National University of Saint Augustine

LANGUAGE CENTER

͞THE CHEMISTRY OF LOVE͟

Geraldine Lucero Rosado Arce

6
INTRODUCTION
Until recently, talk of love was a reserved issue for writers and poets, but in recent
years it has begun to put to the lovesick people and those who are totally depressed
by a heartbreak under analysis scanners and hospitals, in order to study the
biological, hormonal and chemicals involved in the process of love.

Who has not felt the inexplicable power of love? All cultures throughout history have
left legends and works of art that reflect the universality of this feeling. All human
beings have been involved and that love is so universal that even animals feel it.
Certain studies on mammals and birds behaviors describe us licking, rubbing, fondling
and even courtship dances, it is why we think that love is older than our own species
primitive instinct.

Like the food, it is a biological necessity that we have is a deep impulse that motivates
us to woo a certain partner to mating, and leave offspring. It is an instinct, causing
unpredictable behavior that can lead to hatred, violence or despair.

Before not much freedom as now had to choose our partners, odds are we multiply in
this globalized world, but only one person is capable of unleashing a storm in the
brain and this is one of the major mysteries of love: why do we like a particular person
among all others?

OBJECTIVES
 Describe what love is and what steps comprising
 Explain why we fell a specific person.
 To describe all the processes involved in infatuation
DESCRIPTION
I. WHAT IS LOVE?

1. From the year 450 B.C. to Hippocrates: according to the enlightened and
"enlightened" of the time: "LOVE IS AN EMOTION AND BORN IN THE BRAIN"
2. From the year 450 A.D. up to 1,990: by writers and poets, who were primarily
interested in the theme "LOVE IS A FEELING AND BORN IN THE HEART"
3. From 1990 to date: according to some neuroscientists groups, particularly
neurobiologists, neurophysiologists and psychiatrists, who took up the theme
"LOVE IS A FEELING THAT IS EXPRESSED THROUGH AN EMOTION BORN IN
THE BRAIN"

II. THE BRAIN: THE CRADLE OF LOVE

The human brain as a result of thousands of years of evolution, is composed of

three well-defined, distinct regions, which evolved independently and
autonomous functions.

The most primitive of all is THE REPTILE region, which is located at the base of
the brain and is responsible for controlling primary functions: promoting hunger
reflex to induce the body to eat; control of breathing - heart rate - the set of
responses for survival, such as aggression, mating and territorial defense.

The limbic region, which evolved from mammals, is located in the middle part of
the brain and is responsible for the ability to raise children, caring for them and
establish bonds of affection among family members. Neuroscientists say it is in
this region where LOVE HAS ROOTS.

The most recent of these is the region of the neurocortex; is located in the upper
anterior front of the head and is what imbues the human being reasoning skills,
speaking, writing, abstract, build or destroy so preintentional.

The neurocortex does his best work to influence the limbic region in a matter of
"not lawful" crushes, but finally the individual acts along the lines of the
strongest, and this ultimately depends on your personal history. Similarly, the
interaction between these two regions are born music and poetry, exclusive
productions of mankind.
III. HOW LOVE IS GENERATED?

Scientists raise three stages to the process of love:

- Initial Attraction
- Infatuation stage
- Stage stabilization or final break.

IV. WHOSE WE FELL IN LOVE?

According to anthropologist Helen Fisher, we do not know the exact answer,

but it is known that there is a cultural factor that predisposes us to this
important point: the desire to love. People have to fall next people around us
love with people who are unknown to us and to the mysterious time.

Above the physical or sociological characteristics there is a reason that leads

us to see love with the mind and not with the eyes, evolutionary heritage has
developed certain elements that condition us to select a particular person
generally tend to love people that we are strange, is that nature gives us a
chandler makes the mysterious people seem to us more interesting, but at
the same time, we find it attractive to be similar to us people, from family
wealth, common hobbies , physical qualities to complex aspects of
personality.

Although we attract people with similar traits to our own, we tend to choose
the smell of those who have a different immune system, and before a person
is laid on another has already built a mind map, a complete mold of brain
circuits that determine what will make you fall in love with one person and
not another. Even influences blood type (A, B, AB, O), because the attraction
usually happens with people of the same type.

It is genetics which conditions these selection processes, different genetic

types attract, in order to have greater genetic variability for offspring more
resistant. In addition, a body and face provided are also factors that help us
choose the person at first, for example, it says that women who have a waist
30% less than the length of the hips and with a greater number of curves are
more attractive to men.
V. HOW WE FALL IN LOVE?

