NeuroGeocoding

Dr Helen Fisher spoke on the Neuroscience of Love last night. Having tested over 14 million people (as Chief Scientific Advisor to Match.com), she has data on the geographic distribution of brain types. She shared the results last night for the first time.

I’ll share her description of the four axes below. And here are some of her comments:

“The Explorer/Dopamine makes the most money… and loses the most money.”

“The Builder/Guardian/Serotonin plans and schedules and is too modest. They would choose loyal over interesting friends.”

“The dopamine and serotonin types seek a mate who is the same type. The Testosterone and Estrogen types seek their opposite.”

“The Northeast and Northwest have the most universities and the most Democrats.”

“Men fall in love sooner, and more often, and are more likely to want to move in together sooner, and are 2.5x more likely than women to commit suicide from unrequited love.”

“Romantic love lights up a brain region close to thirst and hunger. It is not an emotion; it is a basic human drive, seeking the prize of a mating partner.”

“Couples that meet on the Internet are less likely to divorce. This is a correlation based on the type of person who is likely to seek a partner online. They tend to be educated, employed and focused on finding a mate.”

“Singles are sleeping around because they are terrified about divorce. 34% of singles have sex before the first date. Marriage is the finale of the relationship.”

“In a survey of one thousand married people, 81% said they would marry their current spouse.”

“The human brain remembers the bad for Darwinian reasons. This negativity bias drops in romantic love. In lasting relationships, we maintain positive illusions about the other.”

And thanks to the Brain-Mind Institute and our hosts for the evening