The "Love" Reaction

[Mugsey05]

Hello all, I was doing some reading on the chemical reactions responsible for feelings of love and discovered that the primary chemicals responsible were Oxytocin, Vasopressin, and Dopamine. What I was wondering is if, if one were to find the right composition of chemical agents, one would be able to neutralize or at least minimize the effects of said chemical reactions. Thoughts?

[iNow]

Well, there does not seem to be a reason why... in theory... you could not minimize the reinforcement effects of oxytocin, vasopressin, and dopamine... However, I think perhaps a more practical question is... why would you want to?

 

Without those effects... you quite simply wouldn't enjoy what you enjoy... you wouldn't like the things you like... and you wouldn't seek finding more of that which is good. That strikes me as somewhat short-sighted... Somewhat overkill... like killing a fly using a cannon.

 

In theory? Sure. Chemistry is a very powerful field.

In practice? Why would you ever want to?

[Genecks]

Sure, I suppose you could block the physiological influence of the chemicals involved in "love." In general, I believe you would be attempting to inhibit a "reward" feeling. In human subjects, I'm not sure what kind of effects this would have on work productivity. Assume adolescents need to feel emotions, such as love, in order to overcome feelings of loneliness. In general, the feeling of love acts as a reward and the desire for it to keep going can act as a motivator. I suspect that inhibition of the love feeling would induce a person to have an apathetic personality.

 

This might be useful in attempting to deter people from using illicit drugs that produce a "love"-like feeling. However, if the person was aware that such an inhibition drug was being used, then it might not be as effective. If such a study were successful, perhaps a love-inhibiting drug could get people to stop using love-inducing, illicit drugs. Still, it could be used in a research study, and the effects in such subjects could be valuable.

Edited May 15, 2010 by Genecks

[Mugsey05]

@iNow, like I said, I just came across it during some reading and was just curious. Thanks for the information everyone.