Study Findings, Brain Is More Responsive To Romantic Hints When Stomach Is Full

YOGYAKARTA – A romantic relationship is not supported by gifts of flowers or a bunch of beautiful words. A study published in the journal Appetite found evidence of warm romance starting in the steaming kitchen.

As a proverb that is used everyday, the important thing is the kitchen is steaming and full. Researchers from the University of Drexel showed that the female brain responds more to romantic cues when the stomach is full than when it is hungry.

The study explored the brain circuits in hunger versus satiety among women who had dieted and those who had never dieted. According to the study's lead author, Alice Ely, Ph.D., the team found that young women, both with and without a diet history, had greater brain activation in response to romantic images in reward-related neural regions after eating than when hungry.

“The results of this study contradict some previous studies, which have shown that people typically show greater sensitivity to beneficial stimuli when hungry. These stimuli include things like food, money, and medicine," said Ely as reported by Science Daily.

In this 2015 study, they –the respondents- were more responsive when given food. The data that researchers have shows that food can make young women sensitive to rewards outside of food. It also supports shared neural circuits for food and sex.

Specifically, the researchers looked at whether the brain's reward response to food was significantly different in women who were at risk of developing obesity in the future compared to those who had never dieted. The respondents of this study were young college-age women with normal weight.

The research uses fMRI scanners to determine the work of the brain's nerves related to the romantic response. Respondents were divided into two groups, those who had been on a diet and those who had not. All of them were asked to fast for eight hours, then came to the lab hungry.

Researchers were asked to look at romantic images, such as a couple holding hands, and neutral images such as a bowling ball. Then researchers saw the same level of neural activation between the two groups. Next, respondents were asked to drink a 500-calorie meal replacement and return to the scan to see the same image again with a full stomach.

“Instead of being anxious and upset and irritable when you're hungry… once we're full, then we can achieve better things. They are more responsive to romantic cues," explained Ely.

Citing Time, Traci Mann, a professor in the department of psychology at the University of Minnesota and a dietitian researcher who was not involved in Ely's and team's research, said the results made sense. When you fast, says Mann, you are fully engaged and focused with thoughts about food.

Ely explained that his research was only a pilot study with a small group of women of the same age. More extensive research is needed to draw valid conclusions. Although the findings are highly speculative, there were unexpected findings related to satiety and the romantic response of the female brain.