The Stanford MRI Lab hosted the first love competition where individuals were placed inside an MRI machine for five minutes. For these five minutes, the contestants focused on their feelings of love as much as possible, and parts of the brain were measured that make the neurochemical experience when one feels strong affection.
The contestant with the greatest activity level won the competition, which involved participants of different ages and love experiences. Some of the contestants included Kent, who is 75 years old and happily married, and 31-year old Peter, who was instructed to think of his ex-girlfriend Tracey. The MRI machine looked at several regions in the brain including the nuclear accumbens. This film was directed by Brent Hoff, and produced and edited by Malcolm Pullinger.
What Makes This Trend Stand Out
- Affection-measuring Technology
- There is an opportunity to create innovative neuroimaging technology that can measure levels of affection and love in individuals.
- Love Competitions
- Conducting more love competitions can help drive research and innovation in understanding the neurochemical aspects of love and affection.
- Neuroscience Films
- Films that showcase the latest neuroscience research findings have the potential to spark public interest and engagement in the field, leading to more research and development opportunities.
Sectors Adopting This
- Neuroimaging
- The neuroimaging industry can leverage this trend to develop new equipment and software that can accurately measure levels of affection and love in individuals.
- Entertainment
- The entertainment industry can create more love competitions and produce films that showcase the latest neuroscience research findings to drive public engagement and interest in the field.
- Psychology Research
- Psychology researchers can use affection-measuring technology to conduct studies that explore the effects of love and affection on the brain, leading to new discoveries and breakthroughs.
