It’s time again for Hallmark’s most awaited holiday. You know, the one where a girl spends her night either snuggling up to her lover boy in a fancy dining establishment or snuggling on the couch with a box of chocolates she bought from CVS. Therefore, in honor of this romantic yet oh so dreadful day of the year, let’s talk about love.
Let’s face it. Love can make us ladies absolutely crazy. And while the rollercoaster of love has inspired all the love experts themselves, from Shakespeare and Van Gogh to Adele, it is now catching the attention of scientists.
The truth is, your body’s main organ of love (and sex) is not the heart, but the brain! Researchers in the Netherlands recently published an article in the Journal of Neuroscience in which they compiled and reviewed all the previous research done on love. And what did they conclude? That the unexplainable rush of emotions the human population calls love and heartbreak is more likely a phenomenon defined by a variety of changes in hormones and brain activity rather than Cupid’s arrow.
Brain imaging studies of individuals in romantic love have shown increased activation of key areas of the dopaminergic system. Ever feel addicted to love? This may be why. The dopaminergic pathway is associated with reward and contains high concentrations of the feel good euphoria hormone, dopamine. Dopamine and its associated pathway are the masters behind addictive behavior and the intense rush of pleasure that makes humans crave ice cream and even cocaine! Because symptoms of love overlap with that of addiction, it’s not surprising why it can be so painful to ride out a breakup. Your brain may be experiencing similar symptoms to addictive drug withdrawal.
Studies have also shown hormonal changes during various stages of relationships. Following the lustrous stage, typically controlled by testosterone and the sex hormones, the next stage is the love-struck phase known as attraction. This is the part that begins with racing hearts and fluttering tummy butterflies, is followed by the high stress and very ambiguous DTR (Defining The Relationship) stage, and ends with what I like to call OHD (Obsessive Honeymoon Disorder). And all of this can be attributed to three main hormones. The hand sweat, dry mouth, stomach churning feeling could possibly be due to increased norepinephrine, a hormone that increases your cortisol levels associated with stress. Anthropologist Helen Fisher from Rutgers University has suggested that novel couples experience dopamine surges in the reward pathways of the brain, which are reaffirmed by symptoms of increased energy, less need for food or sleep and satisfaction with even the smallest nuances of a relationship. Starting to sound a little bit familiar? Now think back to the relationship where you fell the hardest, the one where you admit you may have acted a little bit crazy… Not to fear, you may be able to blame your serotonin. Couples in early stages of love have shown lower serotonin levels, a condition which has also been detected in individuals suffering from OCD, manic depression and anxiety disorder. And last but not least, the attachment stage, the bond that keeps you coming back for more. Much of this research has been done with prairie voles. Prairie voles are rodent-like animals that graze the grasslands of North America and Canada. What’s cool about them? They are one of the 3% of mammalian species that stay monogamous with one partner for life. Studies have shown that prairie voles that have higher densities of vasopressin and oxytocin receptors near the reward pathway. Oxytocin is known as the ‘cuddle hormone,’ which is released after orgasm and gives that sense of attachment after sex. Vasopressin is a hormone that typically controls thirst but is also suspected to play a role in attachment. Fun fact: studies have shown that when oxytocin and vasopressin receptors are blocked in prairie voles, they become promiscuous and no longer remain monogamous.
Even with the great advancements in neuroscience, we will probably never know what lies behind that mysterious curtain of love. And while we can shift some of the blame for our love-induced craziness onto our hormones, our experiences will always continue to shape who we are. But on a day like Valentine’s Day when you’re love bitten and might need a little pick me up, just blame the brain.
References
de Boer, A., van Buel, E. M., & Ter Horst, G. J. (2012). Love is more than just a kiss: a neurobiological perspective on love and affection. [doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2011.11.017]. Neuroscience, 201(0), 114-124.
Fisher, H., Aron, A., & Brown, L. L. (2005). Romantic love: An fMRI study of a neural mechanism for mate choice. The Journal of Comparative Neurology, 493(1), 58-62.
http://www.oxytocin.org/oxytoc/love-science.html