Love Is Like A Drug
Is Falling in Love Like a Drug?
When an individual takes a drug that stimulates the central nervous system , for example cocaine, it causes a feeling of exhilaration, energy, and excitement similar to the feelings folk get when they first fall madly in love. This type of "giddy" love that occurs at the start of a keen relationship turns on up to 12 areas of the brain. These activated areas release neurotransmitters that cause that euphoric feeling like one a crack head gets when they take a stimulating drug - lending more credibility to the idea that love is like a drug.
One neurotransmitter accountable for that "loving" feeling is dopamine, an exciting brain chemical that causes arousal. In one study, scientists found that dopamine levels rise when someone looks at a photograph of a loved one.
Dopamine isn't the only neurotransmitter that floods the brain when falling madly in love - so does adrenaline, oxytocin, and vasopressin chemicals which all cause arousal. These neurotransmitters play a vital part in sexual arousal too.
Falling head over heels in love : Not All Love is the Same
Researchers are also studying a different sort of love unconditional love. This type of devoted love, which exists between mum and kid and between husband and other half, loves without concern for their feelings being reciprocated. This kind of generous love stimulates a different part of the brain the mid-portion. Therefore different types of love stimulate varying areas of the brain further confirmation that not all love is the same.
What about Love at first sight?
One might argue that love at first glance isn't inexorably love - but passion. Nonetheless, researchers found this unexpected and spontaneous burst of eagerness increases levels of nerve expansion factor, a protein that stimulates nerve cell expansion. Curiously levels of nerve growth hormone are only high in the first year of a passionate relationship and then return to baseline as the fervour cools a bit.
The bottom line?
There's still more to find out about how love, in all of its varied forms, influences the brain. Suffice it to say, this emotion has a major impact on neurotransmitter levels very like a central nervous system stimulator. If love is like a drug, it's one of the strongest ones around.
When an individual takes a drug that stimulates the central nervous system , for example cocaine, it causes a feeling of exhilaration, energy, and excitement similar to the feelings folk get when they first fall madly in love. This type of "giddy" love that occurs at the start of a keen relationship turns on up to 12 areas of the brain. These activated areas release neurotransmitters that cause that euphoric feeling like one a crack head gets when they take a stimulating drug - lending more credibility to the idea that love is like a drug.
One neurotransmitter accountable for that "loving" feeling is dopamine, an exciting brain chemical that causes arousal. In one study, scientists found that dopamine levels rise when someone looks at a photograph of a loved one.
Dopamine isn't the only neurotransmitter that floods the brain when falling madly in love - so does adrenaline, oxytocin, and vasopressin chemicals which all cause arousal. These neurotransmitters play a vital part in sexual arousal too.
Falling head over heels in love : Not All Love is the Same
Researchers are also studying a different sort of love unconditional love. This type of devoted love, which exists between mum and kid and between husband and other half, loves without concern for their feelings being reciprocated. This kind of generous love stimulates a different part of the brain the mid-portion. Therefore different types of love stimulate varying areas of the brain further confirmation that not all love is the same.
What about Love at first sight?
One might argue that love at first glance isn't inexorably love - but passion. Nonetheless, researchers found this unexpected and spontaneous burst of eagerness increases levels of nerve expansion factor, a protein that stimulates nerve cell expansion. Curiously levels of nerve growth hormone are only high in the first year of a passionate relationship and then return to baseline as the fervour cools a bit.
The bottom line?
There's still more to find out about how love, in all of its varied forms, influences the brain. Suffice it to say, this emotion has a major impact on neurotransmitter levels very like a central nervous system stimulator. If love is like a drug, it's one of the strongest ones around.
Source...