Roses are red, Violets are blue, Neurotransmitters make me love you!

In honor of today's Hallmark-funded holiday which is customarily filled with bright pink hearts and chalky candy handed out to all grade-schoolers, I decided to write about what makes us feel "in love."  Yes, you can read all the romance novels you want (*cough*Twilight*cough*) which expound on his chocolate eyes or her sensuous curves.  But when we move back to the basics, it's really just a soup of neurochemicals stirring around in your brain that cause that spark of love in your life.

Who actually eats these?

And truth be told, the biochemistry of attraction and love is still under research.  However we can safely say that there are 3 key neurotransmitters that make Valentine's Day special for all those people out there with their significant others.

The first and likely most recognizable is dopamine.  It plays many roles in the chemical signaling of the brain but is primarily associated with the reward pathway.  Whenever you get that rush of happiness from the first bite of chocolate cake, that's the dopamine kicking in.  In fact, addiction and the need to up the dosage of drugs over time like cocaine comes from the brain desensitizing due to the over use of dopamine.  And in the romantic sense, dopamine is the "drug" part of love.  It's the passionate, euphoric love that makes you believe there's nothing better than being with your partner.

How many roses do you think are sold each
 valentine's day?

And yet that's not quite enough.  Can you remember the first time you asked that girl to dance at the winter formal?  Or how about the anticipation before your first kiss?  Odds are your heart was pounding like a jack-hammer.  Norepinephrine is the neurotransmitter that provides this autonomic response.  It focuses your attention and physically primes you with those classic signs of nervousness.  Next time your hands turn clammy when you reach out towards your love interest, you can blame norepinephrine.

But these two neurochemicals play havoc on your brain if they're constantly swamping the circuits.  To keep an even keel yet stay connected to your significant other, we need oxytocin.  This compound is a long lasting messenger which doesn't give the same high as the others, but leads to a feeling contentment. Sometimes called the "cuddling neurotransmitter," oxytocin provides us with the companionship aspect of romantic relationships.  Without it we wouldn't have the same peace and stability in our long-term relationships.

Ok, so there are actually many more circuits and neurochemicals involved in love. It's an emotion not easily reduced to formulas and equations.  In my opinion, we could lecture on the biological components involved all day, but honestly I prefer to just listen to some Maroon 5 and eat chocolate covered strawberries!

If you want to hear more on this subject, I suggest checking out the original source:
http://www.radiolab.org/blogs/radiolab-blogland/2007/aug/28/this-is-your-brain-on-love/
Radiolab is a non-profit public radio program hosted by WNYC.  If you'd like to donate to their phenomenal program, please go to: https://pledge3.wnyc.org/epledge/desktop/radiolab/