The scientific basis of love

Latest research shows that the brain, not the heart, determines your love.

The results of a new meta-analysis show that falling in love with someone can not only create a sense of lightheadedness but also affect many areas of the brain. The team (chaired by Syracuse University and West Virginia University) chaired by Professor Stephanie Ortigue also found that it only takes about a fifth of a second for people to fall in love with someone.

New research shows that we love with the brain.

According to American scientists, when they begin to fall in love, 12 areas of the human brain work together to release chemicals that make sense of lightheadedness, including dopamine, oxytocin, adrenaline and vasopression. The feeling of love also affects many sophisticated cognitive functions such as symbolic psychology (also known as the ability to reproduce in the mind), metaphor (insinuating) .

The results of this study have answered the question of 'do we love with the heart or with reason? '. Professor Ortigue said: ' It's always a quiz. I say that we love with the mind, but the heart is also involved because the complex concept of love is formed by the process of top-down and bottom-up, from brain to heart and vice versa. For example, activation in some parts of the brain can create stimuli for the heart. Some of the symptoms that we feel are that the expression of the heart can sometimes come from the brain . '

Many other researchers also found that the level of neuronal growth factor (NGF) in the blood also increased. This level of factor has increased significantly in couples who have just ' fallen in love '. ' The results of this study confirm that love also has a scientific basis, ' said Ortigue.

The research results are important for neuroscience as well as mental health research because when love fails, it can be an important cause of stress and boredom. According to him, to understand why we love each other and why we are so heartbroken, scientists can find new treatments. By identifying which areas of the brain are stimulated by love, doctors and therapists can better understand the pain of heartbroken patients.

The study was published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine of the World Sex Medicine Association. In addition, Ortigue's research is described in the latest issue of Discover magazine (USA) and the media of England, Italy, Spain, Mexico and Belgium.