In our brains, there are a lot of chemical reactions through which hormones and certain neurotransmitters form the feeling of love at the level of neurochemistry. There are two main components to this beautiful feeling: attraction and affection. Each of them includes a different "cocktail" of chemical elements. Certain areas of the brain become active when you experience love at one stage or another.
What areas of the brain are involved in this?
The brain consists of the left and right hemispheres, each of which performs specific functions.
The right lobe participates in the formation of feelings, is responsible for a person's creativity, his imagination and thinking. The left one is responsible for logic, reasoning, planning and analytical thoughts. Science claims that the area of love is precisely the right hemisphere.
Research has proven that two main areas of the brain only become active at the same time when someone is experiencing romantic love. Together they create the feeling that love is a great happiness, that natural feeling, without which it is impossible to live.
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At an early stage, which can be called falling in love, other areas of the brain are involved in the work, namely, the caudate nucleus and the ventral tegmental region. They are literally filled with dopamine, which makes the feeling of love sublime, prevailing over others. Interestingly, dopamine is also known as the "love drug".
How does the brain participate in attraction?
The first time of love is associated with infatuation, lust and desire. Physical attraction is caused by the main sex hormones known to us as estrogen and testosterone. Desire, as they say, arises throughout the body, as there is an adrenaline rush.
As a result of this physiological reaction, the heart rate increases significantly, the work of the sweat glands is accelerated.
When people experience romantic love, serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, the main neurotransmitters, are activated. The first two of these affect the feeling of passion as well as the thinking processes. They "force" the hypothalamus to produce sex hormones. Dopamine release is also triggered by anxiety. It is observed in situations of risk and danger to life. Dopamine and norepinephrine are also jointly responsible for a person's euphoria and addiction.
What is responsible for attachment?
After the first wave of passionate love passes, people feel much calmer and more comfortable when their partner is nearby. In this situation, oxytocin and vasopressin are already starting to come into play.
The former is also known as the hug hormone. It is developed after an intimate relationship, causing a feeling of closeness and privacy. Oxytocin is released from any kind of touching, gentle kissing, stroking, hugging, etc. It is also released during communication with a partner, so communication is critical for a long relationship.
Vasopressin is also known as the "monogamy hormone", it is responsible for the loyalty of partners to each other. Experiments that were carried out on animals showed that suppression of the production of this substance is fraught with the fact that couples will cool down to each other, treason will begin.
Output
One thing is clear - love is a biologically conditioned feeling. The "cocktail" of the components of a chemical reaction depends on the phase of the relationship, the feelings that you are currently experiencing. Serotonin and dopamine are primarily dominant at first. Later, when deep attachment takes place, oxytocin and vasopressin take over. Now it is clear that love is no longer a secret, because we also have a lot of information about how relationships are maintained for a long time.
Victoria Ivashura