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Development of the prefrontal cortex continues through the 20s.

Frontal lobe development improves emotional regulation and might lead to reevaluation of relationships.

Although the circuits are developing, they are also responsive to experience.

It's hard to disentangle structural and functional changes when trying to explain behaviour.

There are lots of reasons why relationships fall apart; all kinds of incompatibilities can doom romance. Some are trivial, but occasionally there might be something more profound at the root of an estrangement.

Recently, the concept of the “frontal lobe breakup” appeared in popular culture. The idea is that the final stage of development in the executive regions of the brain—the frontal lobes—changes someone’s perspective about their relationship. The onset of advanced cognitive skills in one partner creates a gap in maturity too big to bridge.

“The same clarity seeped into my relationship. The rose-colored haze I’d been clinging to lifted, and suddenly I couldn’t unsee the truth: I wasn’t happy. I wasn’t going to be.” (Olivia Tauber, Huffington Post)

“The same clarity seeped into my relationship. The rose-colored haze I’d been clinging to lifted, and suddenly I couldn’t unsee the truth: I wasn’t happy. I wasn’t going to be.” (Olivia Tauber, Huffington Post)

It seems a sad turn of fate that by awakening new mental clarity, brain development makes love unsustainable.

But can it be........

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