Brain Scans Show Sparks Don't Always Fade

They call it a honeymoon period for a reason. Both scientists and relationship experts say the rush of early love only lasts somewhere between three months and three years. However, new research finds that for some couples, this phase can last longer than 20 years.

Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine performed MRIs on 10 women and seven men who reported being intensely in love with their spouses after an average of 21 years. When the subjects viewed images of their spouses, researchers found that the same part of the brain activated in individuals who have recently fallen in love reacted.

However these older couples showed higher levels of activity in a part of the brain associated with calmness and pain suppression as opposed to the areas associated with obsession and anxiety which are activated in the newly-in-love.

Read more: Still crazy (in love) after all these years