It’s Valentine’s Day – so we thought we’d take this series of blog posts on love and romance out of the archives (with a few updates). Enjoy!
Happy Valentine’s Day, all! Since February 14th has rolled around yet again, we would like to offer some highlights covering the latest in neuroscience research as it relates to love, affection, romance, and (almost) everything in between.
“Love is like an hourglass, with the heart filling up as the brain empties.”
-Jules Renard
What happens when you first fall in love? What’s going on in your brain after years of marriage? And how can neuroscience help you redefine your date nights to improve your relationship? You may want to start with our 5-part series of articles about your brain in love:
- Part 1: When Love is a Many-Splendored Thing
- Part 2: Love and Marriage
- Part 3: The Neuroscience of Date Night
- Part 4: Oxytocin, the Love/Hate Hormone
- Part 5: No Room for Romance? Try Music Instead… but not Junk Food
Or, you can read the whole thing in one piece here.
“Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk by again?”
-Unknown
Perhaps you’d rather watch a video about love and the brain than read about it. You can check out this conversation between our two co-founders, Dr. Michael Merzenich and Jeff Zimman.
“Love is a fire. But whether it is going to warm your heart or burn down your house you can never tell.”
-Joan Crawford
Can a brain scan predict whether you and your new squeeze will stay together forever? A research team fron Stonybrook University thinks they have found the answers using MRI technology. Find out how it works.
“Chemistry can be a good and bad thing. Chemistry is good when you make love with it. Chemistry is bad when you make crack with it.”
-Adam Sandler
Does Cupid’s arrow actually hit the gut, and not the heart? New research (on fruit flies) shows that after eating, the gut releases a molecule that switches its goal from eating to mating. It’s a fresh look on gut-brain communication that could play out in other animals.
“The four most important words in any marriage…’I’ll do the dishes.'”
-Unknown
But whatever you do, don’t share too much about your personal and love life on social networks. Science says that can be a real romance-killer.
“People say you can’t live without love. But I think oxygen is more important.”
-Unknown
If you’re stressed out, falling in love will only make it worse, but being in love (i.e., in a long-term relationship) can help balance you out and reduce stress levels. The caveat, of course, is that it has to be a healthy, positive relationship or it won’t work too well. But you probably could have guessed that.
“Forget love, I’d rather fall in chocolate.”
-Sandra J. Dykes
Are there really certain foods that have have aphrodisiac properties?
“Think size matters? That’s just the preoptic area of your hypothalamaus talking.”
-Liz Langley
I would be remiss not to at least mention your brain’s involvement in sex. Luckily Liz Langley of Salon has written a great article called “10 Ways the Brain Dictates Sex” so I think she’s pretty much got that topic covered.
“An archeologist is the best husband any woman can have; the older she gets, the more interested he is in her.”
-Agatha Christie
