Anecdotically, love It is a matter of heart. However, the main organ influenced by love is actually the brain. Where is the love in the brain “find”, and what does our minds and bodies do, according to science?
It is only relatively recent that the researchers have started to probe the neural bases of one of the most powerful and engaging states known by human beings, namely love.
Actually, Love in its various types (romantic, erotic, maternal) has been in the past rarely subject to scientific investigation; In part, this may be due to the fact that love has always been the domain of poets and artists; Maybe psychologists and clinicals, but it has certainly not been taken into great consideration in the field of experimental science, that is, of neurobiological research.
Therefore, our knowledge in this field have yet to evolve and only recently the research has brought to light detailed information on the molecular and physiological “ingredients” of the phenomenon of love.
The chemistry of love: neurotransmitters
The role of dopamine
The loving passion arouses feelings of euphoria and often overwhelming and indescribable happiness, because when we fall in love it is as if a chemical storm had unleashed in the brain.
And the areas that are activated in response to these feelings are the regions of the brain that contain high concentrations of a neuromodist associated with reward, desire, dependence and euphoric states, that is to say dopamine. Dopamine is released by the hypothalamus, a structure located in depth in the brain and which acts as a connection between the nervous and endocrine system.
Love is a mutual to give and receive something very rewarding and therefore dopamine is produced both when you receive something pleasant from the partner and when it gratifies it by transmitting our love.
The release of dopamine puts in the feeling of “feeling well” In several aspects since dopamine seems to be connected not only to the formation of relationships but also to sex, considered a rewarding and “well -being” exercise.
Another ownership of dopamine is that initially it is issued only at the time of excitement, but then the brain gets used to releasing it before excitement, in anticipation of a hug, a kiss or even the simple presence of the loved one.
The role of serotonin
An increase in dopamine levels is also associated with the decrease of another neurotransmitter, the serotonin.
In particular, the studies have shown a marked reduction of serotonin especially in the early stages of falling in love, just as it occurs in patients suffering from ailments obsessive. Love, after all, is a kind of obsession, in its initial phases the thought is turned incessantly towards that individual, the one or the one that we are falling in love with; Just as the actions and behaviors are directed in order to approach the partner.
This can therefore give us a “biological” reason for why people in love tend to fix themselves on the object of their affection, narrowing the field of interests and thoughts very little else.
Also, precisely because of a Reduction of serotonin levelssubstance implicated in the process of adjusting the tone of mood, if on the one hand we try that intense euphoria previously mentioned, on the other we are easily candidates to fall in anxiety and sadness if we notice signs of refusal by the desired partner.
The role of the nervous growth factor
The initial phases of the falling in love seem to correlate even with another substance, the nervous growth factor. This turned out to be higher in those who have recently fallen in love than those who are not in this condition or who have a consolidated bond for some time. A significant correlation was also found between concentration of the nerve growth factor and intensity of feeling.
The role of other neurotransmitters
Our nervous system also releases the norepinephrinethe substance responsible for the physical effects of passion (feeling of heat, sweating, increase in heart rate, tremor, insomnia) which complete the sense of emotion and excitement.
Two other neurochemical substances that appear to higher concentrations when a person is in love are theoxytocin and the Vasopressin.
Both these chemical messengers facilitate affective bond and are associated with the brain reward system, enhancing the mechanisms of memory that fix positive emotional memories and leave out the painful aspects.
Both are produced by the hypothalamus and then stored in the pituitary gland, to be downloaded in the blood whenever a “love connection” is created with someone And you feel “rewarded” by the presence of that person; Until even to perceive herself in a “one” with her, in a sort of chemical and emotional bond.
The consequence of this is that the brain, through its plasticity (that is, its ability to reorganize itself, chemically, structurally and functionally) makes the person who loves in our “self” grows, so as to become a part of ourselves. The result of this process is precisely the feeling of being linked to that person and having the task of protecting it.
Finally, in love passion, the production of endorphins which promote well -being and relaxation in an atmosphere of stability and trust.
