The researchers scanned the brains of couples together for 20 years and compared them with results from new lovers. About 10 percent of the mature couples had the same chemical reactions when shown photographs of their loved ones as those just starting out. Previous research has suggested that the first stages of romantic love fade within 15 months and after 10 years it has gone completely.

　　研究人員們對相處20年的夫妻進行了腦部掃描，并將結果和剛剛墜入愛河的戀人進行比較。這些老夫老妻看到自己配偶的照片時，大約有10%的夫妻的腦部化學反應和初入愛河的戀人相同。而以前的研究表明：開始時的浪漫之愛會在15個月內逐漸減少，十年后會蕩然無存。

　　“The findings go against the traditional view of romance—that it drops off sharply in the first decade—but we are sure it’s real,” said Arthur Aron, a psychologist at Stony Brook.

　　石溪分校的心理學家亞瑟·艾倫說：“這個研究結果和傳統的愛情觀點截然不同，傳統的觀點認為愛情會在相愛后的十年內迅速減少,但是我們確定人們可以鐘愛一生。”