Love can't be seen or touched, but it has always been the eternal topic of human beings.
The famous lyricist Yuan Hao asked when he saw the martyrdom of the wild goose when he was young, and once sighed, "Ask the world, what is love?" Teach life and death promises".
In recent years, scientists have formed a lineup of puzzle solvers to come up with a scientific answer to the question – love is essentially a chemical reaction that originates in the brain.
It's Valentine's Day again, and today we're going to talk about how love happens?
The occurrence of love stems from the hormone being "trickster".
Helen Fisher, an American biological anthropologist, has published an article, dividing love into three stages - * attraction and attachment. She believes that love usually begins with **, and under the action of testosterone in the male body and estrogen in the female body, humans will develop desire, which is not much different from other mammals on the planet. This phase lasts from a few weeks to a few months.
After the desire has subsided, if both parties are attracted to each other, then the second stage of love will be entered - attraction.
Source: Harvard University's official website.
At work at this stage are the well-known dopamine and norepinephrine.
"Love molecule" dopamine
Dopamine is a "blissful" neurotransmitter, and a good experience stimulates the release of dopamine in the brain, which in turn translates into a sense of pleasure, reinforcing this behavior in the brain pathways responsible for reward mechanisms, making people addicted.
The overwhelming obsession formed by high levels of dopamine is felt most strongly when falling in love, which is why falling in love with someone is like "addiction", and dopamine is also called "love molecule".
Molecular structure of dopamine.
Adrenaline that makes people "deer ramble".
In addition, studies have found that couples during a hot relationship typically show higher levels of norepinephrine.
Norepinephrine works like a stimulant, making us feel red, our heart beats faster, we sweat and tremble, we get excited, and the increase in adrenaline may also lead to insomnia, decreased appetite. But don't worry, this is a normal "side reaction" brought about by love.
However, wonderful love usually doesn't last long, and the chemistry of love in the brain is nothing more than a biological trap designed to motivate humans to survive and reproduce. Because the body's hormones cannot be at high levels forever, after an average of 30 months, and no more than 4 years at most, the peak concentration of these "love hormones" begins to subside.
If the two parties have not parted ways at this time, they will enter the third stage of love as defined by Fisher - attachment.
What is it about maintaining a long-term stable relationship?
At this stage, the levels of dopamine and adrenal hormones gradually decrease, which are responsible for "taking over".Oxytocin(oxytocin) andVasopressin(vasopressin tannate), they can create a sense of intimacy and trust between partners, initiate the desire to attach to others, and maintain long-term stable couple and family relationships.
Neurobiologist Steven M. PhelpsPhelps) and Larry Young have done a series of experiments on the "love concept" of prairie and mountain voles.
Prairie voles are an example of "monogamy", and they usually have only one partner to co-raise their offspring in their lifetime. The polygamous mountain voles, on the other hand, do not have such stable family ties. Phelps's in-depth research found that the receptor content of vasopressin in grassland voles is much higher than that in mountain voles, and perhaps under the action of this substance, grassland voles will be so "loyal".
Scientists implanted the genes of the relevant receptors into the corresponding brain regions of mountain voles, and the behavior of the genetically altered mountain voles immediately changed, which was completely consistent with the behavior of grassland voles, forming a stable "mate bond".
Other studies have shown that the interaction of oxytocin (or vasopressin) with the dopamine-driven reward and reinforcement system causes the brain to continuously secrete dopamine, which keeps the relationship happy and happy, and then builds long-term companionship.
These studies show that behind the so-called love, it is actually the result of the cooperation between the brain and hormones. However, no amount of research can fully elucidate the complex behavioral structure of love. Just like the animal motherhood experiment, even if it is not driven by oxytocin, it does not prevent the mother from carefully nurturing her.
The chemistry of love in the brain doesn't last long, and the fact that love can last a long time without being dominated by hormones is probably the most fascinating thing about it.