What is the biochemical process of "love?"

[The Peon]

First, its nice to return to these forums after a few months and still see so many familiar faces.

 

So my friend the other day told me his girl friend told him she "loved him but was not in love with him." This got me to thinking... what are the chemical and physical properties of love? What chemical process occurs when one sees someone and instantly feels a "crush" while he can look at a super model and be like, eh? How can someone feel attached, "love you," but not be "in love?" I remember reading some time ago about a chemical called oxytocin that causes one to feel attached through experiences, but im not sure if that all that is to it.

[Daecon]

So my friend the other day told me his girl friend told him she "loved him but was not in love with him."

I can relate to that. I don't really know anything about biochemistry but I've been in a situation wher I've loved someone without being <i>in love</i> with him.

[aj47]

As far as I know the neurotransmitters Dopamine, Norepinephrine and Seratonin are all attributed to the feeling of love at first sight and interestingly all these are also released upon taking cocaine. However this is not the same type of love that someone feels when he looks at a picture of a model, that is simply lust and is mainly attributed to sex hormones such as testoterone.

 

The deeper feeling of a true bond with someone, like you said is attributed to the hormone Oxytocin which is also released during child birth, milk production and when you have an orgasm. So the theory that the more sex a couple has, the deeper their bond is true.

 

As well as this, other hormones are released for the long term commitment stages of love such as Vasopressin and some others which I can't remember off hand.

 

200 posts yay.

[The Peon]

I guess the part of my question that remains unanswered is, why when we see a so so girl do we suddenly feel a crush towards her, while when we witness a stunning girl it may be a momentary attraction but then it goes away. Why are we "drawn" towards certain individuals while we brush off others who are just as attractive if not more so? Is love possibly more of a concious decision than we realize? Is some hidden smell involved? I mean whats the deal?

[aj47]

Generally, even if we are not attracted to someone, we can tell they are attractive due to simple things like a symmetrical face, good hip to waist ratio etc which all indicate that the person has good qualities from an evolutionary point of view, to pass on your genes. e.g. women with perfect hour glass figures have the best bodies for child birth.

 

Why we are instantly drawn to certain people is a little bit more complicated and still isn't completly understood. I think the main part of it, is that we all unnconsciencely look for certain qualities through peoples face and body language that maches our own, which is why when looking at couples, more often then not they have very similar facial features.

 

As well as this, apparantly we are all attracted to people who look like our parents and who have pheremones most similar to our mothers. I can't think why though.

[The Peon]

Generally' date=' even if we are not attracted to someone, we can tell they are attractive due to simple things like a symmetrical face, good hip to waist ratio etc which all indicate that the person has good qualities from an evolutionary point of view, to pass on your genes. e.g. women with perfect hour glass figures have the best bodies for child birth.

 

Why we are instantly drawn to certain people is a little bit more complicated and still isn't completly understood. I think the main part of it, is that we all unnconsciencely look for certain qualities through peoples face and body language that maches our own, which is why when looking at couples, more often then not they have very similar facial features.

 

As well as this, apparantly we are all attracted to people who look like our parents and who have pheremones most similar to our mothers. I can't think why though.[/quote']

 

Maybe its a selfish trait, like since you are you (and of course an awsome human), and your mother made you, clearly she is a perfect type woman? To be honest, I dont think its always the case though at least physically. My mother is very caucasian looking, and I tend to like darker skinned ladies more. Not to mention, she has a petite body and I like thicker women. I dont know.. maybe im a freak of nature.

 

BTW I've been doing some research and found that the chemical makeup of being "in love" is strikingly similar to OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). Although this makes sense in retrospect, its kinda scary. That would explain why people do stupid #@_) when in love, and can even be pretty scary in some of the actions performed. So basically love is a chemical imbalance in the brain itself. Of course this doesnt explain why it occurs in certain instances, but it certainly explains why we feel the way we do when we do feel it.