The seat of love: the brain areas
In human history, they have always tried to identify the part of the body where emotions are formed, but today scientific research has given us the real locations of feelings and emotions. In fact, neuroimmagini tools such as RMF (functional magnetic resonance imaging) are used, which help us understand which brain areas are activated when we are in love.
Some of these areas are found in the cerebral cortex itself and others are found in subcortical stations. All constitute parts of what is known as the emotional brain.
In the first place we consider the hypothalamus, that we have appointed above regarding the production of dopamine. The studies conducted on this structure have shown that the activation of the hypothalamus occurs both feeling feelings of “romantic” love and with sexual arousal, but instead not when we nourish feelings of “maternal” love.
Its activation can therefore constitute the erotic component of loveevidently absent when the feeling involved is devoid of this connotation.
Two other brain structures, The insula and the striped bodyare responsible for the progression from sexual desire to love. The insula is a portion of the cerebral cortex, while the striped body is located in an area below the cortex.
Element of great interest was the discovery that these regions have inhibitory connections with other areas of the brain. That is, the frontal cortexand theamigdala, structure located at the apex of the temporal lobe.
Therefore we witness the phenomenon for which an increase in activities in some areas involved in love determines one decrease in activity, of other cortical areas, with the consequences we are going to examine.
Cortical deactivations and suspension of judgment
The fact that the totalizing passion of love is often accompanied by a suspension of the judgment or from a relaxation of the judgment criteria with which we evaluate others. This critical capacity is precisely a function of the frontal cortex. His inactivation makes reason for why, when we are deeply in love, we suspend the critical judgment that we apply in other contexts to evaluate people, situations or our behaviors.
Often the others are surprising for some choices implemented by those who are in the early stages of love infatuation, finding them irrational and incomprehensible. In fact, in this particular emotional state, rational judgments are suspended or no longer applied with the same rigor. In this phase of the love story, The partner appears perfectwithout defects, the only person to whom you want to give attention and love.
Nor are there moral censorships, because the ability of judgment in moral matters is also attenuated, since morality is also associated with the activity of the frontal cortex.
The madness of love
Euphoria and suspension of judgment can generate states that other people could interpret how A form of madness. This is the madness celebrated by poets and artists and certainly the neurological explanations of a deactivation of the brain parts involved in the creation of judgments helps better to understand the clear irrationality of love.
Nietzsche wrote in So spoke Zarathustra: “There is always a little madness in love. But there is always a bit of reason in madness “
This reason is to be found precisely in the activation and neurobiological deactivation patterns foreseen in love. These are at the service of a sort of “higher purpose”, which aims to combine couples (otherwise unlikely) to increase the variability of the species.
However, it should be emphasized that if people in love suspend the judgment on the people subject to their feeling, they do not necessarily suspend the judgment in other fields. For example, they could be perfectly capable of judging the quality of a book or scientific work.
The suspension of judgment, when it comes to love, is selective and acts on a very specific set of brain connections.
The other area of the brain that undergoes a process of deactivation in the course of falling in love is theamigdala. A structure that coordinates the responses to fear, helping human beings to remain as far as possible from potentially dangerous situations.
Its deactivation involves one reduction of responses to fearwith the consequence of getting more easily in risky situations in order to be with your loved one.
But how long does the passion phase last?
According to the most recent studies, this “storm” of chemical transmitters lasts by 12/18 months up to about 3 years.
Then, inevitably, everything returns normal. Sadly normal for those who need to live love as an experience continually out of the ordinary. So here is the tension towards a new subject who can trigger those well -being mechanisms, looking for a Another three years of happiness.
Bibliography
Zeki, S. (2007). The Neurobiology of Love. Febs Letters, 581 (14), 2575-2579
Esch, T., & Stefano, GB (2005). The Neurobiology of Love. Neuroendocrinology letters, 26 (3), 175-192
De Boer A, Van Buel EM, Ter Horst GJ: (2012). Love is More Than Just A Kiss: A Neurobiological Perspective on Love and affectation. Neuroscience; 201: 114-24 (ISSN: 1873-7544)
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