Biology 202
2002 Third Paper
On Serendip

Wise men say only fools rush in/ but I can't help falling in love with you/ Shall I stay/ would it be a sin/If I can't help falling in love with you/ Like a river flows surely to the sea/ Darling so it goes/ some things are meant to be/ take my hand, take my whole life too/ for I can't help falling in love with you/ Like a river flows surely to the sea/ Darling so it goes/ some things are meant to be/ take my hand, take my whole life too/ for I can't help falling in love with you/ for I can't help falling in love with you –Elvis Presley (1)

Elvis may have been wise before his time, because research has found out that you cannot "help falling in love". (1) Many recording artists sing about love and how you cannot help the way you feel about someone when you are in love. Many researchers have done studies to find out what happens within the brain when you are in love and the results are interesting. Before one can understand the emotion of love, one must look at emotions themselves and what they do within the brain.

Emotions:

Emotions are defined as "stereotypic patterns of the body, which are triggered by the central nervous system in response to distinct external environmental situations or to the recollection of memories related to such situations." (2) In other words, this means the emotions are the way the nervous system reacts to different situations one might find themselves in. In order to survive, emotional responses must be present. (2) "Whenever an emotion is triggered, a network of brain regions (traditionally referred to as the limbic system) generates a pattern of stereotypic outputs, which ultimately induce a biological response of the body." (2) These stereotypic outputs are what humans call emotions. They are predictable responses to certain situations, for instance when a person is in a sad situation, they will cry and feel depressed or if a person is in a happy situation, they will laugh and smile. These responses are because "specific circuits of the emotional motor system have evolved to both generate this stereotypic emotional facial response, as well as instantaneously recognize it when it occurs in somebody else." (2) This holds true for people in love, when you see someone in love you can tell because their face tells all.

What is Love Psychologically Speaking?:

Most people experience at least once in their lifetime, most people experience "love" more than that, but it is not true love it's more being in love with being in love. However, "the emotion of love is essential for bonding between individuals." (2) This bond of love allows for humans to reproduce which leads to the continuation of the species. Love also allows for companionship, which gives a person gratification and a feeling of purpose in life, because they have other people to take care of, who has a special meaning to the other person. Along with love come some behavioral responses to this emotion. " 'Early love is when you love the way the other person makes you feel... mature love is when you love the person as he or she is.' It is the difference between passionate and compassionate love." (7) Most people when they first fall in love, feel great passion for the other person, as well as feeling playful, giddy, and are preoccupied with thoughts of the one they love. (3), (7) Love is a very selfish emotion, because all of the feelings one feels when they are in love are self-gratifying. "Along with the exhilaration of infatuation and the warm, cozy comfort of attachment, love creates and reinforces the self. People's sense of who they are is strongly affected by whom they love and whom they perceive as loving them." (3) When people are in mature, compassionate love, they feel that they must protect the one they love and will do anything for the one they love, which makes "the lover obtain a strong sense of gratification and identity" (3) as well as making self-sacrifices give them a sense of a reward. When a person is in mature love, intimacy, passion and commitment are all present, which gives the person a feeling of feeling one with the person they are in love with. However, love is not only makes psychological responses occur, but biological responses occur also.

Is Love an Addiction?: Biologically Speaking:

Your lights are on, but you're not home/ Your mind is not your own/ Your heart sweats, your body shakes/ Another kiss is what it takes/ You can't sleep, you can't eat/ There's no doubt, you're in deep/ Your throat is tight, you can't breathe/ Another kiss is all you need/ Whoa, you like to think that you're immune to the stuff, oh yeah/ It's closer to the truth to say you can't get enough, you know you're/ Gonna have to face it, you're addicted to love/ You see the signs, but you can't read/ You're runnin' at a different speed/ You heart beats in double time/ Another kiss and you'll be mine, a one track mind/ You can't be saved/ Oblivion is all you crave/ If there's some left for you/ You don't mind if you do/ Whoa, you like to think that you're immune to the stuff, oh yeah/ It's closer to the truth to say you can't get enough, you know you're/ Gonna have to face it, you're addicted to love/ Might as well face it, you're addicted to love/ Might as well face it, you're addicted to love/ Might as well face it, you're addicted to love/ Might as well face it, you're addicted to love/ Might as well face it, you're addicted to love/ Your lights are on, but you're not home/ Your will is not your own/ You're heart sweats and teeth grind/ Another kiss and you'll be mine/ Whoa, you like to think that you're immune to the stuff, oh yeah/ It's closer to the truth to say you can't get enough, you know you're/ Gonna have to face it, you're addicted to love/ Might as well face it, you're addicted to love/ Might as well face it, you're addicted to love/ Might as well face it, you're addicted to love/ Might as well face it, you're addicted to love/ Might as well face it, you're addicted to love
–Robert Palmer (9)

