Group 301/401 (Evening): The Brain in Love

Following on the theme of what goes into a happy life, a TED lecture on love and the brain. Here's Helen Fisher:



Questions

1. What three groups of people have these scientists examined using an MRI brain scanner?
2. Anthropologists have found what phenomenon in every society?
3. Almost 95 percent of both men and women gave the same answer—yes—to two different questions. What were the questions?
4. What did the poet Emily Dickinson say about hell?
5. The study of people in love found activity in the VTA, “part of the brain's reward system.” What functions are associated with this part of the brain?
6. Among the people who have been “dumped,” these scientists found brain activity in the same region as the people who were in love. Why does Fisher say, “What a bad deal”?
7. “Dumped” lovers also have activity in two other brain regions. What functions are those two brain regions responsible for?
8. In terms of human reproduction, how does romantic love differ from the so-called sex drive?
9. Fisher tells a story about a girlfriend to illustrate her point about “relapse.” What was the story?
10. Has the spirit of scientific experimentation spoiled the concept of love for Fisher? How does she illustrate her answer to this question?
11. What has this scientific team found out about people who are still in love after many years?
12. What are some of the factors that will determine whether we will love this person and not that person? Is it possible to identify all the factors involved?
13. In what different ways do men and women express intimacy and friendship?