Influence of daily experiences on ERP correlates of face perception of ones’ romantic partner

Romantic partners rely on key information from their partner's face to facilitate optimal social connections. Evidence suggests that the brain differentially responds to a partner's face as evidenced by event-related potentials (ERPs). Yet, little is known about how ERP responses are modulated by day-to-day biological or psychological shifts. In this study, we examined whether daily experiences related to feeling loved by ones' partner influenced brain responses. Twenty-eight adult romantic partners (20-40 years old) completed twice-daily surveys prior to completing a passive ERP face perception task. Amplitudes were larger to partner's face relative to celebrity (peak N250, mean P3) or stranger faces (mean P3). Greater mean level of feeling loved by partner was related to more negative N250 amplitudes and more positive P3 amplitudes across all conditions (partner, celebrity, and stranger faces). Persons with less variability in feeling loved by partner had more negative N250 amplitudes in response to their partner's face. These results suggest that daily experiences modulate neural markers of familiarity (N250, P3) and that less stability in feeling loved may influence facial identity retrieval for individuals giving the love.