Overcoming a breakup: biological changes in the brain that help you forget your ex have been identified

Scientists say biological changes in the brain can help you forget your ex. A study conducted with paired vole mice found that surges in the pleasure hormone dopamine decreased after a period of separation.

Breaking up isn’t easy for couples, but it appears the brain may have a mechanism to help it forget its ex, The Guardian writes.

Researchers studying prairie voles say rodents that form monogamous relationships experience a surge of the pleasure hormone dopamine in their brains when searching for and reuniting with their partner. However, after a long separation, they no longer experience such a surge.

“We tend to think of it as ‘bridging the gap’ because these voles can actually form a new connection after this change in dopamine dynamics – something they can’t do while the connection is still intact,” said Dr. Zoe Donaldson, a behavioral neuroscientist at CU Boulder and senior author of the paper.

In a paper published in the journal Current Biology, the team describes how they conducted a series of experiments in which voles had to press levers to gain access to either their mate or an unknown vole located on the other side of a transparent door.

The team found that the voles released more dopamine in their brains when they pressed levers and opened doors to meet their mate than when they encountered a new vole. They also cuddled closer to their mate when they met and experienced a greater rise in dopamine levels.

Dr Zoe Donaldson said: “We think the difference is due to the awareness that you are about to reunite with a partner, and reflects that reuniting with a partner is more rewarding than interacting with a vole they don’t know.”

However, these differences in dopamine levels were no longer present after they separated the vole pairs for four weeks, a significant period in the rodents’ lives. Differences in behavior when the animals huddled together also decreased.

The researchers say the findings indicate a weakening of the bond between pairs of voles, not that they have forgotten each other.

Zoe Donaldson notes that the study could have a number of implications if research shows the findings apply to humans.

“First, if this dopamine signal is indeed critical to strengthening and maintaining human connections, this means that activities that help keep this signal strong have important consequences for relationship satisfaction,” she said.

Donaldson added that the work could also be useful for people who find it difficult to move on with their lives after bereavement.

“It is possible that for these individuals, their partner’s dopamine signal does not adapt after loss, essentially stopping them from processing the loss,” she said. “The broader goal of my research is to identify ways to help people with long-term grief disorder by identifying biological changes that help them cope with loss and return to life.”