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http://in.news.yahoo.com/041231/139/2irjv.html

Washington, Dec 31(ANI): A new study conducted by researches at University of T|bingen Medical Center in T|bingen, Germany suggests that a romantic break up In women can trigger brain changes visible on MRI scans.

The team led by lead researcher Arif Najib found that women generally suffer more emotionally following the breakup of a romantic relationship than men,but during depression, the brain may have a malfunctioning of the normal circuitry for handling sadness, separation, and grief.

Najib and colleagues chose 11 female volunteers who were in the throes of grief over a recent breakup of a romantic relationship. Many were having trouble getting it out of their minds-a risk factor for major depression.

They looked at brain scans while grieving women focused on sad thoughts about their romantic relationship. Then they performed brain imaging scans while women had neutral thoughts of a different person they had known for an equally long time.

During the study, the women were still having difficulty getting the loss out of their minds, but most had resolved their depressive symptoms. Women still grieving over the romantic relationship had the greatest brain changes.

Although there was increased brain activity in many regions associated with sadness, they also had much less activity in the brain region associated with emotion, motivation, and attention - the amygdala.

A similar thing happens with anxiety disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) -- there is less amygdala activity rather than more, he explains.

His findings regarding grieving after a breakup lay the groundwork for future studies of the connection between normal sadness, grief, and depression, he writes. (ANI)