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Wanting someone can sometimes intensify after they become unavailable.
Brain-imaging research involving people who had recently experienced an unwanted breakup found that viewing an ex-partner activated brain regions associated with reward, motivation, and craving.
These systems are also involved in pursuing highly valued rewards.
This may help explain why knowing a relationship is over doesn't immediately switch off the desire to reconnect.
The brain can continue treating the former partner as something highly significant even after rejection.
Sometimes losing access to someone doesn't instantly reduce wanting—it can temporarily make letting go especially difficult.
© Journal of Neurophysiology