I Love You From the Bottom of My Brain: The Neurobiology Behind Love
You're at a typical weekend party. You spot someone across the room. They look over in your direction. "Wow, they're so beautiful," you think. You want desperately to go over and talk to them, but at the very thought of it, your heart starts racing and your palms begin to sweat. Looking over at them again, you see that amazingly enough they are coming over to you. Even before speaking to them, you feel like you have just fallen in love. Is this feeling really love at first sight? Or is it merely the release of hormones in the brain? What causes the feeling of being in love? How can we know for sure if we really are in love?
Love is one of the strongest and most elusive emotions. Nearly every person seeks to experience the feeling of being in love. And once it is achieved, one's life is forever changed. Yet, most people would have extreme difficulty describing what exactly love is, how they know for sure that they are in love, or why love is so universally important. Understanding the neurobiology behind love might help to give us a more clear perspective on social bonding and raises the question of whether love is nothing more than the release of certain chemicals.
The hormone oxytocin plays a significant role in many animals' instinct to love and form social bonds. In fact, it has been called jokingly, "the cuddle hormone." (1) Oxytocin is a small protein composed of nine amino acids. It is produced in the hypothalamus and is released by the pituitary gland. (2) Oxytocin is also produced in the ovaries of women and the testes of men. However, the hormone's most well known function is specific to females. (3) First, it plays an integral role in the delivery of a baby. When a woman goes into labor, oxytocin levels increase. This stimulates contraction in the smooth muscle of the uterine walls, thereby facilitating delivery. Secondly, oxytocin plays a role in milk letdown in nursing mothers. Milk is initially released into small sacs, called alveoli, which are surrounded by smooth muscle cells. Oxytocin stimulates contractions of this smooth muscle, causing the milk to be released to the mouth of a nursing baby. (3) Lastly, and most importantly, oxytocin causes the formation of maternal behavior.
The notion behind loving someone is simply very complicated and esoteric in nature. People often describe a certain chemistry, as in a certain attraction, needed between two individuals who are in love, but Barbara Fredrickson is able to coordinate the definition of love on the basis of chemicals. Barbara Fredrickson is able to provide the definition of love on the deductive reasoning based on chemistry, biology, and neurology explained in Love 2.0: How our Supreme Emotion Affects Everything we Feel, Think, Do, and Become. As Barbara explains, “With each micro-moment of love, then, you climb another rung on the spiraling ladder that lifts you up to your higher ground, to richer and more compassionate social relationships, to greater resilience and wisdom, and to better physical health.” (121).
“The Budget and Economic Outlook : Fiscal Years 2010 to 2020.” Congress of the United States
Cohn, Meredith. "Alternatives to animal testing gaining ground." The Baltimore Sun [Baltimore] 26 Aug. 2010: 1-2. Print.
In trying to prevent cruelty against animals, human lives may be jeopardized and ultimately, this issue is a question of animal lives against human lives. People for animal testing believe that cruelty to one or a few animals is better than jeopardizing the health and safety of thousands and millions of consumers. Searching for better alternatives while not completely abandoning animal testing is the most feasible compromise from hereon.
Love, an intense, deep feeling of connection, romantic, or sexual attachment showing affection for someone or something. As for all pleasant emotions, the feeling that comes with love is exquisitely satisfying. It feels like a cool, , long drink of water when you are parched on a hot day, it it refreshing. Scientists have a pretty good idea of what love does to the brain. Being in love floods the brain with chemicals and hormones that produce feelings of pleasure, obsession and attachment. Neuroscientists divide love into three phases: lust, attraction and attachment. During the lust phase, hormones flood the body with feelings of intense desire. Adrenaline and norepinephrine make the heart race and the palms sweat, while the brain chemical
As any romantic will assert, love is by far the most powerful force known to human hearts and minds. This sentiment is espoused throughout history, almost to the point of cliché. Everyone has heard the optimistic statement, “love conquers all,” and The Beatles are certain, however idyllic it may be, that “all you need is love.” Humanity is convinced that love is unique within human emotion, unequalled in its power to both lift the spirit up in throws of ecstasy, and cast it down in utter despair.
