Love and the brain

Love and the brain

Being love-struck releases high levels of dopamine, a

chemical that increases motivation.

Dopamine makes us want to bond with others and strengthen existing bonds.

https://neuro.hms.harvard.edu/harvard-mahoney-neuroscience-institute/brain-newsletter/and-brain/love-and-brain https://www.pnas.org/content/114/9/2361.long https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/the-mindful-self-express/201210/love-sex-relationships-and-the-brain

When a person watches the face of a person, which he or she is in love with, some brain areas become more active.

These are the medial insula, the anterior cingulate cortex, as well as the caudate nucleus and the putamen.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/what-does-love-do-to-our-brains

The prefrontal cortex, our brain’s reasoning command and control center, as well as the the amygdala, a key component of the brain’s threat-response system, slows down when we’re in love.

The combination of these effects is a willingness to take more risks.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/neuronarrative/201303/love-in-the-time-neuroscience

Oxytocin is a hormone that released during sex and heightened by skin-to-skin contact.

Oxytocin provokes / deepens feelings of attachment,

contentment, calmness, and security.

https://neuro.hms.harvard.edu/harvard-mahoney-neuroscience-institute/brain-newsletter/and-brain/love-and-brain

When we are engaged in romantic love, the neural machinery

responsible for making critical assessments of other people shuts down.

That is the neural basis for the ancient wisdom “love is blind�.

https://neuro.hms.harvard.edu/harvard-mahoney-neuroscience-institute/brain-newsletter/and-brain/love-and-brain