The Science of Love

Cliched title you would think, but wait a minute before you pronounce any judgment and read the following excerpt from an article I found while surfing.

Thirty-one-year-old Dana Commandatore claims she has never been the kind of woman men immediately notice. But one night last year, while at a singles bar with friends, she couldn't keep the opposite sex away. "Guys were coming up to me and getting very close, and I was like, 'Wow!'

Want to read more - I bet you will, but suffer my monologue a while. Brain research especially related to interpersonal relationships, attitudes, individual characteristics has always interested me..yet without doubt understanding the oft talked about, yet least understood (at least for those who are not afflicted by it) concept of love is most fascinating. Most scientists believe that it is to the secrets held within the labyrinth known as brain that we have to look for answers. Recently I saw an interesting program on Nat Geo in their show - Naked Science, where they talked of three stages of love - Attraction, Seduction/Romance, and Love (or long term bonding) and there were theories about each of these stages, novel experiments to prove those theories. As I was searching for articles to delve more in this subject, I came across this article, which talks exactly on the same topic.

So how come Dana Commandatore (yup, the lady in the singles bar) attracted all those men like bees to a flower..read on.

The New York City office manager, now in a committed relationship with one of the men she met that night, credits her ability to attract him that evening to a costly potion ($60 for a tenth of an ounce) called Falling in Love. Its manufacturer, Philosophy cosmetics, claims the concoction is laced with pheromones, those odorless airborne molecules, synthesized from human chemical secretions, that are purported to boost attractiveness. (And yes, it's available at a department store near you.)

Bunk? Sniff if you will. Many do. But whether one believes Commandatore is hopelessly susceptible or remarkably savvy, one thing is clear: New research in the field of love and attraction shows that romance--long the domain of poets, philosophers and five-hankie movies--may be ruled as much by molecules as it is by emotion.

In fact, scientists now believe that the impulse that drives us to mate, marry and remain monogamous is not a result of mere social convention: It is also a complex mix of naturally occurring chemicals and hormones--Cupid's elixirs, if you will--that helps guide us through life's most important decision. That physiological component, say the researchers, may help explain some of love's mysteries: why opposites attract, why so many seemingly mismatched couples succeed, why we stick together with partners through even the worst of times.

Another excerpt

Indeed, what scientists believe they already know about matters of the heart is remarkable. To illustrate their findings, follow the story of Mike, a fictional Everyman, as he falls in love. One night, Mike, single, nervously arrives at a party, gets a drink, then scans the room. Science tells us that, unconsciously, he is already noting the size and symmetry of the facial bones of the women around him (a recent study by University of New Mexico biologists found that symmetrical bone structure is prized more than anything because it suggests a lack of undesirable genetic mutations). He also studies the women's curves, as research shows that men prefer waists to be 60-80 percent the size of hips, an indicator, however crude, of health and fertility. (Women, for their part, seek men with slightly feminized faces--think Leonardo DiCaprio--because they appear warmer, kinder and more trustworthy.) "Judging beauty has a strong evolutionary component," says University of Texas at Austin professor of psychology Devendra Singh. "You're looking at another person and figuring out whether you want your children to carry that person's genes."

Want to know whether Mike finds someone special in that party? - Okay, here's the link for you

http://www.saddleback.edu/faculty/jfritsen/articles.html#love_addiction

PS - As an after after thought probably I should have titled this post as "The Dopamine Effect" - sounds better na?