For the first time scientists have identified the parts of the brain that are stimulated by feelings of love and lust.
While lust triggers the part of the brain that responds to pleasure, love lights up the region that gives pleasure meaning.
The researchers, from Montreal's Concordia University, explain this by describing love as a habit formed when sexual desire is rewarded, the Daily Mail reports.
Psychology experts looked at 20 different studies to map out the regions. They observed brain activity while participants gazed at erotic photographs or pictures of loved ones.
The part of the brain that's sparked by pleasurable activities like good food and sex was also activated by sexual desire, according to the paper published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine. The section involved in processing love is also linked to drug addiction.
As lust turns to love, a different part of the brain is activated, researchers conclude. Feelings of love can also help activate different parts of the brain related to monogamy and bonding.
