Being in a Romantic Relationship Is Associated with Reduced Gray Matter Density in Striatum and Increased Subjective Happiness

Subjective well-being can be predicted by caudate volume and promotion focus

It is well-known that the caudate nucleus is associated with motivational behaviors and subjective well-being. However, no longitudinal studies have examined the relationship between brain structure, behavioral orientations, and subjective well-being. This study analyzes data from our previous longitudinal study to examine whether future subjective well-being can be predicted by the volume of the caudate nucleus. We also examined whether behavioral orientation, based on the regulatory focus theory showing two orientations-promotion and prevention focus-was related to the volume of the caudate nucleus. Voxel-based morphometry analysis indicated that the left caudate volume was positively associated with rating scores for future subjective well-being and promotion orientation. Further, mediation analysis indicated that promotion orientation significantly mediated the relationship between future subjective well-being and left caudate volume. The findings indicate that future subjective well-being can be predicted by the volume of the left caudate nucleus, and that this relationship is mediated by promotion focus orientation.

Brain imaging studies of emotional well-being: a scoping review

This scoping review provides an overview of previous empirical studies that used brain imaging techniques to investigate the neural correlates of emotional well-being (EWB). We compiled evidence on this topic into one accessible and usable document as a foundation for future research into the relationship between EWB and the brain. PRISMA 2020 guidelines were followed. We located relevant articles by searching five electronic databases with 95 studies meeting our inclusion criteria. We explored EWB measures, brain imaging modalities, research designs, populations studied, and approaches that are currently in use to characterize and understand EWB across the literature. Of the key concepts related to EWB, the vast majority of studies investigated positive affect and life satisfaction, followed by sense of meaning, goal pursuit, and quality of life. The majority of studies used functional MRI, followed by EEG and event-related potential-based EEG to study the neural basis of EWB (predominantly experienced affect, affective perception, reward, and emotion regulation). It is notable that positive affect and life satisfaction have been studied significantly more often than the other three aspects of EWB (i.e., sense of meaning, goal pursuit, and quality of life). Our findings suggest that future studies should investigate EWB in more diverse samples, especially in children, individuals with clinical disorders, and individuals from various geographic locations. Future directions and theoretical implications are discussed, including the need for more longitudinal studies with ecologically valid measures that incorporate multi-level approaches allowing researchers to better investigate and evaluate the relationships among behavioral, environmental, and neural factors.

Systematic review registration

https://osf.io/t9cf6/.

Possible effects of pair bonds on general cognition: Evidence from shared roles of dopamine

Pair bonding builds on preexisting dopamine connectivity to help form and maintain the bond. The involvement of dopaminergic pathways in pair bonding has stimulated research linking pair bonds to other dopamine-dependent processes, like addiction and social cognition (Burkett & Young, 2012; Yetnikoff, Lavezzi, Reichard, & Zahm, 2014). Less studied is the relationship of pair bonding to non-social cognitive processes. The first half of this review will provide an overview of pair bonding and the role of dopamine within social processes. With a thorough review of the literature, the current study will identify the ways the dopaminergic pathways critical for pair bonding also overlap with cognitive processes. Highlighting dopamine as a key player in pair bonds and non-social cognition will provide evidence that pair bonding can alter general cognitive processes like attention, working memory, cognitive flexibility, and impulse control.

Coping with the Forced Separation of Close Relationships during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background

Issues regarding close relations became especially prevalent within the context of the pandemic, due to the forced separation of these relationships. This is now seen as a significant stressor that influences emotions and subjective perceptions of the relationship.

Objective

The current study aims to investigate the specifics of coping with the forced separation of partners with varying types of closeness.

Design

The study was carried out with quantitative and qualitative methods. The sample included 43 women and 42 men (aged 21-47); all were involuntarily separated from their partners by impacts of the pandemic.

Results

Three scenarios of romantic relationships were identified based on a balance of love components (intimacy, passion, commitment) and prevalent feelings (closeness or distance). The authors concluded that certain coping strategies (positive reassessment, acceptance, distraction) can help the individual to cope with the separation, but do not contribute to the closeness of the partners and the strengthening of the relationship. Coping primarily through active support was typical for partners with intense and balanced feelings based on closeness (Scenario 3). Ambivalent feelings toward a partner (Scenario 1) were associated with passive coping, which increased the risk of detachment. The moderate manifestation of balanced love components and closeness (Scenario 2) focused on acceptance of the situation, positive reassessing, and distraction, all of which reduce the stress of separation, but cause anxiety regarding the future of the relationship.

Conclusion

The type of close relationship has been found to correlate to the coping strategy adopted by the couple following forced separation during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, further studies are required to investigate separation in various social contexts, not only in isolation due to the pandemic, as well as its connection to psychological well-being.

