The Halcyonite

by: Lola D.M. (Grade 11)

Falling in love can hit you hard… almost like a brick wall in the face. But have you ever wondered if there is a “chemistry formula” for love? If there’s an x and y variable that yield this complex, dreamlike feeling?

For centuries, people have thought that love (and, mind you, most other emotions) arose from the heart. However, it’s all actually from inside the brain. According to a team of scientists led by Dr. Helen Fishers at Rutgers University in New Jersey, romantic love can be broken down into three categories: lust, attraction, and attachment.

Lust occurs when you are physically attracted or drawn to the object of affection, and it is driven by the need to reproduce. It’s a need shared amongst all living things, as only through reproduction can organisms pass on genes and allow the continuation of their species. Lust is driven by testosterone and estrogen (in both men and women): sex hormones controlled by the hypothalamus. 

Attraction is the love-struck phase when you obsess about that special someone, and can’t think about anything else. This phase involves a part of the brain which controls “rewarding” behaviour, explaining why the beginning of a relationship can feel exhilarating. Dopamine is produced by the hypothalamus, which plays a part in this gratifying feeling. It is usually released when you do things that make you feel good, such as spending time with a loved one. It also creates a sense of novelty: your lover may suddenly seem exciting, special or unique. High levels of dopamine are related to norepinephrine, also referred to as noradrenalin. When it is released, we feel giddy, energetic, and euphoric. It also causes a loss of appetite, and insomnia. So yes – it is entirely possible to be so in love that you cannot eat or sleep. Finally, during the attraction period, there is a reduction of serotonin: a hormone linked to appetite and mood. Interestingly, people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) also have low levels of serotonin, and scientists believe this is what underlies the overpowering infatuations of love and cause obsessive thinking. In addition, serotonin has been known to send us temporarily insane.

Attachment is the predominant factor in long-term relationships. There is a new desire to make a longer-lasting commitment. These relationships, however, include not just romantic connections, but also friendships, parent-infant bonding, and other intimacies. Dopamine levels drop and are replaced by oxytocin and vasopressin. Oxytocin, also known as the “cuddle hormone,” is often released in activities that result with bonding, such as childbirth or breast feeding. Vasopressin creates the desire to nurture and bond (scientists learned the role of vasopressin when studying prairie voles: small creatures that form monogamous bonds like humans do. A drug was given to male voles that suppressed their levels of vasopressin, and the male voles began neglecting their female partners, not bothering to fight off other males). 

So, is it really that simple? Hormones are released; we feel good, intimate and close; the sun is shining, birds are singing and life is beautiful… What about the fact that love comes hand in hand with jealousy, erratic behaviour, and irrationality?

Surges of dopamine occur with both our virtues and our vices. A study proved that the same regions of the brain light up when we are attracted to someone and when drug addicts take cocaine, or when a person binge eats sweets. Therefore, attraction seems to be an “addiction” in itself – only to other human beings. Similarly, drug addicts in withdrawal display similar symptoms to love-struck individuals craving the company of someone they desire to spend time with. 

Oxytocin, although a “bonding” hormone that helps reinforce positive feelings towards those we love and is good for monogamy, has also been suggested to play a role in ethnocentrism, increasing our love for people in pre-established cultural groups, and making those unlike us seem foreign.

Finally, arousal appears to switch off areas in the brain (particularly in the prefrontal cortex) responsible for critical thinking, self-awareness and rational behavior. In other words, love makes you irrational and stupid.

Evidently, there is a chemical reaction which takes place in humans when in love. And yet, there’s also mystery surrounding this feeling. Many authors and poets have tried to describe it in so many ways. One of my personal favourites is Leo Tolstoy’s quote from Anna Karenina: “He stepped down, trying not to look long at her, as if she were the sun, yet he saw her, like the sun, even without looking.”

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine’s Day 🥰

Have you ever gone crazy with infatuation? Do you have a favourite quote about love? Leave a comment below!

Sources:

• (1) Wu, Katherine. “Love, Actually: The Science behind Lust, Attraction, and Companionship.” Science in the News, Harvard University, 14 Feb. 2017, sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2017/love-actually-science-behind-lust-attraction-companionship/
• (2) Greenberg, Melanie. “The Science of Love and Attachment.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 30 Mar. 2016, http://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-mindful-self-express/201603/the-science-love-and-attachment.
• (3) “The Science of Love.” BBC News, BBC, http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/hottopics/love/index.shtml.
• “What Is the Science of Love?” The Anatomy Of Love, theanatomyoflove.com/faq/what-is-the-science-of-love/.