In a recent study conducted by doctors at Rutgers University in New Jersey, United States bases on  the topic “science behind the love” and reveals that there are ‘three stages‘ behind the process and development of love when experienced in the connection of human beings. Each stage involves different types of chemical reactions within the body (specifically the brain), along with that there are different hormones present in the body helping to excite all these three stages (lust, attraction, and attachment) – separately as well as collectively. This article really helped me understand that there is a science behind love. This, in response, underlines the dual definitions of love as an emotional response and a chemical reaction.

Stage One – Lust 

Definitions:

“An intense sexual desire or appetite”

“an uncontrolled or illicit sexual desire or appetite; lecherousness”

“A passionate or overmastering desire or craving”

Lust is said to be the initial stage of involvement in love. The feel of lust is backed up or instigated by the sexual hormones within the body: Oestrogen and Testosterone are the two basic types of hormones present equally in men and women’s body that excites the feeling of lust within the brain. A limbic processes in the brain in response to lust have health-promoting and stress-reducing potential. In addition, lust, love, and pleasure ensure the endurance of mankind through mating and reproduction. The mating process is a discrete interrelated process initiating attraction.

Stage Two – Attraction

Definition:

“The act, power, or property of attracting”

Second stage of acquiring love is attraction. This phase is said to be one of the beautiful moments of life. This is the phase when a person actually starts to feel the love. His or her impatience for attracting somebody leads to excitement, and the individual is left with no other option but to only think about that specific person. Scientifically, it has been concluded in the study that there are three more sub-stages of attraction that portray drastic changes over the individual’s personality. The three sub-stages of attraction are adrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin.

Adrenaline

Scientists have elaborated that initial symptoms of attraction toward someone involves: Stress response, Increase in adrenalin and cortisol and Attitude reaction.

It has been specified in the study that any person who falls in love will acquire a slight or drastic change in the above stated three factors. Furthermore, attraction is one of the charming effects of life and slight changes in personality are not only natural but are also positive. For this reason, whenever you bump into your admiration, your senses decline and your reactions increase drastically, reason as to why you feel nervous, on-edge, and other emotions resultant of making a good impression on someone.

Dopamine

To follow the theoretical research, a physical experiment was also conducted to prove the veracity of physical evidence. The brains of a new couple struck with love were observed using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRIs). It was genuinely shocking to discover the minds of both male and female have large spikes of neurotransmitter dopamine, a chemical that stimulates the feeling of pleasure within the body. After this discovery, scientists described both the male and female minds as “equally high as if they had taken cocaine or somewhat similar drug” Dopamine is a natural stimulant providing you with ecstasy. The couple furthermore revealed the following facts about themselves from the time they feel in love until the date they were examined: a surge of energy, an observed  significant decrease in appetite, sleep deprivation which has occurred previous to falling in love and that a persons attention has been more focused than ever before. This notion further elaborates on the connection between scientific discovery against the human perception of love. The common phrase ‘love is a drug’, or similar to that, ensures this comparison as a similar instance, as it ha genuinely even proved that each feeling subsides to the same emotion counteracting the admirable feelings of love as what feels like a ‘drug’.

Serotonin

Serotonin has been found as one of the most important chemicals involved for exciting the feeling of love. Serotonin initially diverts your mind and bounds you to think about your lover and nothing else. It becomes a path for the mind. Sandra Langeslag and her colleagues (2012) report serotonin levels are different in men and women when in love. The men in love had lower levels of serotonin, while the women reveal the opposite. The participants in love reported engrossing in thought about their beloved 65% of their day.

Stage 3: Attachment 
When a couple passes through the above two stages of love successfully, the time of bonding with each other becomes powerful. Attachment is a bond helping the couple to take their relationship to advanced levels. It instigates the feeling of bearing children and falling in love with them wholeheartedly.

While investigating the “attachment factor,” scientists discovered two sub-stages involved. The two sub-stages are hormones in the body that attract an individual to retaining the feeling of love with his or her partner. The two hormones, namely, oxytocin and vasopressin are discussed below.

Oxytocin

Oxytocin, also known as “the cuddle hormone,” is one of the most powerful hormones released equally by men and women, especially during orgasm. Oxytocin (OT) formulates the depth of love and forges the attachment the partner. The study was second by another research based on “sexual activities between a couple and the out-comes.” The more a couple opts for sex, the more substantial the bond of attachment is. OT plays a key role in affiliation and attachments in humans.

Similarly, oxytocin helps build a strong bond between a mother and an infant during the time of birth. In addition, it is such a sensitive hormone that it automatically signals the breast to release the milk upon the baby’s sound or touch. OT mediates specific female behaviors such as lactation and parturition. Social interaction with your loved one requires affective “mind reading,” or interpreting faint cues from your partner. Humans infer internal feelings of people from external expressions to predict the other person’s behavior. In a double-blind study of 30 healthy volunteers the administered oxytocin caused a substantial boost in the ability of the individuals to interpret cues from the region of the other person’s eyes. OT improves the interaction between couples by improving this social connection.

Vasopressin

Vasopressin, known as an anti-diuretic, it performs its operation along with the kidney, therefore controlling thirst. This hormone is released in major quantity quickly after sex. Although the brains of women and men are structurally different, they both secrete vasopressin from the pituitary gland. This is a vital role in copulation and partner preference (Hiller, 2004).

Vasopressin is termed as an important hormone to promote long-lasting relationships. A study in Biological Psychology (2012) assessed 37 couples by measuring neuropeptide blood levels. Results reveal vasopressin levels were in relation to the following:

• Interpersonal functioning
• Larger social network
• Greater spousal support
• More attachment security
• Relationship maintenance
• Less negative communication

The Bottom Line on The Science and Psychology of Love
Conclusively, love is seen to be one of the most delightful feelings of our lives. The truth behind the saying saying “love is blind” and “love is a drug” underlines the fact you will never know when your brain will encounter love. A significant number of chemical reactions are involved in instigating lust, attraction, attachment, and love between couples, concluding that science has yet discovered the exact bodily reactions behind the complexity of love.

The articles conclusion is  based upon the above studies: it is clearly said that falling in love involves “many mechanisms and chemicals within the brain” . You simply cannot avoid the sensual reaction of love. The partner doesn’t need to be sublime, sexy, or handsome—the feeling is deeper than a physical tactility.

“Love is a natural muse; you will puzzle over it, dream about it, and be lost in thought.”

Here is a link to the full Article: http://examinedexistence.com/why-we-fall-in-love-the-science-of-love/