Helen Fisher's 2005 study on the brain and romantic love found that the parts of the brain that are responsible for the brain's reward system are activated when someone is stuck in an addictive pattern of behavior. Simply put: You can get "addicted" to the feeling of being in love. No wonder we hold on to that physical connection after the romantic expiration date has passed.
MIT cognitive researcher Joshua Hartshorne found that emotional memory is the strongest at or around age 18-when many are eager to jump into love or lust thanks in part to our body's endocrine system, a.k.a. hormones. Your brain is quite literally primed to hold on to your first love.
The significance of this first love experience becomes a core memory that you may compare many future loves to as you get older. It should come as little surprise that we often find ourselves fondly lingering over the loves of yesteryear since our brain actively encourages that.
If you have spent the last few years or more involved in a cycle of off-again-on-again relationship drama with a semi-significant passionate (but mostly unfulfilling relationship), you're not alone.
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