Throughout history, love has been a constant theme for mankind. Biologically in nature, human consciousness stems from a series of electrochemical activities in the brain, and love is no exception. When you go on a date with your sweetheart, your brain produces more dopamine, a pleasure-inducing neurohormone that makes you eager to interact with each other and create the feeling of being "in love".
Interestingly, dopamine-induced pleasure is also produced by eating, as well as by addictions to substances such as smoking and drinking. Therefore, love is in fact an alternative "poison" that affects us subconsciously, leaving an indelible mark on our bodies, memories, and even our souls and making us fall in love without even realizing it.
On January 12, 2024, researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder published a paper entitled "Nucleus accumbens dopamine release reflects the selective nature of pair bonds" in the journal Current Biology.
The study suggests that the brain produces more dopamine and a special "chemical imprint" when dating a "sweetheart". If you are in a normal relationship, the production of dopamine is much lower, like a flood (in a romantic relationship) versus a trickle (in a normal relationship).
Interestingly, this unique "chemical imprint" fades away after a breakup, suggesting that the brain works through an internal mechanism to remove the negative effects of love and move forward in a positive way, a discovery that could point the way to a new direction in the treatment of people with emotional disorders who have been hurt by love.
Monogamous prairie vole
In this study, prairie voles were used as subjects. Unlike most rodents, prairie voles are "monogamous" and usually love only one mouse in their lifetime. Like humans, prairie voles tend to form long-term partnerships, grooming each other, sharing nesting and parenting responsibilities, and even displaying sadness when they lose a partner. Such partnerships are so strong that, interestingly, the vole's English name, "vole," can be changed into the word for love with only a slight variation.
Therefore, the prairie vole is an excellent animal model for studying human love. By testing prairie voles, the research team sought to explore what happens in the human brain during love, which makes intimate relationships possible, and how we neurochemically overcome lost love when such relationships are broken.