The question whether there is a biological or magical component to falling in love came up. How does the brain become overwhelmed with romantic feelings? Is there something mysterious yet logical enough to explain the feeling of amorousness? Love is a complex emotion we gain insight into through neurochemistry. Neurotransmitter levels often increase and decrease, which allows us to better understand love. Cortisol, the stress hormone, rises leading to feelings of unease and anxiety, while oxytocin stimulates sensations of solace and amour. A woman's testosterone level increases, causing her to become more assertive and aggressive in her behavior; on the contrary, a man's testosterone level drops, making him more passive. Yet both men and women still experience a decrease in serotonin levels, which are associated with increased obsessions. There is a particular point of change that happens in some chemical processes, called the tipping point. This is when the concentration of the chemical increases suddenly. Additionally, the process sometimes includes an enzymatic reaction, which leads to a subsequent decrease in levels. It's these two processes that help us understand how we get from minding our own business to suddenly wanting and needing someone in our lives.
On holidays, I had been considering this matter of the brain when I suddenly found myself taking a break from reality. I seized the occasion to tap into my cousin's expertise as he is a PhD in biochemistry, since I was visiting my family. I looked into love, focusing on the chemistry of it. Explaining myself to my cousin, I detailed how various neurotransmitters increase and decrease in levels due to feeling love. His response though was just "Plausible.", a considerate expression that indicated his agreement with my interpretation. I suggested, "Perhaps there are some tipping point reactions to consider." He responded with a nod that seemed to suggest agreement. He gave me an expression of doubt in response to my statement; so I replied, "It is possible that a decrease can be caused by enzymatic processes." Once more, this was met with a questionable look on his face. I had a positive feeling about this because he isn't one for talking much, so his taciturnity wasn't a problem.
"Don't you think, my young ones," my then 95-year-old grandmother remarked before I could ask the next question, "that you know nothing about love?" I was totally taken aback when I heard about the issue, so I stated, "Yes, I'm aware of it. That's why we're discussing this right now." "Young girls tend to rush into relationships and form attachments too soon, but boys often don't reciprocate that kind of ardent feelings," she warned. "Alright," I said, "let's delve into this further. Can you tell me more about how exactly a boy falls in love?" "When I was younger," my grandmother once said, "girls understood that if they truly wanted a boy to love them, they had to give him something to desire - not by giving into him right away." I had heard things like the three-date rule and the 90-day rule from Steve Harvey's book, "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man", before, but I always assumed these were more anecdotal than actually significant. I hadn't considered that there could possibly be any science to it, so I turned towards my cousin. His face had shifted away from its disbelief; no longer showing even the possibility of being plausible. It was the date that drove me to go ahead with my grandmother; thus, determining my choice. "How long should one wait until they have sex?", I asked. Her answer was, "You should wait until he falls in love with you." Granny was asked, "How do I know when he falls in love?" She smiled and answered simply, "He's in love when he commits." I glanced towards my cousin, quizzically asking, "What are your thoughts?". He dropped his head, slightly shaking it and sighed, emphasizing the words to respond with a definitive; "Granny, I think it's time to go home". My investigation could not progress further at that moment; it was clear to me my explanations had been disbelieved. Nevertheless, I knew I must keep looking for an answer and resume my research on another day.
I took a trip back to my domain and went straight to the research library. Combining information that I gathered there with my sources, I determined the next step in my project. There is limited in the knowledge about how humans fall in love due to restrictions of research methods. To gain proper insight into the mechanism of such a complex emotion, more research must be conducted with adapted experimental approaches. "Oh, I love you!" a man would proclaim passionately. Congratulating him on his newfound emotions, a researcher then asks, "Would you be open to having this feeling of love injected into your brain so that we can research its effects?" We needed volunteers for the research, but unfortunately no humans were forthcoming. Therefore we had to resort to using alternative methods - doing studies on animals. But which creatures show signs of affection and love? When humans observe romantic attraction, they demonstrate an inclination to ‘pair-bond’ one participating partner. Scientists then investigated further and pinpointed the same behavior in monogamous prairie voles; who, when smitten by an anthropoid will exchange consensual commitments and embark on a lifetime of intimacy. Researchers began to investigate the potential role of neurotransmitters, hoping to better understand how love works. They quickly noticed that dopamine was naturally increasing in their test subjects. And if they prevented dopamine input, this loving feeling would have dissipated. So they thought that maybe dopamine had something to do with human romantic love, but they quickly realized it wasn't that simple; dopamine increases due to a lot of other stimuli such as gambling, eating chocolate and playing Candy Crush. Therefore, it couldn't be solely responsible for such an intense emotion.