Love is arguably the most powerful emotion possessed by mankind; it is the impalpable bond that allows individuals to connect and understand one another. Pure love is directly related to divinity. Without love, happiness and prosperity become unreachable goals. An individual that possesses all the desired superficial objects in the world stands alone without the presence of love. For centuries love has been marveled by all that dare encounter it. Countless books and poems have been transcribed to explain the phenomenon of love, but love surpasses all intellectual explanations and discussions. Love is not a definition, but rather a thought, an idea. This idea, the idea of love, burns inside us all. Instinctually, every soul on Earth is
Quentin Tarantino’s auteur is one that speaks of gore, racism, and certain shot techniques. Above all, the aspect that Tarantino is best known for in his long history of filmmaking is the fact that he only uses traditional, or analog, filmmaking techniques. In fact, Tarantino believes that digital cameras used to shoot film will lead to the eventual demise of filmmaking. His views and ideas of digital vs. traditional filmmaking and how his films could be impacted if they were shot in a digital format are explored.
In this article, Jones discusses the marginalization of motion pictures, yet touches on the great aspects of film, and how these aspects can expect to survive in the future. Major topics that Jones addresses are: developments in video narrative through flawless storytelling, the use of digital tools for film restoration and preservation, and an audience shift from film to digital. These points detail the love and appreciation that goes into filmmaking, and how the narratives, despite having changed formats throughout the years, have been able to survive and appear to be timeless. Jones also further discusses the idea of using audiovisual material to create narratives appealing. He details how the stylistic approach of a film, and the techniques like cinematography and editing, can enhance and provide for a greater narrative. In summary, the sum of the parts of a film are what make the entire experience, which not only makes for a great film, but for a lasting story as
For decades, using animals in research to examine the safety of products has been a controversial problem. Some people say that testing on animals has brought benefits to human welfare in many ways. Others disagree, believing testing on animals is cruel and inhumane. Both sides have their own opinions, and neither of them is wrong. By doing research on the Internet and in books, I have decided to support testing on animals. Animal testing is more efficient to advance human and animal welfare and has contributed to many cures and treatments for illnesses that could harm both mankind and also animals.
Forrest, D. V. "Love at First Sight: Why You Love Who You Love." American Journal of Psychiatry 161.12 (2004): 2337-338. Print.
In order to gather all the information we have got in the science of love, many researchers in different fields have cooperated to form an idea of what occurs when love happens. One of the world leading researches in this field is the American anthropologist Helen Fisher, author of many best-seller books such as why we love, or why him, why her. She has worked with many neuroscientists, psychologists, sociologist, and doctors in order to achieve a big experiment where brains of participants that claimed to be in love or hear...
We all fall in love at some point in our lives whether it be a passion, faith, or another person. Falling in love is a natural human behavior. It ensures the continuance of the human race through reproduction. Love is often considered a mystery because of its unexplainable feelings. It is the personal and affectionate relationship between two people. Researchers have discovered the biological reasons behind falling in love. The brain controls the signals that release chemicals and hormones in your body to give that rush that love brings.
Just as the brain allows us to see, smell, taste, think, talk, and move, it is the organ that allows us to love — or not. The systems in the human brain that allow us to form and maintain emotional relationships develop during infancy and the first years of life. Experiences during this early vulnerable period of life are critical to shaping the capacity to form intimate and emotionally healthy relationships. Empathy, caring, sharing, inhibition of aggression, capacity to love, and a host of other characteristics of a healthy, happy, and productive person are related to the core attachment capabilities which are formed in infancy and early
Falling in love can be one of the most unexplained feelings a person can endure. There are two sets of feelings that are the basis of modern romantic relationships. The first is the attraction. Attraction is the excitement you feel when falling in love. To better explain this feeling, attraction is what you feel when you meet someone new who really excites you and you begin to feel aroused when thinking about this person.