Robert Palmer might have been just writing a song, but there is a basis for saying someone is addicted to love. The feeling of love begins with an infatuation phase and then turns into the attachment phase when the two people become more involved with each other. (3) In the infatuation phase, a person feels exhilaration when they see the person, an intense passion for the person and a yearning to see their lover. (3) "The euphoria or elation that accompanies infatuation can cause lovers to crave 'staying in love'." (3) Along with a heightened nervous system, there are hormones that are released.

One of these hormones is dopamine, which is also a hormone that is involved with addictive behavior. (3) When a person feels in love, they are activating their pleasure centers in the brain, which are rich in dopamine and blood flow is elevated. (8) Since dopamine is the hormone that makes a person feel an "erotic high" when they see their lover, (5) eventually the person will become addicted to feeling that "erotic high" and when it is taken away, they will go through withdrawal. Dopamine also causes a person's heart to race; pupils to dilate and a slight perspire. (4) Since dopamine is a natural endorphin, which acts like heroin or morphine when someone takes those drugs, it causes the body to respond by relaxing the body and kills pain in high doses but in low doses it cause the body to feel unpleasant, which could be related to the depressed feeling when someone falls out of love or loses a lover. (6) (7) Also, when there is a continue presence of a lover, there is a gradual increase of dopamine, which also cause the horrible feeling when we lose a lover. (7)

Dopamine is also related to obsessive-compulsive disorder, which makes love biochemically similar to obsessive-compulsive disorder. (4) When people have obsessive-compulsive disorder, there is an increased blood flow, which leads to abnormal amounts of platelet cells, which is also present when someone is in love. (4)

Another hormone involved with the feelings of love is phenylethylamine (PEA), which is also a natural endorphin that affects mood and attachment. "One study of 33 people who were 'happily attached and feeling great' found that all had increased PEA levels." (3) Researchers have also found that high levels of PEA increases sex drive and is believed that this might be the hormone of libido. (4) The body also becomes tolerant of PEA like dopamine once the body has been exposed to it for long periods of time. (3)(7)

The last hormone involved with love is oxytocin, which is also an endorphin and has an opiate-like effect. (5) "Oxytocin is another chemical that has recently been implicated in love. Produced by the brain, it sensitizes nerves and stimulates muscle contraction. Scientists speculate that oxytocin might encourage cuddling between adult women and men." (7) Since oxytocin acts as a natural tranquilizer, it allows for a woman to become more sensitive to other's feelings when present. (6) Oxytocin is released during sexual experiences as well as when lovers touch, because it activates cell-surface proteins in the nucleus accumbens, in the brain, which causes the release of dopamine. (3) So with this release of dopamine, the person feels a euphoric high.

Now to answer the question asked, is love an addiction? I believe love is a type of addiction, not necessarily love itself but the feelings that arise when a person is in love. When a person is in love, the pleasure parts of the brain are activated by the hormones released dopamine, PEA and oxytocin. Since all three of these hormones are natural endorphins, they must act like amphetamines do on the brain. Since these hormones are acting like drugs do on the brain, the brain must become tolerant to these hormones and when the couple breaks up, there must be a withdrawal period. In life, both of these phenomenons occur. The longer a couple is together their brains become tolerant to the hormones being released, which causes the euphoric feeling to not be felt as strong or not even felt at all, so when this happens the couple could still be in love, but their love changes from a passionate love into a more committed love where the two people love each other for who they are. If the two people are not truly in love, they might break up and when this happens, the brain stops having it's doses of dopamine, PEA and oxytocin, so the brain goes through withdrawal, which is why when you lose a lover you feel sad and depressed. These symptoms are a lot like being addicted to drugs, so therefore the people who think they are addicted to love, might really be, but they are really addicted to the feelings and hormones released during being in love.

References

1)Elvis Presley's Can't Help Falling In Love

2)The Neurobiology of Stress and Emotions

3)What is Love, Medically Speaking?

4)Love is All in Your Head—Or is it in Your Genes?

5)Love Gets Lab Tests

6)Can't Do Without Love: What Science Says About Those Tender Feelings

7)The Right Chemistry
8)Beauty of Love is a Beast for Scientists

9)Rob Palmer's Addicted to Love


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