The scans showed increased blood flow in areas of the brain with high concentrations of receptors for dopamine — associated with states of euphoria, craving and addiction. High levels of dopamine are also associated with norepinephrine, which heightens attention, short-term memory, hyperactivity, sleeplessness and goal-oriented behavior.
In other words, couples in this stage of love focus intently on the relationship and often on little else. Another possible explanation for the intense focus and idealizing view that occurs in the attraction stage comes from researchers at University College London. They discovered that people in love have lower levels of serotonin and also that neural circuits associated with the way we assess others are suppressed. These lower serotonin levels are the same as those found in people with obsessive-compulsive disorders, possibly explaining why those in love "obsess" about their partner.
Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. Why would the brain set us up like this? So that we'll stay with someone long enough to procreate, of course. Our bodies are evolutionarily hard-wired to save our species. Which leads us to the next level of your brain on love: attachment. All these things we've been talking about -- such as adrenaline and dopamine — are quick highs, designed to get us interested.
The brain seals the deal by releasing oxytocin, often called "the love hormone. Get CNN Health's weekly newsletter. Studies show oxytocin strengthens social bonds in mammals, and intimate activities that trigger its release help couples create strong bonds.
So hugging, kissing and love-making are all things you can continue to do to keep your brain on love. Low serotonin levels are often present in those who suffer from thing like OCD , anxiety, and even those who are love-struck.
In the early stages of romantic passion, levels of cortisol, our stress hormone, increase in order to help us cope with the rush. As cortisol increases, serotonin decreases. Past a certain point, the romantic passion may have faded and you may no longer get butterflies. But all of this is replaced with a new kind of love: attachment, which is the final stage. This, too, has its own personal chemistry. Oxytocin is a powerful hormone that is released when we have sex.
It also has a key role in maternal-infant bonding and milk release. This is why, when it is released during sex, it causes humans to form an emotional bond between partners. This is also why the more you have sex with the same person, the more likely you are to develop a strong emotional bond and relationship with them.
Therefore, while oxytocin is a major factor in the non-committal first stage of lust, it also paves the essential pathway to attachment. Endorphins are also important when it comes to the chemistry behind long-term relationships.
In fact, the effect of endorphins on our brain chemistry has been likened to a drug-like dependency, and explains why humans become attached and even addicted.
When relationships have stood the test of time and become long-term, it is often said that the initial passion and spark is lost. Rather than this being a symptom of falling out of love with each other, it is more a result of an antidiuretic hormone called vasopressin. Vasopressin is closely associated with the formation of long-term relationships because it works in tandem with oxytocin. The side-effect of this is that the dopamine and norepinephrine pathways actually become interfered with and disrupted.
This is why, scientifically speaking, the passionate spark fades as attachment grows. Like most things that surround us, love has a complex chemistry underpinning its sugary sweet surface.
Consider the arrow of Cupid, the potion of a sorcerer — love seems elemental. Yet love is not easily conquered by science. Let us look at why. Sex pheromones, chemicals designed to broadcast reproductive availability to others, are often quoted as key instruments of attraction.
It is an appealing idea. But while pheromones play an important role in insect communication, there is very little evidence that they even exist in humans. But if a chemical can signal attraction outside the body, why not inside it? The neuropeptide oxytocin, often inaccurately described as a "bonding hormone" and known for its role in lactation and uterine contraction, is the leading candidate here. This has been extensively studied, mainly in the prairie vole whose monogamy and public displays of affection make it an ideal model animal.
Can love really stay with us throughout our lives? Credit: Getty Images. Blocking oxytocin disrupts the pair bonding that is here a surrogate for love, and makes the voles more restrained in their emotional expressions. Conversely, inducing an excess of oxytocin in other, non-monogamous vole species blunts their taste for sexual adventure. In humans, though, the effects are much less dramatic — a subtle change in the romantic preference for the familiar over the new.
So oxytocin is far from proven to be essential to love. Of course, even if we could identify such a substance, any message — chemical or otherwise — needs a recipient.
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