page_title: Neuroanatomy of intimacy
section_title: Attachment
hierarchical_section_title: Neuroanatomy of intimacy / Components of intimacy and neuroanatomy / Attachment
caption_attribution_description: English: Author: Libb Thims Self-made diagram (using MS Word) based on Steinberg's triangular theory of love
context_page_description: Even though intimacy has been broadly defined in terms of romantic love and sexual desire, the neuroanatomy of intimacy needs further explanation in order to fully understand their neurological functions in different components within intimate relationships, which are romantic love, lust, attachment, and rejection in love. Also, known functions of the neuroanatomy involved can be applied to observations seen in people who are experiencing any of the stages in intimacy. Research analysis of these systems provide insight on the biological basis of intimacy, but the neurological aspect must be considered as well in areas that require special attention to mitigate issues in intimacy, such as violence against a beloved partner or problems with social bonding.
context_section_description: Pair bonding, or intense social attachment, normally initiates partner preference in sexual situations and monogamy in many mammalian species.  Monogamous species generally exhibit an exclusive responsibility to each other as well as co-parenting to their offspring.  Studies using monogamous prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) showed that forming a pair bond stimulated the mesolimbic dopaminergic pathway.  In this pathway, dopamine is released from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) to the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex, which then signals the ventral pallidum to complete reward processing in the pathway.      
  Two important neuropeptides that mediated pair bond formation were oxytocin and arginine vasopressin (AVP).  Even though both males and females have both molecules, oxytocin was shown to be predominantly in females and vasopressin predominantly promoted pair bonding in males.  Receptor specificity was shown essential for mating by activating the dopamine D2 receptors in the nucleus accumbens in both male and female prairie voles.  Other locations that were also activated in the study were gender specific, such as oxytocin receptors (OTR) in the prefrontal cortex and AVP 1a receptors (V1aR) in the ventral pallidum.
caption: The Triangular theory of love by psychologist Robert Sternberg to describe the interpersonal aspects of love.
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