When you are attracted to someone, the brain releases chemicals related with pleasurable activities.
Have you ever wondered, why do you behave in a certain way when you are in love? Why does your heart beat fast? Why do you get nervous when your crush approaches you? When do you feel happy when you are with the one you love?
Love is likely one of the most studied emotion but still one of the least understood.
Over the years, studying love has come out with some fascinating research on how the brain reacts with the emotion of love. Let’s look into what the research has found out so far.
Dopamine and Norepinephrine: When you are attracted to someone, your brain releases more dopamine and norepinephrine, both these brain chemicals are related with pleasurable activities and happiness. These are the same chemicals that are released when we eat food we like, for example chocolates. In a research study done in 2005, Dr Helen Fisher noticed that the dopamine and norepinephrine producing areas of the brain light up on the functional MRI’s when someone is in love. In fact this is what you see in addiction as well. So basically the feeling of love can be addicting and hence break-ups are sometimes really difficult when we are truly in love with someone.
The caudate nucleus: This is an area in the brain that is linked with reward detection and is part of the brain’s reward system. It is also rich in dopamine producing cells. The caudate integrates with various parts of the brain assembling all our thoughts, feelings and motivations together and affecting our behavior socially. Fisher in her study again noticed that the caudate lit up when romantic passion or thoughts were experienced
The Ventral Tegmental Area is another area in the brain that forms the brain’s reward system and is again dopamine rich. All these areas work in conjunction with each other cause happiness and excitement in love.
When we fall in love, chemicals get released from these reward systems in the brain producing a range of physical and emotional responses like flushed cheeks, anxiety, racing heartbeat, sweaty palms and feelings of passion. In the initial phases of romance, the stress hormone, cortisol gets released, to help cope up with all these symptoms caused by love. As cortisol increases, serotonin falls, hence causing at times obsession and infatuation in some individuals.
A chemical called oxytocin gets released during sex and further increases during skin-to-skin contact this deepens feeling of attachment and makes couples feel closer. This is why oxytocin is also called the love hormone. Interestingly, this is the same hormone that is released pregnancy, mother-infant bonding and nursing. Some researchers also link oxytocin causing emotions of jealousy and envy in emotions related with love. Vasopressin, another hormone, has been found to be linked to long-term relationships and attachments.
All this research is fascinating and a lot of more studies are still underway to understand how our emotions are influenced by the brain both negative and positive. So while we may have been saying that love is matter of the heart, it might be matter of the mind after all!
(Dr.Sonia Lal Gupta is a Neurologist specializing in Headache Medicine. She is practicing at Metro Hospitals, Noida and MP Heart Clinic at GK1. She is also the co-host of NDTV’s weekly health segment “Doctors on Call”.)