 

By the way, off topic, Transdecimal your head looks like it holds an astonishingly large amount of brain matter.. if that is your real pic. Daaaaaamn. LOL

[aj47]

Maybe its a selfish trait, like since you are you (and of course an awsome human), and your mother made you, clearly she is a perfect type woman? To be honest, I dont think its always the case though at least physically. My mother is very caucasian looking, and I tend to like darker skinned ladies more. Not to mention, she has a petite body and I like thicker women. I dont know.. maybe im a freak of nature.

 

Yea same, I'm currently going out with a girl who's half phillipino, tall and thin, while my mothers fair haired, short and fat. But who knows maybe they smell the same?

 

BTW I've been doing some research and found that the chemical makeup of being "in love" is strikingly similar to OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). Although this makes sense in retrospect, its kinda scary. That would explain why people do stupid #@_) when in love, and can even be pretty scary in some of the actions performed. So basically love is a chemical imbalance in the brain itself. Of course this doesnt explain why it occurs in certain instances, but it certainly explains why we feel the way we do when we do feel it.

 

Yea I heard that as well its wierd. Whats also wierd though is that in the early stages of love, there is a dramatic decrease in seratonin, so the person's biochemical levels are almost identical to a severly depressed person, except there not. Crazy eh.

[herpguy]

Is love possibly more of a concious decision than we realize? Is some hidden smell involved?

No and yes. I don't know much about this, but I do know many subconscios decision are being made when we see someone of the opposite sex. There is some sort of smell too.

[ecoli]

No and yes. I don't know much about this, but I do know many subconscios decision are being made when we see someone of the opposite sex. There is some sort of smell too.

 

I believe you're thinking of pheremones.

[Helix]

As aj47 said, the main chemical with the initial stages of love - 'head over heels' type of thing - is b-phenylethylamine norepinephrine. This breaks down certain types of sugars which give the body a boost of enegry - that sort of 'butterflies in your stomach' feeling is partly due to this active breakdown. As all of this is happening b-PEA norepinephrine binds to liver cells and signals a cascade that results in general good feelings. One study found that PEA (which induces this cycle) relieved depression in 60% of the participants in the study.

 

But obviously there is more to it than that; we don't need Shakespeare and Halmark to tell us love is odd. There are probably more secrets involving love in the brain.

[mattbimbo]

what about loving pets? or loving numbers? is the biochemistry the same?

[The Peon]

Awsome info Helix, thats what I was interested in. And good question Mattbimbo, I too would like to know the answer to that. Im assuming its similar, given people greive and all over a dead pet. Perhaps every time we pet our cat or dog oxytocin is released. But it has to go beyond mere touching, cause some people can even feel sad over a fish death which is never touched.

[mattbimbo]

hi again, i have read research which shows that when infants are not given love before a certain age, a part of their brain, i believe part of the hypothalamus, fails to develop and ultimately these infants become people who are unloving towards others. the research was in a book by sue gerhard called why love matters, a good title i think.

another piece of research which comes to mind is that in doves during the process of courting and finding their life-long partner an increase in mast cells is seen in their brain. now mast cells are weird cells with many functions and secrete many types of molecules. they are generally seen as cells belong to the immune system and are most well known for their roles in allergic reactions. this is speculation but maybe dove love involves the formation of an 'immunological' bond?

some other research involves fruit flies in whom it has been shown that not only are their pheromones to help males and females successfully, their are hormones to stop them mating unsuccessfully, ie to stop males mating with males. i know this is not love but it could be that there are chemicals which stop us from falling in love and they are in an equilibria with the love-inducing chemicals.

the biochemistry of love is probably a good subject to do research in, although i am not sure it is well financed at present. i can imagine meeting someone over dinner and when asked what do they do, with a big smile they say 'i am a biochemist of love' and i'd be totally envious.

[Helix]

what about loving pets? or loving[/b'] numbers? is the biochemistry the same?