Brain conditions mediate the association between aging and happiness

As the population ages, the realization of a long and happy life is becoming an increasingly important issue in many societies. Therefore, it is important to clarify how happiness and the brain change with aging. In this study, which was conducted with 417 healthy adults in Japan, the analysis showed that fractional anisotropy (FA) correlated with happiness, especially in the internal capsule, corona radiata, posterior thalamic radiation, cingulum, and superior longitudinal fasciculus. According to previous neuroscience studies, these regions are involved in emotional regulation. In psychological studies, emotional regulation has been associated with improvement in happiness. Therefore, this study is the first to show that FA mediates the relationship between age and subjective happiness in a way that bridges these different fields.

Romantic Attachment and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation on Dyadic Adjustment: A Comprehensive Literature Review

In romantic relationships, individual differences are determinant factors for relational quality. Specifically, romantic attachment (RA) and difficulties in emotional regulation influence each other and may have predictive potential for the perceived dyadic adjustment (DA) level. This paper aims to identify the developmental parallel between behavioral patterns built since childhood and the construction of the emotional regulation skills that characterize them. Our analysis was based on the attachment theory and the concepts of romantic relationship and DA. In this way, we sought to further the understanding of relationship dynamics, beyond the usual focus on a single element and on associative relationships, and by exploring other effects among the different dimensions of relational functioning. In particular, we explored the predictive ability of emotional regulation patterns (more flexible individual characteristics) in discriminating between RA styles (more perennial influences), and their impact on the quality of romantic relationships, in the anticipation of dyadic adjustment variations.

Do Belonging and Social Exclusion at School Affect Structural Brain Development During Adolescence?

Students' sense of belonging presents an essential resource for academic and health outcomes, whereas social exclusion at school negatively impacts students' well-being and academic performance. Aiming to understand how feelings of school-related belonging and exclusion shape the structural brain development, this study applied longitudinal questionnaire-based data and MRI data from 71 adolescent students (37 females, M_age at t1 = 15.0; t2 = 16.1 years). All were white participants from Germany. Voxel-based morphometry revealed only an association of social exclusion (and not of belonging) and gray matter volume in the left anterior insula: From t1 to t2, there was less gray matter decrease, the more social exclusion students perceived. School-related social exclusion and disturbed neurodevelopment are thus significantly associated.

'At the End of the Day, It's Love': An Exploration of Relationships in Neurodiverse Couples

Most autistic people report challenges in initiating and developing intimate, long-term relationships. We used a phenomenological approach to interview thirteen people who were in a neurodiverse intimate relationship (where one partner had a diagnosis of autism) in order to explore the challenges and facilitators both neurotypical and autistic partners experienced. Analysis revealed that ND relationships progressed along similar pathways as non-ND relationships. Facilitators included the strength-based roles that each partner took on and the genuine support and care for each other. Challenges were reported in communication, difficulties reading and interpreting emotions, and idiosyncratic characteristics of the autistic partner. Strategies that both partners used to cope with these challenges and their perspectives of relationship-support services are also presented.

Toxic Nightlife Relationships, Substance Abuse, and Mental Health: Is There a Link? A Qualitative Case Study of Two Patients

Introduction and Aims: This article explores the role of toxic close relationships in night life on substance use disorders and mental health conditions. We also contrast the quality and effects of social relationships when doing drugs with those produced by a mental health program that fosters quality relationships between patients. Design and Methods: This qualitative case study was carried out at a mental health day care center of a hospital in Malaga (Spain). The cases of two patients with severe mental disorders and a history of drug addiction were analyzed. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with every patient, semi-structured interviews about each patient with the psychologist of the medical team of the program, and medical documentation. The analysis involved a combination of inductive and deductive approaches. Results: The analysis of the data revealed, on the one hand, the influence of toxic relationships in nightlife, including violent sporadic sexual relationships, in the initiation and persistence of substance use that took part of the mental health disorder in these patients. On the other hand, the findings show that these participants' current involvement in a mental health program, which fosters quality relationships between patients, has brought emotional benefits to both of them. Discussion and Conclusion: This paper points out the relevance of considering quality of social relationships when examining substance use disorders and related mental health problems. Additionally, the findings indicate the importance of fostering quality peer relationships in mental health rehabilitation programs addressed to patients with histories of drug addiction to improve treatment outcome.

Mate Preferences in Three Muslim-Majority Countries: Sex Differences and Personality Correlates

Cross-cultural research on long-term mate preferences in Muslim-majority countries is scarce. The research described here aims to examine the KASER (kindness/dependability, attractiveness/sexuality, status/resources, education/intelligence, and religiosity/chastity) model of mate preferences in Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey ( N = 1,089). We examined structural validity, measurement invariance between men and women, sex differences, cultural differences, and Big Five personality correlates of these dimensions of mate preferences. Findings supported preregistered hypotheses regarding sex differences in mate preferences. Multilevel models suggested that the magnitude of sex differences was invariant across cultures. Personality correlates of mate preferences varied across cultures, but agreeableness consistently predicted the preference for kind and dependable partners across cultures. In sum, sex differences in mate preferences within and across three Muslim-majority countries described here replicate previous findings, but evidence for personality correlates of mate preferences is mixed, variable across cultures, and in need of further examination in non-Western samples.

