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THE CHEMISTRY OF THINGS
In a programme that unveils the chemistry hidden in our day to day lives
it may seem strange to speak of love
often celebrated as a spiritual phenomenon, sometimes only physical
but rarely seen as a result of the action of chemicals on the brain.
We don't want to diminish such noble sentiment
but the truth is that "love" is a complex neurobiological phenomenon
based on brain activity that includes desire
confidence, pleasure, reward
and involves the action of a large number of chemical messengers.
When two people are in love, there is actually chemistry between them
scientists have found many direct links between the chemicals
that circulate in our blood and act on our brain
and our behavior in the various stages of love.
In an initial phase, *** desire is triggered by the circulation
of sex hormones, which begins in adolescence:
testosterone in men
and estrogen in women.
The second phase is the passion phase.
We lose our appetite, we can't sleep
and all our thoughts revolve around the loved one.
All this, by the action of another set of chemicals
that act on the brain, the neurotransmitters:
norepinephrine that accelerates the heartbeat,
serotonin that makes us obsessed with the object of our passion,
and dopamine, which makes us happy, and even a little silly
with just a smile or a look.
Can you recognize the symptoms?
And because no one can stay like this forever
we go to the third phase of love, the connection phase,
guaranteed by the presence of two hormones released during the *** act:
oxytocin, the so called love hormone
and vasopressin, whose presence is apparently essential to ensure the fidelity of *** partners.
Recent studies also provide clues on how to increase men's
interest in the eyes of their female partners.
But that is something I will not reveal here ...
To know more about the chemistry of love, visit our website quimicadascoisas.org
or look for us on Facebook.