If love is just chemistry, can you still believe in love?

"Why isn't love necessarily happy?"

"How long should we get married?"

"Since love is just chemistry, can we still believe in love?"

…………

Regarding love, neuroscience has a saying, "Adrenaline decides not to shoot, dopamine determines the longevity, serotonin (also known as serotonin) determines who opens first, telomerase determines who will go first."

This sentence is more one-sided, but it mentions several key points.

The first sentence should actually say "norepinephrine decides not to shoot".

Norepinephrine is a neurotransmitter. We often mention the word "adrenaline" in our daily lives, and we often use it to describe the feeling of being very "burning". Norepinephrine is actually very similar to epinephrine and has the same function, but their origin is different. Epinephrine, as the name suggests, is produced in the adrenal glands of the body, while norepinephrine is produced in the brain.

And "norepinephrine decides not to shoot" refers to norepinephrine is related to impulsivity and arousal. Whether it is emotional arousal or sexual arousal, it is related to the emotional impulse when you like someone. When you meet someone you like, your heart beats faster, your palms sweat and your face flushes, all of which are masterpieces of norepinephrine.

The second sentence is "Dopamine determines the longevity of the day".

In the vampire-themed "Mary Sue" film Twilight, Edward says a love word to Bella: "You're like my own personal brand of heroin." (You're like my exclusive heroin.) ）

Pictured| Twilight

Strange and numb, but inexplicably appropriate. When you are in love, the dopamine content in the brain will indeed be high, and the change in the amount of dopamine may change the original motivation and reward mechanism of your brain. For example, under normal circumstances, you wouldn't be happy to receive a "what to do" WeChat message. And when you first fall in love, you will have a very obvious change, that is, you will not care so much about the things you usually care about and want to do, which is the result of changes in motivation and reward mechanisms.

It can't be denied that some feelings – at least for some people – are like drugs, and even if you know it's an unhealthy, bad relationship, you can't suppress the desire to be with him. But love and dopamine are not causal, so under the banner of "only when there is dopamine in love, and dopamine can only last for three months" to explain that what they don't feel is an uncultured scumbag.

The third sentence "Serotonin determines who speaks first".

"Serotonin" is also a very common neurotransmitter, also known as "serotonin" (serotonin). Serotonin has a calming, relaxing effect, and in the state of hot love, the serotonin content in the brain is low. This also explains why we feel completely lost in our ability to stay rational and calm when we are in love, and even feel anxious.

The fourth sentence "Telomerase determines who will go first".

This sentence is actually not directly related to love, it refers to telomerase determines the length of human life. Telomerase is not a neurotransmitter, but an enzyme that is ubiquitous in the body's cells and is only active in cells that are constantly dividing and copying themselves. It is believed to be related to the aging of the human body and the development of cancerous tumor diseases, which is why "telomerase determines who will go first".

American anthropologist Helen Fisher once proposed that there are three main states of love: lust, attraction and attachment.

The three neurotransmitters mentioned earlier—norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin—are actually related to the state of "attraction."

In addition, "lust" is associated with testosterone and estrogen, while "attachment" is regulated by antidiuretic hormone and oxytocin. Among them, oxytocin is particularly interesting, as its name says, one of its major functions is to induce labor prolactin, stimulate the uterine muscles, contract the uterus to promote childbirth. It is also related to orgasm, which can increase the sense of security between couples and increase the sense of attachment between couples. If there is not a love hormone, oxytocin may be the best candidate.

As a neurologist, Zhao Sijia has been asked several times: "If you study neuroscience, can you still believe in true love?" The subtext is probably that, in the eyes of neurologists, is love the chemical action? If so, wouldn't it be boring, and could they still value every moment of love?

"Why isn't love necessarily happy?"

People who have had a crush will have a similar feeling: it is too difficult to have a crush, and the happiest thing in the world is to be happy with each other. If you can love each other, it will be very happy and sweet. Later, I realized that falling in love is not necessarily happy. But why? This question has been touched upon from popular fiction to serious literature, but there has never been a definitive answer. It seems that it is precisely because love itself is like this, there is no answer, that the pain in love becomes particularly fascinating.

If so, then why should there be love? Since humans can get pleasure from the mating process, why do they need love, a cognitive function that can bring pain?

But if you study neuroscience, the problem is simple. Because from a neuroscience point of view, the question itself doesn't hold. In the brain, love and happiness are two separate concepts. Even if it had to be said that these neurotransmitters and hormones formed love, then they would not be the essence of happiness, nor would they be the essence of happiness. So it is not a contradiction to love each other but not to be happy.

"Isn't a love that makes people lose their minds a good love?"

Many people hate that they are not calm when they are in love, suffer from gains and losses, anxiety, and only see each other's state in their eyes, and even very resistant to the matter of falling in love. But once you understand the effects of these neurotransmitters on the brain, you'll realize that this is normal.

"How long should we get married?"

This is an interesting question. For the ancient human brain, the idea of "finding someone in the vast sea of people, falling in love with him and then marrying him, and being happy for a lifetime" is very trendy in itself. This is entirely the product of socialization, and there is almost no physiological basis.

It seems that post-20th century love opened up a barrier mode, each level is unclear but inescapable, and "normal" romantic relationships must develop in a given direction. Every time I talk about the neuroscience of love, I think the topic is too unromantic. Indeed, much of the work done by neuroscientists is actually "de-romanticizing" the world. Love opens up, it seems like that, not so mysterious and precious, not so beautiful.

"Since love is just chemistry, can we still believe in love?"

In response to this problem, Zhao Sijia feels that not only is love a chemical action, but what he sees, feels, thinks, and everything is just a chemical and physical effect. Even his own existence is just a song composed by nearly 100 billion nerve cells in tianling Geri's pink brain.

There's a saying for everyone: "But dream we dream together is reality." (From Yoko Ono's 1972 song "Now or Never," originally titled "'Cause dream you dream alone is only a dream.) But dream we dream together is reality.”。 Human perception of the world is actually such a dream that billions of people have done together.

So when you understand the complexity of neurotransmitters, you realize that love is as uncontrollable, fleeting, and unique in every moment.

(The article is excerpted from Zhao Sijia's "Brain Communicator: Knowing Your Neurotransmitters", partially modified)