Butterflies in the stomach
Love: [uncountable] a very strong feeling of liking and caring for someone/something, especially a member of your family or a friend
What is falling in love? According to the Oxford dictionary, falling in love is the feeling that all humans feel when liking very strongly at someone.
But, apart from what we properly know, beyond the love songs and romantic poems, why do we fall in love?
Scientists in fields ranging from anthropology to neuroscience have been asking this same question for decades. It turns out the science behind love is both simpler and more complex than we might think.
Since the existence of the universe, not only humans but all living beings in the world have 3 vital functions: Nutrition, relationship and, therefore, reproduction. Our organism is formatted to reproduce so as not to make our species extinct. Just like the cells of our tissues duplicate, through bipartition, to repair a wound when we get hurt, or in the same way that turtles lay eggs on the beach to leave offspring *(I'm going to contrast the differences between mitosis and meiosis in a next vlog).
It is something necessary for the development of our human species, the reason why it has been maintained for more than millions of years with Homo Sapiens.
Love can be broken down into three categories as identified Dr. Helen Fisher: lust, attraction, and attachment. Each of these categories is driven by different hormones produced in the brain:
Lust: The hipothalamus (central part of the brain) releases dopamine into the body, causing feelings of ecstasy and excitement. This is driven by the desire for sexual gratification, an evolutionary mechanism to ensure reproduction. It is primarily fueled by testosterone and estrogen, stimulating the testes and ovaries (picture 2).
But, why do we feel such an intense and deep feeling such as love? Why does it give us a feeling of pleasure? Where the attraction comes from ?
2. Attraction: Distinct from lust, attraction involves the brain's reward pathways. It is associated with high levels of dopamine and norepinephrine, which create feelings of exhilaration and energy. As the levels of dopamine increases, the levels of serotonin decreases. We can, so, find high dopamine levels in healthy relanthionships, and high serotonin level in jealous or obsesives partners (this one is found in obsessing disorder as binge eating, etc) (picture 3).
Along with dopamine, the body also produces a substance called nerve growth factor( NGF). NGF is more commoun in people who are newly in love, while people in long term relationship or who isn’t in love have lower level. The amount directly relates to the intensity of romantic feelings.
3. Attachment: This phase involves hormones such as oxytocin and vasopressin, which promote long-term bonding and a sense of security, created in times of long term passion.
Butterflies in the stomach.
In reality, it is the heart that pumps faster and at higher pressure, which alters peristalsis, that is, the movements of the digestive system and abdominal chemistry.
I invite you to read my (future) articles. Next I would like to talk about the chemical and biological reaccions of our brain during a kiss !
Thank you for reading my vlog, beautiful person <3
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