with a person's self-representation, goals-directed actions, and body image. Neuroimaging can also show the difference between love and desire. Some brain regions that contribute to either love or lust are the anterior insula, posterior insula, and the ventral striatum. The anterior insula activates factors that contribute to love such as integrative representations, whereas the posterior insula is involved with factors that contribute to desire such as current sensations, feelings, and responses. The ventral striatum however, becomes activated during pleasurable rewarding experiences such as sex or food. Gender differences Many studies indicate a positive linear correlation between romantic popularity and physical attractiveness for women more than men. Some studies indicate that men subconsciously seek slenderness and sexiness whereas women seek status, permanence, and affluence before they seek physical attractiveness. In addition, men tend to show their emotions through actions while women tend to express their feelings with words. Timing Stendhal charted the timing of falling in love in terms of what he called crystallization—a first period of crystallization (of some six weeks) which often involves obsessive brooding and the idealisation of the other via a coating of desire; a period of doubt; and then a final crystallization of love. Empirical studies suggest that men fall in love earlier than women and women are quicker to fall out of love than men. Studies show When comparing men who have fallen in love, their testosterone level is much higher than those that have been in a long-lasting relationship. See also References Further reading Robert J Sternberg and Karen Sternberg, editors. The New Psychology of Love. Yale University Press, 2008. Denis de Rougemont, Love in the Western World. Pantheon Books, 1956. Eric Fromm, The Art of Loving (1956) Francesco Alberoni, Falling in Love (New York, Random House, 1983) Roland Barthes, A Lover's Discourse (1990) Love Romance External Links