction
experience sexual desire for the beloved, coupled
with possessiveness, the drive for sexual exclu-
sivity, and feelings of jealousy if they suspect in-
fidelity. This possessiveness and desire for sex-
ual exclusivity probably evolved for an important
purpose: to drive partners to exclude other suit-
ors, thereby insuring that the courtship is not in-
terrupted until insemination has been completed
(Fisher, 1998).
11. Yet, for those who are “in love,” the craving for
emotional union often takes precedence over the
desire for sexual union with the beloved. Fifty-
eight percent of men and 72% of women in the
above-mentioned questionnaire disagreed with
the statement, “The best thing about love is sex.”
And 64% of both sexes disagreed with the state-
ment, “Sex is the most important part of my rela-
tionship with...”
12. Individuals expressing feelings of romantic attrac-
tion commonly report that this passion is involun-
tary and uncontrollable.
13. Romantic attraction is generally impermanent,
unless physical or social barriers inhibit partners
from seeing one another regularly.
The complexity of human brain systems and the myr-
iad ecological and cultural forces that contribute to human
behavior make analysis of the brain circuitry of roman-
tic attraction difficult. Yet, similarities between some of
the above-mentioned psychophysiological properties of
romantic attraction and the general properties of central
dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin suggest that el-
evated levels of central dopamine and norepinephrine and
decreased levels of central serotonin play a role in some
aspects of romantic love in humans.
Romantic love takes a variety of graded forms, how-
ever, from reciprocated love (associated with fulfillment
and ecstacy) to unrequited love (associated with empti-
ness, anxiety, and despair). So, it is expected that the
amounts and ratios of these monoamines (dopamine, nore-
pinephrine, and serotonin) will vary according to the de-
gree of reciprocation by the beloved and many other social,
ecological, and psychological factors. It is also expected
that the activities of these monoamines will vary in re-
sponse to the activities of many other emotion–motivation
systems in the brain—creating a complex and dynamic
system responsible for evoking the affective state of
romantic attraction.
Because the authors are currently analyzing the data
collected in the above-mentioned fMRI brain imaging
project, this paper does not discuss the results. But a simi-
lar study of the neural correlates associated with romantic
attraction has been completed by another team of scien-
tists (Bartels & Zeki, 2000) and this study suggests that
aspects of our above hypotheses are valid.
DISCUSSION
Bartels and Zeki (2000) examined brain activity
(using fMRI brain scanning) in 17 participants who re-
ported being deeply in love. During the procedure, these
participants viewed photographs of their partners and pho-
tographs of three friends. Bartels and Zeki reported that
neural activity was restricted to foci in the medial insula,
the anterior cingulate cortex, the head of the caudate nu-
cleus, and the putamen. Deactivations occurred in the pos-
terior cingulate gyrus and in the amygdala, as well as in
the right prefrontal, parietal, and middle temporal cor-
tices. It was concluded that “a unique network of areas
are responsible for evoking this affective state” (Bartels
& Zeki, 2000). This conclusion is consistent with our hy-
pothesis that romantic love is associated with a discrete
constellation of neural correlates and distinct from the
neural systems associated with the other primary mating
emotion–motivation systems: lust and attachment.
The study by Bartels and Zeki also gives some in-
dication of one of the neurotransmitters being associated
with romantic attraction. It was noted that “dopamine re-
lease due to success in a video game has been localized
to a broad region in the striatum that overlaps at least
with the activity reported here in the putamen” (Bartels
& Zeki, 2000, p. 5). This finding suggests that elevated
levels of central dopamine play a role in the affective
state of romantic attraction, data that is consistent with our
hypothesis.
Fisher (1998) hypothesized that human beings ex-
hibit at least three interrelated, yet distinct, emotion–motivation
systems for mating, reproduction, and parenting: the sex
drive, romantic attraction, and male–female attachment.
The sex drive evolved to motivate males and females to
copulate with any appropriate partner; romantic attraction
evolved to motivate individuals to select among potential
mating partners, prefer a specific conspecific, and focus
their mating effort on a genetically appropriate individ-
ual, thereby conserving mating time and energy. Attach-
ment evolved to enable males and females to tolerate a
mate or mates long enough to complete species-specific
parental duties. These three emotion–motivation systems
are regularly linked (Fisher, 1998), but they can operate
AU: Ok?
independently. Humans can express deep attachment for
a long-term partner, while they feel romantic attraction
for someone at the office or in their social circle, while
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418 Fisher, Aron, Mashek, Li, and Brown
they feel the sex drive toward stimuli unrelated to either
partner.
Perhaps the neural independence of these three
emotion–motivation systems evolved to enable ancestral
hominids to take advantage of a range of reproductive
strategies simultaneously, such as serial or sustained
monogamy in conjunction with clandestine romance and/
or “extra-pair” copulations (Fisher, 1998). But the neu-
ral independence of romantic love undoubtedly also con-
tributes to contemporary worldwide patterns of adultery
and divorce, the cross-cultural prevalence of sexual jeal-
ousy, stalking, and spousal homicide, and the high inci-
dence of clinical depression associated with rejection in
love (Fisher, 1998).
So investigation into the biology of romantic
attraction—and how this neural emotion–motivation sys-
tem interacts with the brain systems for the sex drive and
attachment—may contribute understanding of the under-
lying brain mechanisms associated with several complex
contemporary social problems.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Much of this research on FMRI was supported by
National Science Foundation Grant no 9910420, awarded
to Dr Arthur Aron.
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