What Does Love Do to Your Brain?
What is love, and how does it affect our physiological processes? Love can be a powerful emotion that shapes behavior and is often seen as a complex psychological and emotional state. It’s a feeling we all want and strive for, but sometimes it’s hard to understand how it affects us, both emotionally and physically. When it comes to love and its effects on the brain, science reveals a lot. Read on to find out what love does to your brain and why it matters.
The Neurochemistry behind Love
When someone falls in love, it’s not just the heart that is affected. The brain is also responding to the presence of love in an individual’s life. Neuroscientists have discovered that the effects of love and falling in love, have an actual impact on an individual’s brain beyond the feelings discussed.
Brain scans performed on those in love have revealed increased activity in areas of the brain associated with pleasure and reward. When someone is in love, they experience increased release of dopamine and oxytocin in the brain. These substances are responsible for providing a feeling of bliss and comfort, which leads the individual to seek out the object of their love and spend more time with them.
At the same time, the brain’s receptors for serotonin, known to provide stability and a sense of calmness, become desensitized. This leads to an almost obsessive and all-consuming feeling of love, an emotional high that is exhilarating and often difficult to resist. Often, it also results in decisions that don’t always make sense and risky behavior.
How Love Affects Different Areas of the Brain
When looking at what love does to the brain, it’s important to look at the function of specific regions in the brain and how love impacts them.
The Amygdala
The amygdala is the area of the brain responsible for processing emotion. It’s also associated with forming attachments and recognizing facial expressions. When someone falls in love, the amygdala becomes emotionally aroused and contributes positively to a feeling of deep attachment.
The Prefrontal Cortex
The prefrontal cortex is the area of the brain associated with rational decision-making. When someone is in love, this region of the brain takes a backseat to the emotional responses of the amygdala, often leading to foolish choices and impulsive behavior.
The Nucleus Accumbens
The nucleus accumbens is an area of the brain associated with reward and pleasure. When someone is in love, they experience increased activity in this area as they anticipate the pleasure of being around their object of love. This causes a release of dopamine, which gives a sense of joy, satisfaction, and comfort.
The Hippocampus
The hippocampus is the region of the brain associated with forming memories. When someone falls in love, this region of the brain becomes active, and memories of shared experiences form. These memories are often tied to a pleasant feeling, leading to feelings of satisfaction and pleasure when reminiscing about those memories in the future.
What Falling in Love Does to the Brain Long-term
What are the long-term effects of love on the brain? Research has shown that over time, being in love can change the connections and wiring in the brain, making these changes difficult to reverse. People in long-term relationships not only experience the same neurochemical rushes as people in new relationships, but they can also experience deeper levels of attachment and satisfaction with their partner.
These connections in the brain become increasingly complex, creating a cycle that interferes with a person’s ability to let go and move on. Through neurotransmitters, receptors, and wires in the brain, love can become more like an addiction, hard to let go of, and difficult to break the attachment to the person.
The Effects of Love on the Brain: A Summary
• The presence of love in a person’s life can have a powerful effect on the brain beyond just the feelings someone experiences.
• An increase in the release of dopamine and oxytocin in the brain is responsible for providing a feeling of bliss and comfort.
• The amygdala, prefrontal cortex, nucleus accumbens, and hippocampus are all impacted by love.
• Long-term relationships can create deeper levels of attachment and satisfaction with the partner.
• Love can become more like an addiction due to the connections it creates in the brain.
Love can be a powerful emotion that shapes behavior and influences the way we think and act. It’s something that we all strive for in our lives and can make us feel extreme joy, comfort, and satisfaction. When it comes to what love does to the brain, science has uncovered a lot about the effects of being in love, both long-term and short-term.
Learning about the areas of the brain impacted by love and the neurotransmitters released when we’re in love can help us to understand the power of this emotion and its effect on our lives.
