Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –
Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –
From ancient times to the present day, philosophers and writers have tried to answer the question “what is love?” Scientists have not stood aside either. They have their own special view on this matter. Romantics believed that this great feeling is born in the heart, but scientists disagree with them. Research has shown that it is all about complex processes occurring in the brain. From the point of view of modern science, romantic love is not a gift of fate, but an adaptation that arose in the process of evolution.
Portrait of a phenomenon
-Since the late 70s of the last century, various science definitions of romantic love began to appear. I highlight only two. According to the first, which was given in 2015, romantic love is a powerful mechanism of obligations, consisting of passion, proximity and care. It is universal, and is associated with the formation of steam in different cultures; Automatically suppresses the attention given to alternative partners, has pronounced emotional, hormonal neuropsychic features and is the predictor of better health and survival of both the lovers themselves and their offspring. The second definition is formulated somewhat later. Romantic love is a motivational state, usually associated with the desire for prolonged mating with a particular physical face. It is observed throughout life and is associated with various cognitive, emotional, behavioral, social, genetic, nervous and endocrine activity in both sexes. For most of life, love serves the choice of a partner, the functions of courtship, sex and the creation of steam. This is a set of adaptations and their by-products that once arose in the recent evolutionary history of man. This definition contains a hint that love has its own story. You can look at it as an adaptation, or, as a combination of side adaptations, but, nevertheless, this issue should be considered in the evolutionary aspect, ”says the candidate of biological sciences, a researcher at the laboratory of the behavior of the Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the SB RAS, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Physiology Faculty of Natural Sciences of NSU Anton Tsybko.
Interestingly, our genes play a significant role in forming attachments and romantic love, but that doesn’t mean they determine who we fall in love with. Our genes only determine how strong our romantic relationships will be.
Interesting studies were conducted in 2012. The object of the study were married couples who had been married for more than 20 years. It turned out that the activation of dopamine areas in their brains was at the same level as in newlyweds. Most likely, there is a relationship between the activity of certain areas of the brain and the strength of the marriage. In order to maintain such a vividness of feelings for two decades, some powerful mechanisms are definitely needed.
Kindred spirits
Scientists have found that when a person falls in love, the ventral tegmental area of the brain is activated. It produces a natural stimulant, the neurotransmitter dopamine. It is also believed to be responsible for the feeling of pleasure or reward. Dopamine is released not only when a person in love sees or touches the object of adoration. Such a reaction can be caused by a photograph or a message. Even a thought or a memory is enough.
In 2010, foreign experts conducted a study in which they compared the areas of the cerebral cortex that are activated by maternal love with those that correspond to romantic love. In general, in both cases, the activated areas of the brain overlap, but if you pay attention to the “behavior” of the basal ganglia, the differences between maternal love and romantic love become clearly noticeable. In particular, in lovers, the thalamus area is strongly activated, which is practically inactive in loving mothers. It is this area that is “responsible” for sexuality. Indeed, the sexual component is completely excluded from maternal love, whereas in romantic love it is of great importance.
— Researchers have noted another very interesting feature. If we consider the “behavior” of various areas of the brain when falling in love, we can see that not all of them are activated; some, on the contrary, are switched off. For example, the lateral prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for our moral judgments. That is why we tend to idealize our partner, not notice his shortcomings and forgive various rather questionable actions from the moral side of our beloved. Perhaps this is the only way to explain why Eva Braun loved Hitler, — says Anton Tsybko.
The “behavior” of other parts of the brain is also important. Activation of the insular cortex creates a feeling of unity in love, the so-called kinship of souls. Increased activity of the amygdala, unlike other brain structures, does not create an emotional upsurge, but on the contrary, awakens anxiety and fear of being rejected.
Transformation of passion
As Anton Tsybko explained, love experiences change the neurochemistry of the brain, and at each stage of this feeling – in its own way. During the period of falling in love, when feelings are most vivid, and experiences are acute, dopamine is actively produced. Oxytocin, a hormone that stimulates the production of endorphins, causing a feeling of “happiness”, begins to be intensively secreted, as well as vasopressin, responsible for affection, the desire to care for another person and marital fidelity.
Cortisol, a hormone that protects the body from stress and affects sleep and wakefulness, is also actively secreted. During the first few months of a relationship, its level becomes so high that it negatively affects the secretion of serotonin, a decrease in the level of which causes symptoms of anxiety in lovers, loss of sleep and appetite, and constant thoughts about the object of passion. By the way, this is very similar to the manic stage of bipolar disorder, so some researchers try to approach the analysis of falling in love from the point of view of neuropathology. Other scientists believe that this is nothing more than a coincidence.
