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SCIENCE OF LOVE
“Love is a beautiful thing”; “love never fails”; “love is wicked”; “the most important thing in the world is family and love”; “where there is love, there is life”…the list goes on and on and on. Musicians sing it, poets write it, movies portray it, even most religious Holy Books emphatically highlight it, politicians, noble laureates, activists and fanatics alike, even down to the common people on the streets, adore it with such intensity. It makes the world go round, everyone wishes to find it, and keep it with them for the rest of their lives.
With so much excitement having been witnessed over the years on this subject, and considering the fundamental role it plays in human life, answering many, yet leaving much questions unanswered, it is imperative that we get to understand its very nature, to get to its very core in order to harness the seemingly endless capacity for happiness that it offers. How does it work essentially? And if we knew its physiological function, is there any means by which we can make it occur more often? Could we stop bad relationships, and thereby save people much heartache? Can we make good ones last, making the “lived happily ever after” cliché a reality?

THE ROLE OF THE BRAIN
Most people believe that love has much to do with the heart, hence the saying: “use your head, not your heart”, in order to emphasize the capacity of love’s epicenter in the human body to cloud an individual’s judgment. However, this piece will help us to see that all those beautiful intricacies and the delightful nuances associated with love are actually as a result of a cascade of biochemical processes and reactions mediated mostly by the brain. Research into “the brain chemistry of love” indicates that when a person sees a potential mate, it takes as little as a fifth of a second for the brain to launch a complex “love-related” chain reaction involving multiple areas of the cortical and more primitive subcortical portions of the brain. Activation of some of these areas launches a host of neurotransmitters, hormones and proteins into action, and these work in stages resulting to all those pleasing feelings we have when we do fall and stay in love (Nazem, 2017).
The cerebral cortex is one such area. It receives inputs from all the senses. Attractiveness noted through visual cues, a pleasing voice transmitted through the hearing apparatus, touch through nerves in the skin, and, possibly, the detection of pheromones through the sense of smell are instantly integrated by the cortex, which then signals other areas of the brain. The main area of the brain responsible for the early, swift love response is the caudate nucleus, a large C-shaped region near the center. It plays a key role in the brain’s reward system and is responsible for general arousal and pleasure sensations. When this area of the brain gets activated, we’re not only flooded with positive feelings and sensations, we’re motivated to keep getting them; we do and say whatever seems appropriate to keep compliments and positive reinforcement coming our way. It has been reported that when researchers, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), scanned brain activity of test subjects who described themselves as “madly in love,” the more passionate they were about their new partners, the more active were their caudate regions. Of interest, activity in the prefrontal cortex of the brain, which is hyperactive in depression, is turned down during this phase of early romantic love (Nazem, 2017).
The other region central to the “love response” is the ventral tegmental area, also a key component of the brain’s reward circuitry and home to cells that manufacture dopamine, the neurotransmitter that enables obsessive focus, feelings of elation and even mania. Dopamine is most prevalent in one particular part of the love process. And though not every relationship evolves in the same way and feelings seem to rage out of control, the release of particular brain chemicals seems to be present in three distinct phases of love that optimize the continuation of the species (Nazem, 2017).
These stages are delineated below.
STAGE ONE: LUST
The first phase often is the all-important s*x drive, which is part of procreation and includes the cultivating of an optimum number of partners. The hypothalamus and pituitary, which lie at the base of the brain, signals the gonads to release testosterone and estrogen which stimulate libido, an important component during the “lust” phase of a relationship (Nazem, 2017).
Testosterone is the steroid hormone which, in mammals, is primarily found in the testes of males and the ovaries of females. This hormone is vital to health and wellbeing as well as in s*xual functioning. Females are more sensitive to testosterone, but males produce forty to sixty times more of this hormone. Estrogen is a steroid hormone which functions as the primary female s*x hormone. This can be found in both males and females, but most predominantly in women. Estrogen is responsible for promoting the formation of female secondary s*x characteristics. These two hormones are the basic s*xual hormones in humans and are the first to come to play in the process of love. This is what causes an individual to lust after someone which is the first stage, having the “pull” towards that special someone (Boadu, 2016).
Also noteworthy is the fact that at this stage, the feeling of “B*tterflies in the stomach” is experienced due to the production of the neurotransmitter called phenylethylamine. But of especial interest here is the finding that people who "crash" after having been deeply in love tend to have an unusually strong craving for chocolate. Very noteworthy is the fact that chocolate is high into phenylethylamine—the very substance that is released by the brain into the bloodstream as concomitant of falling in love. When the love-feelings cease the body craves chocolate because it has developed a tolerance to the phenylethylamines which it is no longer getting - because the brain has stopped secreting them.


