Scientists have shown exactly where in the brain different types of love arise, from love to affection for your dog. Photo

Scientists once again sought to emphasize that love is felt not by the heart, but by the mind. For the new study, the researchers used fMRI scans to determine which parts of the brain are responsible for high feelings.

The results of the study showed that romance is felt in the base of the skull, in the forehead and in the back of the brain. Experts emphasize that different types of love also arise in these areas, DailyMail writes.

Thanks to new research, experts from the University of Aalto (Finland) have determined that parental love triggered the greatest response in the brain, which was not observed in love or pet love.

"With parental love, there was an activation deep in the brain system, which was not observed for any other type of love," said the study's leader, philosopher and scientist Pärttili Rinne.

The experiment involved 55 parents and connected them to an fMRI machine. To make them feel parental love, they were read to: "You are seeing your newborn child for the first time. This child is the greatest miracle of your life. You feel love for this baby."

The participants were then left alone for 10 seconds to imagine themselves in this scenario while the researchers carefully recorded their brain states.

By combining the results of each participant, the researchers were able to create a map for six different types of love.

Dr. Rinne has previously identified where in the body different types of love are felt, but the new study provides the first insight into the neurological processes behind the experience.

Most types of love that people engage in have been found to activate similar areas of the brain's social areas.

"The activation pattern of love is generated in social situations in the midline of the forehead, precuneus, and temporoparietal junction on the sides of the back of the head," the researcher emphasized.

The main difference between the types of love was the intensity of brain activation they caused. For example, the brain map associated with a feeling for a stranger was significantly different from that associated with love for a friend.

According to Dr. Rinne, the closer someone is to us, the more intensely the social areas of our brain are activated.

The strongest activation of all was parental love for a child, followed by romantic love.

The scientist notes that the type of object also influenced the brain activation pattern. For example, love of pets and love of nature give rise to activation patterns that are significantly different from those caused by love of other people.

However, a surprising exception was the participants who were extremely loving owners of their pets. When they remembered their pets, they activated social brain areas that are more typically associated with love for people.

According to the scientists, this confirms evidence that human love for pets may indeed go beyond common understanding.

"When you look at pet love and the brain activity associated with it, brain regions show whether a person has a pet. After all, when it comes to owners of cats or dogs, these areas are more active than those who do not have animals at home," the researchers were surprised to report.

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