College and University Blog
Is It True Love or Infatuation?
Wanting to love and be loved is a very normal need. We grow up watching movies with happy endings where the heroes fall in love and live happily ever after. Many of us desire this for ourselves. When we are around someone we are attracted to, our brains release chemicals that make us feel good. These feelings trigger euphoria.
Euphoria is an altered state of consciousness induced by the action of what neurobiologists call PEA – phenylethylamine. PEA works with the hormones dopamine and norepinephrine and triggers powerful side effects. Symptoms include a delightfully positive attitude, increased energy, decreased need for sleep, and loss of appetite. Natural amphetamines are feeding this love frenzy. The PEA levels must be high enough to overcome the amygdale, a part of the brain linked with fear and emotions. Our neurobiological system includes the amygdale to prevent us from doing something stupid.
By using real-time MRI brain images of people in the initial throes of passion, scientists are finding that love originates far from the brain’s logic center. It appears that love is found in the same areas of the brain as addiction. Engaged is a craving-and-desire system that’s triggered, only this desire is for another person. In the right proportions, dopamine creates intense energy, exhilaration, focused attention, and motivation. At the same time we develop a serotonin imbalance similar to people who have obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Chemistry, Passion, or Romance are all terms people use to describe the new and exciting feelings of attraction. But one word can sum it up