Love 'messes up' the brain. In fact, at the brain level we release the so-called love hormone, oxytocin, responsible for the euphoria we feel when we fall in love, and another neurotransmitter comes into play, dopamine, which is linked to the circuits of pleasure and reward, when we put the loved one at the center of our thoughts in the first phase of a relationship.
This is revealed by research by the University of Canberra, the University of South Australia and the Australian National University, published in the journal Behavioral Sciences.
The researchers surveyed 1556,<> young adults who identified as "in love."
The survey questions focused on their emotional reaction to their partner, their behavior toward them, and the attention they placed on their loved one above all else.
It turns out that when we're in love, our brains react differently. It makes the loved one central to our lives.
"We know the role oxytocin plays in romantic love, because we circulate waves of oxytocin through our nervous system and bloodstream when we interact with our loved ones," says Dr. Phil Kavanagh, one of the authors of the research.
"The way in which loved ones take on special importance, however, is due to the combination of oxytocin with dopamine, another chemical that our brains release during romantic love. Essentially, love activates pathways in the brain that are associated with positive feelings."
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