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Which Brain Chemicals Underlie the Experience of Romantic Love?

Michael Anissimov
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Updated: Mar 03, 2024
Views: 21,565
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The primary chemical underlying romantic love is the neurotransmitter oxytocin. Oxytocin is released during orgasm for both sexes but also during childbirth or nipple stimulation for women. This helps along the biological functions of muscle contractions during birth or lactation for breastfeeding.

Experiments with prairie voles have shown that, when the gene for oxytocin is removed, this traditionally monogamous species loses its tendency for pair bonding completely. Scientists strongly speculate the same would happen for humans if oxytocin were blocked. Romantic love may be dependent on just a single brain chemical.

In males, vasopressin is also present, playing similar roles to oxytocin. It is thought that the period of oxytocin release is strongest in the first 18 months of romantic love, and trails off afterwards, though never vanishes completely. Sometimes oxytocin is whimsically called "the cuddle hormone".

Besides love, oxytocin has also been implicated in social bonds and trust in general. Synthetic oxytocin is available and some scientists have suggested it could be a sort of "social Viagra," and indeed experiments have shown that people are more trusting while under the influence of nasally administered oxytocin. Because it is implicated in both trust and love, some scientists have cautioned it could be used as a date rape drug. Like other neurotransmitters, oxytocin may be regarded as a "natural drug" — a substance, when released in the brain, which causes us to act differently, but is commonly accepted in human society because it has been around for millions of years.

Oxytocin also causes females to exhibit more mother-like behavior. This has mainly been observed in rats, but it is suspected the psychochemical response is the same in humans. The difference between someone who is considered your "type" for romantic love and someone who isn't is probably that the presence of one person causes the release of oxytocin and one person doesn't. This is the neurochemical basis underlying romantic love.

Dopamine, the neurotransmitter underlying pleasure in general, also plays a part in romantic love, and is released from environmental triggers from a good conversation to a kiss on the lips.

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Michael Anissimov
By Michael Anissimov
Michael Anissimov is a dedicated The Health Board contributor and brings his expertise in paleontology, physics, biology, astronomy, chemistry, and futurism to his articles. An avid blogger, Michael is deeply passionate about stem cell research, regenerative medicine, and life extension therapies. His professional experience includes work with the Methuselah Foundation, Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence, and Lifeboat Foundation, further showcasing his commitment to scientific advancement.
Discussion Comments
By bookworm11 — On Jul 14, 2010

@artlover3: You can absolutely put love and romance into the context of science and this article does a great job of that. Does it give me a warm fuzzy feeling deep down inside to know that my feelings are the consequence of a complex network of chemicals stewing in my brain? Not really, but that's not the point.

There is great value in intellectually understanding both our human emotions and our human psychological experiences. That doesn't mean we can't enjoy the ride. Having an intellectual understanding of something is never a bad thing.

By artlover3 — On Jul 14, 2010

I don't think you can really put love or romance into the context of chemicals and science. Love is a feeling, and feelings and science just don’t mix. Nothing frustrates me more than people who cannot embrace their emotions and their experiences as a human being without having to systematically analyze it through the lens of science.

Michael Anissimov
Michael Anissimov
Michael Anissimov is a dedicated The Health Board contributor and brings his expertise in paleontology, physics, biology...
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