Romantic Love as a Unified System: Insights from Dual-Brain Microstate EEG Analysis
Poster No:
651
Submission Type:
Abstract Submission
Authors:
Yijun Chen1, Shilin Wen1, Zhengde Wei1, Xiaochu Zhang1
Institutions:
1University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui
First Author:
Co-Author(s):
Introduction:
Love, as the most intimate interpersonal relationship, is distinct from other social connections, drawing significant interest in its neural underpinnings (Bartels & Zeki, 2000). The advent of hyperscanning has enabled simultaneous neural synchronization studies in romantic partners. Recent studies propose a novel framework considering two interacting individuals as an integrated system, where shared emotions, behaviors, cognition, and relational contexts shape brain dynamics (Kingsbury & Hong, 2020). While functional connectivity captures static interregional correlations, it offers limited insights into dynamic processes (Hutchison et al., 2013). Microstate analysis, developed for single-brain EEG, provides time-resolved, whole-brain dynamics (Michel & Koenig, 2018), offering a better approach to understanding such complex systems. Building on dual-brain microstate analysis (Li et al., 2024), this study explores how romantic partners function as a unified system, dynamically reflecting their intimacy, and how this distinct system differs from other social relationships.
Methods:
EEG hyperscanning data were collected from 25 heterosexual romantic couples and 25 heterosexual same-sex close friends under positive (happiness) and negative (sadness) emotional conditions, with details available in Chen et al. (2024). EEG signals were band-pass filtered (1–30 Hz). For single-brain data (59 electrodes), microstate analysis was performed using the EEGLAB plugin (Nagabhushan Kalburgi et al., 2024) with k-means clustering to decompose signals into stable microstates, extracting durations for dynamic brain network properties. For dual-brain analysis, signals from each pair were concatenated (118 electrodes, 2×59), and similar analyses were conducted. Microstate features from single- and dual-brain analyses were used to classify emotional states (positive/negative) and group types (couples/friends), exploring how romantic love differs from other social relationships in brain dynamics.
·Figure 1. Schematic diagram of the research procedure.
Results:
The optimal classification for single-brain and dyadic microstate analyses was 6 and 7 classes, respectively(Figure 2a-d). Significant emotion-related differences were found in single-brain (classes 2, 3, 6) and dual-brain (classes 3, 4, 7) microstate analyses(Figure 2e,g). SVM combined with PCA and 5-fold cross-validation achieved maximum discrimination of 0.62 for dual-brain (Figure 2h)and 0.58 for single-brain microstates(Figure 2f), validating the effectiveness of dual-brain analysis. Unlike single-brain analysis, dual-brain analysis distinguished couples from friends, with a top score of 0.76(Figure 2i-l), exceeding previous functional connectivity results (0.66). Couples showed longer average microstate durations (p=0.015), reflecting deeper interpersonal integration. Interestingly, the second-class (Class 2) duration was shorter in couples than in friends, significantly negatively correlated with PLS and positively with ECR dimensions(Figure 2m-o), suggesting that intimate couples regulate emotions more rapidly to meet emotional needs. Source localization revealed similar male-female activity in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) within this class(Figure 2q,r), consistent with prior prefrontal synchronization findings.
·Figure 2. The main results.
Conclusions:
We validated the effectiveness of dual-brain microstate analysis, demonstrating its superior ability to distinguish couples from friends compared to traditional functional connectivity and single-brain microstate analysis. Couples exhibited longer average microstate durations in dual-brain analysis, with the duration of one specific class significantly correlated with relationship intimacy-a pattern not observed in friends. Additionally, source localization revealed highly similar brain activity between partners within this class. These results reveal the unique neural dynamics of romantic relationships, where two brains strive to merge into a deeply unified system, setting romantic love apart from other social bonds.
Emotion, Motivation and Social Neuroscience:
Emotional Perception
Social Interaction 1
Social Neuroscience Other 2
Modeling and Analysis Methods:
EEG/MEG Modeling and Analysis
Keywords:
Electroencephaolography (EEG)
Emotions
Other - Romantic love; EEG-hyperscanning; Microstates; Interpersonal relationships
1|2Indicates the priority used for review
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Provide references using APA citation style.
Chen, Y. (2024). Higher emotional synchronization is modulated by relationship quality in romantic relationships and not in close friendships. NeuroImage, 297, 120733.
Hutchison, R. M. (2013). Dynamic functional connectivity: Promise, issues, and interpretations. NeuroImage, 80, 360–378.
Kingsbury, L. (2020). A Multi-Brain Framework for Social Interaction. Trends in Neurosciences, 43(9), 651–666.
Li, Q. (2024). Two-brain microstates: A novel hyperscanning-EEG method for quantifying task-driven inter-brain asymmetry (p. 2024.05.06.592342). bioRxiv.
Michel, C. M. (2018). EEG microstates as a tool for studying the temporal dynamics of whole-brain neuronal networks: A review. NeuroImage, 180, 577–593.
Nagabhushan Kalburgi, S. (2024). MICROSTATELAB: The EEGLAB Toolbox for Resting-State Microstate Analysis. Brain Topography, 37(4), 621–645.