Could a pill re-spark a marriage? Would it be possiblematerialize Cupid’s famous arrow in an injection? And create a pill to make unrequited love disappear? As stated today in the magazineNatureAmerican researcher Larry Young, from the National Center for Primatology at Emory University, deciphering thechemical constituents of lovewe could “developdrugsthat diminish or increase our feelings towards others “.
To study the brain reactions involved in love, Young has worked with rodents, which are a good model for human relationships because they “create lifelong relationships and raise children together.” And it has shown that this behavior is easy to change chemically. Specifically, if a female field rat is placed next to a male by injecting himoxytocin– a hormone that is linked to social and caring aspects in the brain – will soon be linked to that male. On the contrary, reducing the normal levels of oxytocin will cause the absolute rejection of your partner no matter how many times you have sex with him. In other words, a single dose of the right hormone can drastically alter relationships in these mammals.
As for humans, “some experiments have already shown that a nasal injection of oxytocin increases confidence and helps to understand the emotions of others,” Young writes inNature. And in Australia they are currently investigating how to use this spray hormone to support the traditionalcouples therapy.
On the other hand, Young recalls, it must be borne in mind that love is not based on a single substance. For example, some studies have shown that differences in a gene calledmajor histocompatibility complex(MCH), which affects the immune system, may be related to sexual attraction.
In any case, “recent advances in biology on pair bonding indicate that it won’t be long before some unscrupulous person will put apharmaceutical love potionin our drink, “Young predicts.” And if that happened, would we care? After all,love is madness“, reflects the researcher.
