Love is a complex & powerful emotion that can impact not only our hearts but also our brains.
And the cupid’s arrows, it turns out, are laced with neurotransmitters that trigger chemical reactions in the body.
When we fall in love, our brains release chemicals such as dopamine, oxytocin, & serotonin that can create feelings of pleasure & happiness.
While the heart is often associated with love, it is actually the brain that processes our emotions & determines how we respond to them.
As per the team of scientists led by Dr. Helen Fisher at Rutgers, romantic love can be broken down into 3 categories.
And each category is characterised by its own set of hormones stemming from the brain.
Here’s a look at the cocktail of chemicals that make us fall in love.
Lust = Testosterone + Estrogen
Attraction = Dopamine + Norepinephrine + Serotonin
Attachment = Oxytocin + Vasopressin