 

That’s a good question; and in that area I think the line between the colloquial definition of ‘love’ and the biochemical begins to blur. From an evolutionary standpoint, you only 'love' humans and thus you build a bond with them to either become unified (as in with parents or close friends) or reproduce (as in wives/husbands or people you meet in a bar). So can you, biochemically speaking, love inanimate objects or animals?

 

So, in saying you 'love math' do you mean you are biochemically stimulated through the PEA pathway? Or is it just a common definition -- an extreme like of something? I guess the real question is that use of 'love' a bit corrupted from the real sense of the word? And I'm inclined to think yes.

 

I think in loving things as pets or numbers, it's not biochemical but rather the 'love' is just saying you like it a whole lot. You can only ‘love’ things which would better the species – lovers, friends, family and the. Unless you're into animals, which raises some other questions...

[mattbimbo]

hi again, after a few days i am now wondering what is the evidence that the biochemistry of loved up brains is similar to OCD - not Orange County Disorder which my younger sister has developed, but the other one - but thinking about can one love a TV programme?

[aj47]

the biochemistry of love is probably a good subject to do research in' date=' although i am not sure it is well financed at present. i can imagine meeting someone over dinner and when asked what do they do, with a big smile they say 'i am a biochemist of love' and i'd be totally envious.[/quote']

 

It's almost worth going into that field, just for the chap up lines you could use. Being a ''doctor of love'' does have a certain coolness to it.

[The_simpsons]

a good link from BBC:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/hottopics/love/

[kok3000]

why do you research this?if in the end you know what chemical substance causes a man love a woman,will

you make the chemical substance in to a medicine or drug to make someone else to love you?

[zule]

Some time ago, looking for related to BDSM biochemistry papers, I found this one about love biochemistry. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=15990719&ordinalpos=13&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

 

I think it is very interesting

 

zule

[Dib]

Nice knowing new things.

[Eric 5]

As aj47 said, the main chemical with the initial stages of love - 'head over heels' type of thing - is b-phenylethylamine norepinephrine. This breaks down certain types of sugars which give the body a boost of enegry - that sort of 'butterflies in your stomach' feeling is partly due to this active breakdown. As all of this is happening b-PEA norepinephrine binds to liver cells and signals a cascade that results in general good feelings. One study found that PEA (which induces this cycle) relieved depression in 60% of the participants in the study.

 

 

 

So you think chemical reactions are responsible for emotions? Tell me, if emotions are purely a chemical reaction then what starts this chemical reaction, and why are we able to control these emotions. Emotions are not an automatic response, emotions are based on how we react or allow ourselves to react to a situation. Chemicals do not make emotions. Emotions are reactions of life to the world around it.

[Neopluto]

Try this out for kicks:

http://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Love-Chemistry-Romantic/dp/0805069135

 

I did a science project on this a while back and pinned most of it on Oxytocin. Yes, the research was rather narrow, that's what a very early high school science project requires of you. But as I understood it, Oxytocin is responsible for creating bonds between people. So in the most basic sense, the more you're with someone, the more oxytocin there is, and the closer to feel to them. There was an interesting experiment with a certain type of rodent that maintains monogamous relationships had their oxytocin receptors blocked (correct me if I'm wrong in this assumption. I don't remember exactly how it was done, but oxytocin was taken out of the equation), the social structure of the families degenerated immediately with what were essentially "one-night stands".

[Lovesauce]

Yea I heard that as well its wierd. Whats also wierd though is that in the early stages of love, there is a dramatic decrease in seratonin, so the person's biochemical levels are almost identical to a severly depressed person, except there not. Crazy eh.

My apologies for reviving this old thread but this part caught my eye.

 

When I initially fall head-over-heels for someone (which is very rare, but when it does happen it's strong), I lose my appetite and my eating habits radically change. I usually go from eating an athlete's diet to what Calista Flockhart probably consumes (if anything...). Same thing happens when I'm really down in the dumps.

[kishore769]

thanks folks

[bbklcuren]

That is what i want to know, but maybe i never kown