Men and women fall in love differently, in the first stage of love, infatuation,
involved more the man's eyes, the ears of women, and smell in both,
especially pheromones, substances different animals secrete and changes
occur in the opposite sex and have to do with attraction. For example, when
dancing a factory pheromone, which the stage of life in which they are both,
you can make instant attraction ( 'love at first sight') occurs occurs.

Recently researchers at University College London captured images of love

brains and concluded that at the sight of the beloved not only some areas of
the brain, like the previous cingulate cortex, which also responds to the
stimulus of synthetic drugs produce feelings of euphoria are activated, but
the areas in charge of making social judgments and submit neighbor valued,
are inactivated, becoming "blind" love.
In men there is increased activity in a small brain region associated with the
integration of visual stimuli, for this reason women spend their entire lives
trying to physically pleasing men and for millions of years, man looks well to
the woman who physically It is shown healthy to leave offspring.

In women, there is increased activity in three brain areas associated with

memory and re-memorization. Evolutionarily over millions of years a
woman looks at a man and do not know if it will be a good father, that's why
she remembers what he said and what he did and repeat it again and again
among them not to forget what happened, taken as a coping mechanism to
ensure that people stay longer with her to raise offspring.

VI. AMOROUSNESS

From biochemistry, infatuation is explained by the intervention of

monoamines substances "such as dopamine, a neurotransmitter and a
hormone that is associated with a system of reward and pleasure in the
brain, so when the secrete we feel very good" says Leonardo Palacios
Sánchez, a neurologist and dean of the Faculty of Medicine of the
Universidad del Rosario. Studies with fMRI images let you see that when a
person in love sees the picture of a loved one or hears his name and
compares it to a neutral subject, you activate brain areas. This makes "him
or love" acting strange loses the trial, everything seems perfect; sleep is
disturbed, and although trasnoche not feel unbalanced. Experience less pain.
Attention is altered, forget everything, does not do what he was given. In this
 process the nerve growth factor substance is added, and the
neurotransmitter serotonin, which causes the person to have obsessional
thoughts and behaviors on the other is reduced.

VII. LOVE THE NARCOTICS

Phenylethylamine (PEA), amphetamine secreted by the body, is one of the

substances involved in infatuation. This compound activates the secretion of
dopamine, a neurotransmitter involved in sensations of desire and makes us
repeat what gives us pleasure, fullness, euphoria, mood swings and
produces oxytocin that triggers sexual desire.

The chemical activity of our brain changes when we fall, we increase levels
of dopamine and norepinephrine and decrease serotonin, succumb to love
and all its effects, he or she is the center of everything and hormones help us
focus our attention.

We watched the beloved as something unique and new because dopamine

promotes learning of novel stimuli and recall minute details of that person,
the time you spend together, etc. Because the norepinephrine increases the
ability to remember new stimuli, we can not stop thinking about him or her
is inevitable and is due to lower serotonin levels and cause an obsessive
thought.

We seek to have things in common, we move from Mozart to rock and

dopamine once more associated with motivation and behavior to achieve a
specific objective, if obstacles arise, feelings are intensified.

These three substances are in brain regions than other substances have
been identified by neuroimaging scanning love brains.

The increased brain activity is recorded in the cortex, but especially on two
nodes that are the ventral tegmental area (the largest factory of dopamine)
and the caudate nucleus, a very primitive region where emanates passion,
both nodes make us look rewards and act to get them

Every thought, action or motivation is chemistry within our body as well, to

love, chocolate also activates the same type of neurons and it is for this
reason that both are addictive.
 Love is a drug, at first just little but as the time we need more doses and we
can not control, and is more enjoyed, but the euphoria leads to anxiety and
gives us obsession, compulsion, emotional dependency, physical, personality
change and distortion of reality to the point end up saying: "I can not live
without you", all associated with high levels of dopamine in the body.

The scanner in the brain checks, the effect of the narcotic of love is the same
that activate cocaine and opiates, however, love is a positive drug, it causes a
happy dependence when it is reciprocated and a painful anxiety is not and it
becomes even destructive when it is rejected.

It is for this reason that the lovesick, are treated as a sick drug, evil must be
nipped in the bud, not hearing the same songs, avoid places, restaurants and
everything that awakens the desire to be with the loved person.

