A recent meta-analysis by researcher Stephanie Ortigue of Syracuse University in New York reveals thatfell in lovecan not only cause afeeling of euphoria similar to that associated with cocaine use, but alsoaffects the intellectual areas of the brain. He has also calculated that the phenomenon popularly known as‘love’takes aboutone fifth of a second to take effect.
The results of Ortigue’s work, published under the title “The Neuroimage of Love” in the magazineJournal of Sexual Medicinereveal that when a person falls in love, even12 areas of the brain work together to release chemicalsthat induce euphoria, such asdopamine, oxytocin, vasopressin, or adrenaline. And that “different types of love involve different brain areas.” For example, passionate love brings into action areas related to reward and some higher cognitive functions, such as those involved in creating metaphors and representing body image.
So is love heart or brain? ? I would say that the brain, but the heart is also involved “, responds Origue, who cites as an example that when cascades of neurotransmitters are generated in certain areas of the brainthe heart races and the? butterflies? appear in the stomach. According to the researcher, understanding how and why we fall in love will also help mend a “broken heart” due to lack of love.