STAGE TWO: ROMANTIC LOVE
This is the phase for all those inexplicable behaviors: obsessive thinking and focus on the loved one; the racing heart; diminished attention span; the need to ascribe significance to even minor encounters or communications; and the ability to see only positive qualities of the new partner. This is the phase in which the neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine come into play, as well as the “stress hormone” cortisol and a substance called nerve growth factor. Dopamine makes the one to whom the love is directed seem even more attractive, desirable, and they now seem to have less flaws. They essential seem to be perfect. Dopamine is our ‘pleasure chemical’, producing a feeling of bliss (Ezengige, 2016). Noradrenaline produces the racing heart and excitement. As brain scans show, the aforementioned substances can be as powerful as addicting amphetamines. MRI scans show the brains of lovers, like cocaine users, “light up” in this phase, leading researchers to conclude that romantic love can be addictive. And as occurs with many addictions, in intense romantic love, the brain experiences: tolerance, which makes it need more exposure to the love object; withdrawal, the pain that occurs when the love object is gone; and even relapse; if a break-up occurs and — even months later — if the other person reappears, thanks to a resurgence of dopamine and norepinephrine, the partner is once again. These chemicals make us giddy, energetic, and euphoric, even leading to decreased appetite and insomnia – which means you actually can be so “in love” that you can’t eat and can’t sleep (Braunstein, 2011).
Dopamine is the hormone responsible for the vast majority of the brain’s reward pathway – and that means controlling both the good and the bad. We experience surges of dopamine for our virtues and our vices. In fact, the dopamine pathway is particularly well studied when it comes to addiction. The same regions that light up when we’re feeling attraction, light up when drug addicts take cocaine and when we binge eat sweets. For example, cocaine maintains dopamine signaling for much longer than usual, leading to a temporary “high.” In a way, attraction is much like an addiction to another human being. Similarly, the same brain regions light up when we become addicted to material goods as when we become emotionally dependent on our partners. And addicts going into withdrawal are not unlike love-struck people craving the company of someone they cannot see.
Furthermore, attraction to an individual with whom someone is in love seems to lead to a reduction in serotonin, a hormone that’s known to be involved in appetite and mood. Interestingly, people who suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder also have low levels of serotonin, leading scientists to speculate that this is what underlies the overpowering infatuation that characterizes the beginning stages of love.
STAGE THREE: ATTACHMENT
This phase occurs after the romantic love grows into a stable relationship. This phase uses the neocortex, which is a part of the brain that involves rational thought. The stability in this stage of love, come from there. Endorphins are also in this phase, these are the pleasure hormones that are emitted from the pituitary gland. Endorphins elevate mood, provide energy, and elevates your excitement. In this stage, hormones oxytocin and vasopressin also start being secreted by the hypothalamus and pituitary gland. In women, oxytocin stimulates uterine contraction during birth and allows milk to flow during an infant’s s**kling, and is important for maternal bonding. The biochemical objective in this phase appears to be to foster calm, peace and security for the young.
Hence, when two people who are in a romantic releationship hug, touch and have s*x, oxytocin also known as the “cuddle chemical” is released, which begins creating an emotional bond, the more hugging and s*x, the greater the bond. Oxytocin evokes feelings of contentment, reductions in anxiety and feelings of calmness and security around our partner, gradually leading to attachment a bond that keeps couples together, and giving them the desire to stay faithful and protect each other. It produces a strong bond of affection and it’s what keeps the relationship going as they stay together. Also in this stage, vasopressin is made in the brain, by both men and women. However, the male hormone testosterone enhances the effect of vasopressin, so men experience stronger effects. Vasopressin strengthens the bond between lovers. This is what makes a man more responsible and makes him feel the need to protect his loved ones. This chemical is capable of causing a man to stick with one woman thus the name the “monogamy chemical”. Oxytocin causes a woman to be forgetful; it decreases her ability to think rationally and causes an incredibly strong emotional attachment to form with the man she is with. Men also produce some oxytocin during s*xual intercourse, but oxytocin response is enhanced by estrogen, therefore women tend to have stronger reactions to oxytocin. Lack of oxytocin can cause serious emotional barriers and attachment problems. Research shows that women who were seriously abused as children have low oxytocin levels as adults and the stress of being isolated also causes drops in oxytocin levels (Ezengige, 2016).
Endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers, also play a key role in long-term relationships. Released during s*x, physical contact and exercise, they produce a general sense of wellbeing, including feeling soothed, peaceful and secure, and induce a drug-like dependency .The excitement of s*x is partly credited to endorphins exciting opiate receptors. As a human relationship matures, fewer endorphins are released, but if the s*xual relationship is well bonded, the oxytocin response maintains the excitement despite how few endorphins are released. This keeps excitement present between oxytocin-bonded couples. Emotional pain causes our bodies to produce an elevated level of endorphins which in turn lowers the level of oxytocin. Therefore, relationship failure leads to pain, which leads to elevated endorphins, which leads to lower oxytocin, the result of which is a lower ability to bond. Many in this increased state of emotional pain and lower oxytocin seek s*x as a substitute for love which inevitably leads to another failed relationship, and so, the cycle continues.
People who have misused s*x to become bonded with multiple persons will diminish their oxytocin bonding within their current relationship. In the absence of oxytocin, the person will find less or no excitement and will then feel the need to move on to something that looks more exciting.

EFFECT OF ANTIDEPRESSANTS ON LOVE
Antidepressants may jeopardize romantic love as well as s*xual function. They blunt emotions, including the elation of romance, and suppress obsessive thinking, comparable to OCD, a critical component of romance. Antidepressants also inhibit orgasm, clitoral stimulation, penile erection, and deposit of seminal fluid. A woman who can’t get an orgasm may fail to distinguish Mr. Right from Mr. Wrong. And a man, without an orgasm, will not have the dopamine and norepinephrine, oxytocin and vasopressin, testosterone and estrogen, follicle stimulating hormone and LH contained in his seminal fluid and lose the ability to send courtship signals and will eventually stop dating (Isabella, 2013).
LOVE DRUG?
Missing oxytocin or vasopressin receptors in the brain could be responsible for the worldwide rise of singles.The inability to secrete oxytocin and feel empathy is linked to sociopathy, psychopathy, narcissism and general selfishness and manipulativeness.
As scientists understand the chemistry of love more and more, drugs to manipulate the process may not be far away. In fact, studies support the idea that oxytocin may help human couples get along better. Swiss researchers gave 47 couples a nasal spray containing either oxytocin or a placebo. The couples then participated in a videotaped ‘conflict’ discussion. Those that got oxytocin exhibited more positive and less negative behavior than those given the placebo. Oxytocin was also linked to lower secretion of cortisol, our stress hormone (Ezengige, 2016).
Oxytocin nasal spray is the closest thing to a love drug. It help couples enjoy a closer, bonding, loving relationship and helps to have more intense orgasms , particularly in women. Further, it also helps in cases of depression, drug addiction, autism, anxiety, schizophrenia, pain (particularly fibromyalgia) and even as an aid to weight loss (through appetite reduction). The typical oxytocin doses for pleasure and sociability are 10 IU (International Units) in the morning and repeated again in the evening; or 10 to 20 IU 2-hours before s*x (Ezengige, 2016).
CONCLUSION
This article has shown that love, romantic love, really has a lot of chemistry behind it. In fact, it can be said that love can be defined with the formula:
Testosterone + Estrogen + Dopamin + Noradrenaline + Oxytocin + Vasopressin = Love
So, yes, now you know. The next time you feel B*tterflies in your stomach, can’t read, can’t sleep, can’t concentrate on anything, get elated, all because of that special individual, know that these are actually your hormones at work, your body’s biochemistry at its peak. If you do not feel these yet? Just be patient, that special person who will serve as an inducer of these reactions will surely come along. When you do fall in love – true love – and experience all the emotions that come along with it, very likely you’ll exclaim like many others who have come before you, “love is a beautiful thing!”
REFERENCES
Nazem, Z. (2017). The biochemistry of love’s ecstasy and agony. Retrieved from www.ziyadnazem.com/post/3303395670/the-biochemistry-of-loves-ecstasy-and-agony on 03/03/2018.
Boadu, G. (2016). The biochemistry of love. Retrieved from www.scientect.com/the-biochemistry-of-love/ on 03/03/18.
Braunstein, G. D. (2011). The Biochemistry of love’s ecstacy and agony. Retrieved from www.huffingtonpost.com/glenn-d-braunstein-md/the-biochemistry-of-loves_b_822781.html on 03/03/2018.
Ezengige, G. (2016). The biochemistry of love, organisms and partnership. Retrieved on 03/03/2018 from healthbubbles.com/gb/?p=3055.
Isabella, T. (2013). The biochemistry of love, organisms and partnership. Retrieved on from immortallife.info/articles/entry/the-biochemistry-of-love-orgasms-and-partnership.

Biochemistry of love... thanks for this fascinating piece. It's really wonderful to know I didn't join Postsmania in vain.