Have you ever been in love, or at least thought you were? A survey taken found that about 55% of people fell in love between the ages of 15 and 18. This does not necessarily mean that they stay with that person all of their life. If you’re someone who believes that love is a one and done thing, then I’d hate to be the one to break it to you, but that’s not at all true. The amount of times you can fall in love is based solely on you, but the average amount of times is four times. Now if you have ever been in love, think about how it made you feel and all the emotions you had/have. Today we will be diving into love and more specifically the effects it has on the human brain.
Throughout the years scientists have gathered a pretty good idea as to what love does to the brain. The first thing we’re going to look at is the hormones. Whenever you fall in love chemicals within the brain go haywire causing many intense emotions within you. Neuroscientists divide love into three simple phrases that you’ve probably heard before: lust, attachment, and attraction. Whenever you are in the ‘lust phase’ hormones flood the body with feelings of intense desire and attraction. Adrenaline and norepinephrine cause things like sweaty palms and when your heart seems to race. During this, the brain also releases a chemical called dopamine and creates a feeling of euphoria. Knowing this it can be understood as to why people seem to seem as if they’re on some kind of “high”.
Love works similar to a drug, except it’s a drug that you typically can’t control. Before love even registers in your mind seeing an attractive face activates the same part of the brain that painkillers do: the opioid system. A study conducted not too long ago showed that men who were given small amounts of painkillers found women more attractive than those who did not receive an opioid.This suggests that the system can be “primed” and altered in order to perceive things attractive or not. Along with this comes the fact that love increases blood flow to the brain. The blood travels to the brain's pleasure center, the nucleus accumbens. Magnetic resonance imaging scans show that this region of the brain seems to “light up” when people are in love. This surge of blood flow typically happens when partners are in the attraction phase or become fixated on each other.
Whenever you are in love it causes the brain to become slightly alike to a brain with the disease OCD. Love lowers the chemical in the brain called serotonin which is a common attribute to obsessive-compulsive disorders. This drop in serotonin could explain why lovers become “single-minded and fixated” on their partner or object of affection. This also causes the partners to seem blind to their lovers' undesirable traits in the beginning of a relationship. Since they choose to focus only on their partners redeeming qualities. Although after that when the people have been in love for a decent amount of time the body develops a tolerance to that pleasurable chemical. The attraction they once had is replaced by attachment and they head into that phase. The hormone oxytocin permeates the brain and create a feeling of security and happiness.
In conclusion, love has a serious effect on the brain, one like no other. It affects all parts of the body and mind and can even be referred to as a drug. Things like this are not necessarily the easiest emotions and things to handle. So next time you think you are in love or your friend is, remember that you are not going crazy and everything you are feeling has a reasoning behind it.
Words to know:
Norepinephrine- a chemical that is released from the sympathetic system in response to stress. Also referred to as a “stress hormone” as it also affects other parts of the body.
Dopamine- Also known as the “feel good” chemical it is responsible for many things such as sleep pattern, memory, and motor functions.
Euphoria- A feeling of extreme well-being or happiness
The opioid system- This system controls pain, reward, and addictive behaviors.
Magnetic resonance imaging- An MRI is a test that uses very powerful magnets to make detailed pictures of the inside of your body.
OCD- This is a mental disorder that causes people to feel the need to perform certain rituals or routines, check things many times, or have many of the same thoughts repeatedly also called an obsession.
Oxytocin- Also referred to as the “cuddle hormone” as it is released when not only cuddling with a spouse, but also your animal it has many important jobs as described in this article: What is oxytocin?
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