‘We cannot live without love’: when Dr Love met Dr Loneliness

Stephanie and John Cacioppo were two neuroscientists specialising in love and loneliness. When they married, they put theory into practice. But when John died suddenly, would her science save her?

Close your eyes for three seconds, Dr Stephanie Cacioppo instructs me early in our conversation. You might like to do the same at home, or on the train, or wherever you are. Now think of the person that you love most in the world. Got them? Remember the last time you made them laugh out loud. One-two-three. Did that bring a smile to your face?" asks Cacioppo, a neuroscientist at the University of Chicago, who specialises on the impact of love on the brain, and is the author of a new book, Wired for Love.

It did. It works all the time," she goes on. It's because of this fantastic wiring we have in our brain that activates the love network, but also the mirror neuron system. That's the neuro system that is activated when you move, but also when you anticipate or think about the actions or emotions of others. So imagining someone smiling, it's like activating your own smile as well."

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