How to Align Heart and Mind: The Brain of Lovers in Action

Emotions as the Foundation

Emotions are a key component of human relationships. The study focused on differences in emotional synchronization between romantic couples and close friends. The authors used the method of electroencephalographic (EEG) hyperscanning, which allows for simultaneous measurement of the brain activity of two people.

Participants watched emotionally charged video clips one by one, without directly communicating, seeing, or hearing each other. This setup allowed researchers to examine natural coordination, with EEG recordings taken continuously. Selected clips were 1–2 minutes long from films of various genres, aiming to elicit specific emotional responses—for example, Bambi (sadness), The Ring (fear), Tom and Jerry (joy).

After each video, participants rated their feelings on a scale of 0–8 for each of six specified emotions (sadness, anger, fear, joy, happiness, disgust). Results showed that romantic couples exhibited significantly higher levels of behavioral and neural (prefrontal) alpha synchronization than friends. In other words, partners' brains were more “in sync” than those of close friends. Synchronization in alpha frequencies is associated with emotional regulation and coordination.

The Influence of Relationship Quality

An interesting finding was that relationship quality plays a crucial role in the degree of synchronization. Couples with lower relationship quality required a higher degree of internal (brain) synchronization to achieve comparable external (behavioral) alignment.

In other words, when a relationship is not functioning optimally, the brain must "work harder" to maintain a shared emotional wavelength. This suggests that the brain acts as a kind of stabilizer during relational challenges.

The Brain Reveals More Than We Think

Using machine learning algorithms (support vector machine analysis), the researchers were able to reliably distinguish couples from friends based on brain signals. The main difference lay in activity within the frontal cortex, which is responsible for emotion control and processing.

The study's results suggest that romantic relationships are not just about feelings—they are also about how our brains collaborate. Emotional synchronization is both an expression of closeness and a tool for maintaining harmony, especially when a relationship faces difficulties. These findings have practical applications in couples therapy and open the door to a better understanding of relationship dynamics and new therapeutic approaches.

Editorial Team, Medscope.pro

Source: Chen Y., Liu S., Hao Y. Higher emotional synchronization is modulated by relationship quality in romantic relationships and not in close friendships. Neuroimage 2024; 297: 120733, doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120733.