Imaging the passionate stage of romantic love by dopamine dynamics.
Using [(11)C]raclopride, a dopamine D2/D3 receptor antagonist, we undertook a positron emission tomography (PET) study to investigate the involvement of the dopaminergic neurotransmitter system when subjects viewed the pictures of partners to whom they were romantically attached. Ten subjects viewed pictures of their romantic partners and, as a control, of friends of the same sex for whom they had neutral feelings during the PET study. We administered [(11)C]raclopride to subjects using a timing for injecting the antagonist which had been determined in previous studies to be optimal for detecting increases in the amount of dopamine released by stimulation. The results demonstrated statistically significant activation of the dopaminergic system in two regions, the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) and medial prefrontal cortex, the former of which has been strongly implicated in a variety of rewarding experiences, including that of beauty and love. A positive correlation was obtained in mOFC between excitement levels and dopaminergic activation only in the love but not in the control condition.
Pathophysiological and Health Science Team, RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies Kobe, Japan ; Department of Physiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine Osaka, Japan.
Kayo
K
Takahashi
Pathophysiological and Health Science Team, RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies Kobe, Japan ; Department of Medical Science on Fatigue, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine Osaka, Japan ; Osaka City University Center for Health Science Innovation Osaka, Japan.
Kei
K
Mizuno
Pathophysiological and Health Science Team, RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies Kobe, Japan ; Department of Physiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine Osaka, Japan.
Akihiro T
AT
Sasaki
Pathophysiological and Health Science Team, RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies Kobe, Japan ; Department of Physiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine Osaka, Japan.
Yasuhiro
Y
Wada
Department of Physiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine Osaka, Japan.
Masaaki
M
Tanaka
Department of Physiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine Osaka, Japan.
Akira
A
Ishii
Pathophysiological and Health Science Team, RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies Kobe, Japan.
Kanako
K
Tajima
Department of Neurosurgery, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine Osaka, Japan.
Naohiro
N
Tsuyuguchi
Pathophysiological and Health Science Team, RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies Kobe, Japan.
Kyosuke
K
Watanabe
Wellcome Laboratory of Neurobiology, University College London London, UK.
Semir
S
Zeki
Pathophysiological and Health Science Team, RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies Kobe, Japan ; Department of Physiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine Osaka, Japan ; Osaka City University Center for Health Science Innovation Osaka, Japan.
Yasuyoshi
Y
Watanabe
dopamine; medial prefrontal cortex; orbitofrontal cortex; positron emission tomography (PET); romantic love