Socioneuroscience and its contributions to conscious versus unconscious volition and control. The case of gender violence prevention

Research in neuroscience is being very fruitful in providing evidence about the influence of social experience in the architecture and functioning of the brain. In so doing, neuroscience is posing new and fascinating research questions to examine in depth the social processes that produce those neural changes. To undertake the task of tackling such research questions, evidence from the social sciences are necessary to better understand how different types of social experiences produce different types of synaptic changes and even modify subcortical brain structures differently. It will be the dialogue between neuroscience, other natural sciences and the social sciences which will advance the scientific understanding of plastic changes in the brain which result from complex social experiences that have been traditionally studied by the social sciences. Socioneuroscience constitutes the arena for such interdisciplinary dialogue and research that can both advance the scientific understanding of the human brain and provide evidence-based solutions to most urgent social problems. Socioneuroscience studies the relations between the human brain and social interactions taking into account knowledge from all social sciences and the natural sciences. Processes of conscious versus unconscious social volition and control is one central area of inquiry in socioneuroscience. In this article, we discuss the dominant coercive discourse in society -which presents males with aggressive attitudes and behaviors as more attractive- as an example of social control of human volition which imprisons many individuals' sexual freedom. However, due to brain plasticity, certain experiences that question such dominant discourse and empty violence from attractiveness open up the possibility for the individual and the society to break free from the neural wiring imposed by the dominant coercive discourse and, in the words of Santiago Ramón y Cajal, be ourselves “the architects of our brain”, contributing to overcome violence against women.

Well-Being and Romantic Relationships: A Systematic Review in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood

Adolescence and emerging adulthood are both stages in which romantic relationships play a key role in development and can be a source of both well-being and negative outcomes. However, the limited number of studies prior to adulthood, along with the multiplicity of variables involved in the romantic context and the considerable ambiguity surrounding the construct of well-being, make it difficult to reach conclusions about the relationship between the two phenomena. This systematic review synthesizes the results produced into this topic over the last three decades. A total of 112 studies were included, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) guidelines. On the one hand, these works revealed the terminological heterogeneity in research on well-being and the way the absence of symptoms of illness are commonly used to measure it, while on the other hand, they also showed that romantic relationships can be an important source of well-being for both adolescents and emerging adults. The findings underline the importance of providing a better definition of well-being, as well as to attribute greater value to the significance of romantic relationships. Devoting greater empirical, educational, and community efforts to romantic development in the stages leading up to adulthood are considered necessary actions in promoting the well-being of young people.

Exploring the Neural Correlates in Adopting a Realistic View: A Neural Structural and Functional Connectivity Study With Female Nurses

Empathizing leads to positive and negative consequences. To avoid empathy-induced distress, adopting a realistic view (dealing with a situation practically and efficiently independent of one's emotional state) is important. We hypothesized that empathy-demanding professions (e.g., nursing) may require individuals to adopt a realistic view, which may demonstrate modulated neural structure and functional connectivity. We confirmed that female nurses showed a higher tendency, compared to controls, to adopt a realistic view, using the Fantasy subscale of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI; inverse scale of the realistic view). We then employed voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) to explore the neural underpinnings related to realistic view adoption. Nurses exhibited significantly lower gray-matter volume (GMV) in the right striatum. In multiple regression analysis, only the Fantasy subscale score showed a significant positive correlation with GMV within the striatum cluster. Moreover, nurses exhibited lower functional connectivity between the right striatum and the right lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC), representing emotional regulation. These findings show that structural differences in the striatum correlated with the realistic view. Furthermore, lower functional connectivity between the striatum and lateral PFC suggests that nurses may use efficient coping strategies that may lessen the recruitment of effortful emotional regulation.

Pathological jealousy and pathological love: Apples to apples or apples to oranges?

Pathological jealousy evokes emotions, thoughts, and behaviors that cause damage to social and interpersonal relationships. On the other hand, pathological love is the uncontrollable behavior of caring for a partner that results in neglecting the needs of the self. The aim of the present research was to assess the similarities and differences between the two psychopathologies of love. To this end, thirty-two individuals with pathological jealousy and 33 individuals with pathological love were compared on demographics, aspects of romantic relationship (jealousy, satisfaction, love style), psychiatric co-morbidities, personality and psychological characteristics (e.g., impulsivity). In a univariate analysis individuals with pathological jealousy were more likely to be in a current relationship and reported greater satisfaction. The avoidant attachment and the ludus love style were associated with pathological jealousy whereas the secure attachment and agape love style was associated with pathological love. Almost three-quarters (72.3%) of the sample met criteria for a current psychiatric disorder, however no differences emerged between the pathological jealousy and pathological love groups. In a binary logistic regression, relationship status and impairments in parenting significantly differentiated the groups. While both pathological jealousy and pathological love share similarities, they also present with unique differences, which may have important treatment implications.