MALIKI ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY-The Gender and Child Study Center (PSGA) and the Community Service Research Institute (LP2M) Maulana Malik Ibrahim State Islamic University Malang again held a seminar entitled "Love and Brain: Understanding Emotional Wounds in Relationships" on Thursday, March 6 2026 in the Auditorium Microteaching, Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teacher Training (FITK) UIN Malang. This activity is a series of launching the short film Retak which raises the issue of sexual violence among students.
This seminar presented guest speaker Fuji Astutik who discussed scientifically the relationship between love, emotions and how the human brain works. He said that the topic of the relationship between love and the brain is still rarely discussed, even though the two are very closely related in human life, especially in the development phase at a young age.
In his presentation, Fuji Astutik explained that at the age of around twenty years and above, humans are at a phase of development where attention and relationships with the opposite sex begin to become the main focus. This is related to psychological and biological processes that prepare a person to enter into more complex relationships in the future, including marriage.
He also touched on the phenomenon of fatherlessness or lack of a father figure which is often associated with a person's emotional vulnerability in relationships. However, according to him, it is not only individuals who are far from their parents who have the potential to experience emotional problems, but anyone can become a victim if they do not understand the meaning of healthy love.
Furthermore, he emphasized that love is not just a feeling, but an art that requires knowledge, attention, responsibility, respect and commitment. Many people, according to him, only emphasize feelings and passion, but ignore the elements of responsibility and commitment which should be an important part of a relationship.
"Dating is often considered a form of commitment, but in fact this is not always the case. True commitment requires clear responsibilities," he explained to the seminar participants.
From a scientific perspective, Fuji Astutik also explained that feelings of love are closely related to brain activity. When someone falls in love, the brain releases the hormone dopamine which causes feelings of happiness and euphoria, even triggering a reaction similar to the effects of addiction.
He explained that the neural mechanisms of romantic love occur in parts of the brain such as the ventral tegmental area and the caudate nucleus. The dopamine hormone released makes a person feel very happy, and can even trigger a fear of losing a partner.
Interestingly, the response to love in men and women is also different. In men, falling in love often triggers a desire to be more attached to their partner, while in women the feeling of love tends to have a calming effect and reduces stress.
According to him, this condition makes it often difficult for people who are in love to accept advice from other people. Brain activity that continues to trigger feelings of happiness makes individuals tend to maintain relationships, even in unhealthy situations.
“In some cases of violence in relationships, someone stays because love can create a natural addiction triggered by hormones in the body,” he said.
At the end of his presentation, Fuji Astutik emphasized that true love should be able to heal wounds, not be the cause of lasting wounds. Healthy love is love that protects, cares for and respects a partner, not a relationship that exists only to hurt or leave emotional scars.
This seminar is expected to provide students with an understanding that understanding love is not enough just to feel, but also requires self-awareness, knowledge, and the ability to manage emotions in relationships.
Reporter: Amelia Dea Divanda
Photographer : Moh Nurul Azmi