Then the period of passionate love begins. It can last a year or more. Oxytocin and vasopressin continue to “work” with high activity. Moreover, oxytocin is secreted to a greater extent in women, and vasopressin – in men. After several months, the concentration of cortisol normalizes and begins to decrease, the level of serotonin increases and the mood of lovers stabilizes.
After a few years of marriage, the time of so-called companionable love comes, when feelings lose their former brightness, the sexual component is less pronounced and the lovers become good friends. Their serotonin and cortisol levels normalize, the dopamine level remains above average, but does not “gush” as much as at first, but the levels of oxytocin and vasopressin are still high. And what next? Either the couple freezes in this state, or, sadly, breaks up. The fact is that a person is characterized by so-called serial monogamy. He is able to experience romantic love several times in his life, going through the full cycle of its development again and again.
This is not normal!
— Many researchers note that the state of being in love goes far beyond the normal range. Low levels of serotonin can cause depression, and for this reason, lovers experience a breakup painfully. In addition, high and fluctuating levels of dopamine have long forced researchers to compare being in love with drug addiction. It is not without reason that there are many songs and catchphrases in which love is compared to a drug, — says Anton Tsybko.
The thing is that in addition to the dopamine system, another part of the brain of a person in love is activated – the nucleus accumbens. It is included in all forms of behavioral addiction, be it drugs, gambling or alcohol.
There are many similarities between romantic love and drug addiction. For example, the desire to take the substance again and again, increasing the dose. The person in love also wants to spend as much time as possible with the partner. Or unsuccessful attempts to stop using. Not all romantic relationships are cloudless. Many couples break up and then get back together. And what about withdrawal syndrome? What suffering lovers sometimes experience after a breakup!
Anton Tsybko notes that, from a neurobiological point of view, some areas of the brain are activated in almost the same way in people in love and drug addicts. For example, parts of the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia, as well as the nucleus accumbens. The networks that are built between the cingulate cortex, the nucleus accumbens, and the amygdala are also similar. However, this may be another coincidence.
Hormones of fidelity
— Animals provide a huge amount of valuable, necessary information. If we consider the currently known neuronal pathways and brain areas associated with pair formation in animals, we will notice the same nodal structures that are characteristic of humans. The animal brain is certainly simpler, but the processes in it are similar, — says Anton Tsybko.
For their research, the scientists chose the only rodents that are characterized by monogamy – prairie voles. These small mice form pairs for life, perform parental duties equally and categorically reject other individuals of the opposite sex, often even showing real aggression towards them. For rodents, and mammals in general, such behavior is not typical. For example, close relatives of prairie voles – mountain voles – are distinguished by promiscuity and do not form pairs.
Scientists have managed to solve this mystery. As a result of the research, it was found that prairie voles have a pronounced anomaly in the density of oxytocin receptors – it is incredibly high. A similar anomaly is characteristic of vasopressin. When mating occurs, the effect of vasopressin increases in males, and oxytocin in females. The researchers decided to interfere with the biochemistry of the brain of both types of voles. Females were given oxytocin receptor antagonists, and males were given vasopressin receptor antagonists. The subjects did not lose interest in mating, but they no longer formed stable pairs; now they were interested in random relationships.
And the specialists continued their experiments with their polygamous “relatives” – mountain voles. Using viral constructs, they stimulated overexpression of the vasopressin receptor in the superior pallidum and the nucleus accumbens, and a miracle happened – the polygamous mice settled down – began to form marital ties and concentrate only on their partner, showing no interest in other individuals of the opposite sex.
It is considered quite likely that oxytocin receptors influence the desire to form a stable pair in humans, but these hormones do not make people faithful, unlike prairie voles.
— If we look at this phylogenetic tree, we will see that pair formation is a rare phenomenon. The share of monogamous species among mammals is from 5 to 8 percent of species. There is an opinion that, most likely, romantic love is a distinctive feature of our species, Homo sapiens. And it is unlikely that it existed in Homo erectus and Heidelberg humans. The rudiments and basic mechanisms for pair formation in mammals were present from the very beginning of their existence. However, the formation of romantic love most likely occurred at later stages of human evolution, but scientists cannot yet say how and when exactly this happened. And this is good, because researchers can expect many interesting discoveries in the future, — says Anton Tsybko.
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