VIII. SEXUAL IMPULSE

Active sex drive and testosterone lesser extent some other hormones,
testosterone floods the brain, that means that when they fall in love, also
desired. Dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin stimulate the production
of testosterone, these same hormones cause surga romantic passion.

Romantic passion is the real impulse born of the primitive brain and is
stronger than a simple sexual desire, when you really are in love, we impora
that is not someone else's, we become possessive,

We think much that person due to the high concentration of dopamine and
serotonin low amount. Then we analyze everything he does, even the
smallest detail, even the smallest sign of disinterest showing the other
person triggers a catastrophe of jealousy.

Jealousy between a man and a woman are different, man is afraid of sexualo
to raise children who are not his infidelity, while women are afraid to
emotional infidelity, a man abandons, and that is due to ancestral fear of
being left alone to care for their young.

IX. EMBRACE THE SUBSTANCE AND MONOGAMY

After one to three years, the couple begins to consolidate and drop the
brutal production of dopamine, substances that accelerate and couples go to
 the 'intellectual attraction'. One is on the other much more than a person
who attracts physical, sensual and sexually and passes from the stage where
you say "I wish" that say "I love you". Georgina Montemayor, academic
department of anatomy at the Faculty of Medicine of the National
Autonomous University of Mexico, says that to get a hug, a handshake or a
touch, the brain releases oxytocin, known as chemical from the embrace,
which He discovered in 1953. the free men and women by touching,
hugging, and has a maximum increase in the moment of orgasm, when it
reaches up to 400% above the normal level and makes people adhere.
Another substance is vasopressin or 'chemical monogamy', which increases
and makes the link to continue for many years.

X. DEATH OF LOVE

Romantic love is very dangerous, wearing a great sadness and great joy, but
when it is rejected, man instinctively can get to kill or kill. The most
profound and disturbing feelings drag us to protest, and do it with anger, as
much dopamine is produced and the reward system and our motivation and
interest in the beloved activated, gain strength, the centers of the prefrontal
cortex is evaluated.

If these signals reach the amygdala anger trigger, and passed from love to
hate with just one step, because both produce the same symptoms and put
in activity the same chemicals, hence the human brain can easily hate the
person who claimed to love until recently, is only one set of chemical
combinations where the boundaries are very fragile
Love and hate are very similar and is contrary to both indifference, we can
love and hate the same person sees. When we love or hate, we focus all our
attention on that person, we consume a lot of energy, we have trouble
sleeping and sometimes eat.

When everything is finished, and sadness and depression, it arises a great

sadness accompanies the lover who has been rejected and this is rendered
chemically your body does not allow you both energy expenditure and
accept loss. The feelings of resignation and despair are associated with the
reward system. Dopamine-producing cells reduce their activity, all
associated with the fatigue, stress and depression. The stress caused by the
abandonment causes dopamine and norepinephrine levels fall below
normal.
 In spite, dramatic changes in the brain that have to do with an area called
the anterior cingulate cortex, the same that is activated when a person
suffers not only emotional, but physically painful experience are also
produced.

During despite dopamine it is addictive and that is why people are looking
for. There is "lovesickness". The feeling of 'broken heart' is real and has to
do with neurobiology, but also with the sense of loss of absolute joy. The
duration depends on whether the person has good defense mechanisms. If
matures, will succeed alone, but it is valid to seek help from their friends,
family and why not therapeutic.

It is important to work in the match and should be resolved within six

months. When the break has been infidelity hurts more. But now many
infidels are hiding behind that "Mine is a disease." According to Palacios,
"there are things we bring genetically, others are acquired in the middle.

CONCLUSIONS
 Love is a biological process that begins in the brain and is produced and
corrdinado by the limbic region thereof.
 The tendency we have to fall in love with a specific person is due to our
genetics.
 The processes involved in love are the attraction, infatuation, stabilization or
breaking and in each there is an important role of hormones such as dopamine,
oxytocin, vasopressin, norepinephrine, and others.

REFERENCES
Science of Love- The chemistry of love.flv:
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekliAbQILXE

http://www.elpais.com.co/elpais/entretenimiento/noticias/quimica-amor-ientificos-
explican-por-nos-enamoramos

http://www.uelbosque.edu.co/sites/default/files/facultades/ciencias/seminarios/bi
oquimica_amor_vilma_pinzon_fajardo.pdf