It turns out that Oxytocin is another one of the hormones involved in bonding and it can help cultivate a strong bond between mothers and their children. Research even shows that its levels increase when the two interact with each other. Furthermore, experts believe that oxytocin plays an important role in fostering relationships. They decided to investigate if what they had heard was true, so they looked into it and found that when a woman encountered somebody that appealed to her, her oxytocin levels would rise by 51%. Remarkably, if those same chemicals were likewise suppressed, then her interest would have greatly diminished. They determined that it must be a combination of dopamine and oxytocin causing the reactions- however, there was a complication. For males, the connection between oxytocin and the reaction may be blocked by testosterone, for testosterone suppresses the effects of oxytocin. They wanted to see if something else could be as effective as oxytocin, so they didn't stay with the same formula. That is why they decided to explore other options and landed on a similar formula involving vasopressin. As such, they repeated the study using this new solution. The voles would gather so they could partake in an injection of vasopressin; and with it, they would bring an antagonist - a chemical that could block the effects of this hormone. As a result, any loving feeling created by the vasopressin would be lost. They concluded that the hormones that influence male social behavior are dopamine and vasopressin, potentially with some testosterone too as a result of evidence pointing to an increase in that hormone. "Perfect!" they exclaimed. This understanding can be beneficial for us as well. We can learn how to best utilize the resources we have and identify opportunities through utilizing them in the most effective way possible. Knowing this, we can make conscious decisions around making use of the resources available, ensuring that maximum benefit is achieved.
I recently sent an inquiry to one of the Heads of Studies at Florida State University concerning the relevance of a vole study to humans. My specific question was, “Is the vole study applicable to humans?” His response was a bit awkward: a cheery "Of course, Dawn!" accompanied by an exclamation point. I felt slightly embarrassed so decided against asking for any further clarification and left the conversation as it was. Tiffany Love from the University of Michigan made a bold public statement when she suggested that voles and humans share similarities when it comes to matters of the heart - romantic love. For females, the mechanism translates to higher levels of dopamine and oxytocin present – an exciting prospect of dating and winning the grand prize in love! Increased dopamine brings a thrill of anticipation, while increased oxytocin production cultivates an emotional bond. Dating someone makes us happy, which then stimulates our dopamine levels. As long as both partners are content and the relationship is functioning properly, these increased dopamine levels will remain. Oxytocin levels increase when we're engaging in acts of physical affection, which is why it is often referred to as the "cuddle hormone" or the "trust hormone." This is especially seen during kissing, cuddling and when having a pleasant time together. As you develop a strong bond and begin to trust your man more, the amount of oxytocin in your body increases. Dating someone is an opportunity for this natural hormone of trust to surge within you. Oxytocin, although it can slowly be managed over time, skyrockets and peaks at the point of orgasm. Hence, to get the full benefit of the hormone, orgasm should be a key component to increase Oxytocin levels. My grandmother's words came back to me: "You girls, jump into bed too quick; you fall in love." It seemed like science finally had something to say about that: love could indeed be instigated quickly. In other words, it looked like what my grandmother said was true after all. If he is having a good time, his dopamine levels will rise and consequently, so too may his vasopressin levels - indicating that he is falling in love. When a man is sexually stimulated, including when he's spending time with someone he's romantically interested in, levels of the hormone vasopressin increase. However, unlike oxytocin which goes up after sex, vasopressin actually decreases post-sex. So how much importance should this have on falling in love? The Florida State University conducted a study which revealed that neurotransmitters and even receptors both have an important role in the brain. Neurotransmitters can stimulate the formation of receptors, leading to nerve cells responding to messages successfully. Neurotransmitters must be present in great enough concentrations for the body to initiate the response of receptor construction, followed by receptor filling. Therefore, this process requires some time.
My grandmother said there was one more indication that a man is in love - his commitment to the relationship. He might show his feelings through other ways, but when he commits to the relationship, there's no doubting it. In a study from the United States Air Force, the relevance of commitment was examined. The findings showed that commitment could indeed be linked to this topic. Further investigation revealed how it plays an important role in overall successful romantic courtship. The Air Force followed over two thousand servicemen for an extensive period, during which numerous tests were administered; one of these comprehensive exams measured testosterone levels. When a single man walks through the door, researchers have observed that his testosterone levels remain comparatively high. However, once he enters into wedlock, a notable decrease in testosterone levels is evident. Testosterone has the potential to impact social connections as it blocks oxytocin which is an important bonding hormone. Providing further clarification on this concept, it was revealed that testosterone may have a role to play in this phenomenon. At Harvard University, a study was conducted wherein married men, single men and those in committed relationship were the subjects. The purpose of the study was to understand if there is a difference in testosterone levels based on commitment, on marriage or something else entirely. The single men in the study showed signs of higher testosterone than their married counterparts. Mirroring results observed in the Air Force study, male participants who were not married had noticeably greater levels of testosterone than those who had taken vows with a partner. In terms of testosterone levels, there was no difference found between even men who had decided to take the step of marriage and those who only have a committed relationship. When he committed, his testosterone levels dropped before marriage; not afterwards. My grandmother may have been correct in her opinion, as it appears that her suggestion was indeed valid. Women tend to take a greater risk when it comes to falling in love, as often she will do so after having sex. On the other hand, for men macho courage is more typically exhibited through having marital commitment as opposed to sex, and thus leading them to fall in love. My grandmother had always been a reliable source of wisdom, which I confirmed once again when I noticed she understood the disparity between how men and women view love: Men tend to commit themselves faster and women place greater importance on sex. Obviously, her words of insight hold true throughout my family history - my grandmother was a genius indeed!
See also: https://mygodsentangels.com/