Recommendation letter brain correspondent: if love is just a chemical reaction, can you still believe in love?

Hello,

This is one brain cloud reading circle , I'm Kaka ~

Love as an eternal topic , It's always being discussed . Some people understand the meaning of love , And some people , I spent my whole life looking for the answer . You are reading the article , What do you think is love ？

01

About love

About love , Neuroscience has a saying ,“ Adrenaline decides not to do it , Dopamine is the key ,5- Serotonin （ Also called serotonin ） Decide who speaks first , Telomerase determines who will go first ”.

This sentence is one-sided , But it mentions several key points .

The first sentence should actually say “ Norepinephrine decides not to do it ”.

Norepinephrine is a neurotransmitter . and “ Norepinephrine decides not to do it ”, It means norepinephrine and impulse 、 Awakening related . Whether emotional arousal or sexual arousal , It's all related to the emotional impulse when you like someone .

Meet someone you like , Your heart beats faster than you can control 、 Sweaty palms 、 blush , These are all masterpieces of norepinephrine .

The second sentence “ Dopamine is the key ”.

When in love , The amount of dopamine in the brain is really high , Changes in dopamine levels may change your brain's original motivation and reward mechanisms .

There is no denying , Some feelings —— At least for some people —— Like drugs , Even if you know it's unhealthy 、 A bad relationship , Can't help wanting to be with him .

But love and dopamine are not causal , So it was called “ Dopamine is only available when you are in love , Dopamine can only last for three months ” To explain that what they don't feel are all uncivilized scum men and scum women .

The third sentence “5- Serotonin determines who speaks first ”.

“5- Serotonin ” It is also a very common neurotransmitter , Also called “ serotonin ”. Serotonin is calming 、 Relaxing effect , In love , Low levels of serotonin in the brain . This also explains why when we are in love, we feel that we have completely lost the ability to keep rational and calm , Even feel anxious .

The fourth sentence “ Telomerase determines who will go first ”.

This sentence has nothing to do with love , It means that telomerase determines the length of human life . It is believed to be related to the aging of human body and the development of cancer and tumor diseases , That's why “ Telomerase determines who will go first ” The idea that .

02

Love state

American anthropologist Helen · fisher （Helen Fisher） Have proposed , There are three main states of love ： Lust 、 Attraction and attachment .

The three neurotransmitters mentioned above —— Noradrenaline 、 dopamine 、 serotonin —— In fact, it's all with “ attract ” This state is related to .

besides ,“ Lust ” And testosterone 、 Estrogen related , and “ Attachment ” It is regulated by antidiuretic hormone and oxytocin . Oxytocin is especially interesting , As its name says , One of its major functions is to induce labor and lactation , Stimulate uterine muscles , Contracting the uterus promotes childbirth .

It is also related to orgasm , It can increase the sense of security between husband and wife , Increase the attachment between lovers . If it had to be a love hormone , Maybe oxytocin is the best candidate .

More about love , Even addictive 、 desire 、 happy 、 Memory, etc , I believe you have read the new work of Zhao Sijia 《 Brain correspondent ： Know your neurotransmitters 》 after , You may also have your own opinion .

03

Wonderful summary

As a neurologist , Zhao Sijia has been asked several times ：“ You study neuroscience , Can you still believe in true love ？” The subtext is probably , In the eyes of neuroscientists , Love is chemistry ？ If it is , Isn't that boring , Can they cherish every moment of love ？

stay 《 Brain correspondent 》 In this book , Zhaosijia aims at this problem , Talked about her thoughts .

“ Why love is not necessarily happy ？”

People who have loved in secret will have similar feelings ： Secret love is too difficult , The happiest thing in the world is that two people love each other . If we can love each other , It must be very happy and sweet . Later I realized , It turns out that love doesn't necessarily mean happiness . But why ？ This problem involves from popular novels to serious literature , But there has never been a clear answer . It seems that just because love itself is like this , There is no answer , Just let the pain in love become particularly charming .

In this case , Then why love ？ Since humans can get pleasure from mating , Why do you still need love, a cognitive function that may bring pain ？

But if you study neuroscience , The question is very simple . Because from the perspective of Neuroscience , The question itself does not hold . In the brain , Love and happiness are two independent concepts . Even if it has to be said that these neurotransmitters and hormones form love , Then they are not the essence of happiness , Nor is it the essence of happiness . So love is not happy , It's not a contradiction .

“ Isn't the love that makes people dizzy a good love ？”

Many people hate not being calm when they are in love 、 worry about personal gains and losses 、 anxious 、 You can only see the other person's state in your eyes , Even so, they are very resistant to falling in love . But once you understand the effects of these neurotransmitters on the brain , You will realize , This is a very normal phenomenon .

“ Since love is just a chemical reaction , Can you still believe in love ？”

To address this issue , Zhao Sijia thinks that love is not only a chemical action , What you see 、 What I feel 、 Think of , All in all , It's just a matter of chemistry and physics . Even my own existence is just a piece of music composed by hundreds of billions of nerve cells in the pink brain of Tianling Gaili .

therefore , When you understand the complexity of neurotransmitters , Will realize that love is as difficult to control as fireworks 、 In a flash , And every moment has its uniqueness .

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