Feb. 11--Most people associate Valentine's Day with roses, boxes of chocolates and candlelit dinners.

But when researchers used sophisticated imaging technology to look at the brains of people who'd recently fallen in love, another word came to mind: addiction.

"Look at new love under an MRI, and the brain looks very similar to someone with an intense craving," said Yasvir Tesiram, Ph.D., of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation.

Brain scans known as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) show how the brain reacts to stimuli. Using fMRI, researchers have found that showing a picture of a person's new love activates hot spots in the areas deep within the brain.

"A study in The Journal of Neurophysiology showed that new love lit up the same cells that make and receive the chemical dopamine," said Dr. Stephen Prescott, foundation president. "The same parts of the brain are extremely active in gamblers and cocaine users."

But love, like anything else in the brain, is complicated, said Tesiram, whose research focuses on the use of MRIs for the early detection and treatment of diseases such as brain and liver cancer.

Scientists may have a crude idea of what roles certain parts of the brain play, but they're still puzzling over the details.

"We're a long way from understanding the complexity of human attraction," Prescott said. "And unlike most of the conditions we study at OMRF, love isn't something we're looking to cure."

Still, it's a topic that continues to draw research interests. Studies also have used fMRI to examine the brains of people who've recently suffered breakups. Researchers also have tapped the technology to study those who have remained intensely "in love" for a decade or more.

"MRI shows that love lights up the same system associated with elation, energy, craving and motivation," Tesiram said. "It brings a new kind of meaning to the song 'Addicted to Love,' doesn't it?"

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