A Study by Semir Zeki Tries to Answer What is Love

To begin the experiment, participants answered a questionnaire rating how intensely in love they were then they were shown photos of their partner during an MRI scan. It was found that dophamine-rich areas of the brain (area associated with rewards) had higher activity when shown their partner than when shown an image of their friend. These findings show that we form relationships with those who are rewarding.

One of the most complicated experiences in life, love cannot be precisely defined, but some basic indications help to characterize the feeling. Love is a very deep, passionate affection one person has for another or a relationship of the same nature that implies a unique intensity of emotion. It requires an especially strong connection and compatibility between two people, usually identified by a total understanding and respect for each other and a fundamental similarity in ideology. Love can also be seen in the way it alters people’s normal behavior; when someone is in love, the object of their affection seems like the most important thing in the world, and they do extreme things for that feeling to be requited. Love cannot easily be

The article '' love: the right chemistry'' by Anastasia Toufexis efforts to explain the concept of love from a scientific aspect in which an amateur will understand. Briefly this essay explains and describe in a scientific way how people's stimulation of the body works when you're falling in love. The new scientific researches have given the answer through human physiology how genes behave when your feelings for example get swept away. The justification for this is explained by how the brain gets flooded by chemicals. The author expresses in one point that love isn't just a nonsense behavior nor a feeling that exhibits similar properties as of a narcotic drug. This is brought about by an organized chemical chain who controls different

Love is classified as the stereotypical eccentric and bubbly emotion with a fairly positive connotation. When you feel love, you feel like you are walking on air and you don’t understand it but all you know is that you are feeling the quintessence of happiness. In a relationship, love makes you feel a oneness with another human being. You feel like you are the only two people in the world and nothing can break it apart. Love can do all these things but it's not all happy. When

Love is an interesting mock trial of chemicals in the brain. Love’s mock trial of dopamine, phenylethylamine and oxytocin are all chemicals that are produced heavily in the first stages of when someone falls in love giving a person a sort of uplifted and euphoric feeling. The interesting piece to it is the chemical reactions start to lessen after time and the ‘high” is gone. This is one reason why scientists claim breakups, divorces, and other forms of separation is so very common. Now what if an imbalance in the chemical reaction countered or changed the brain in a way that the love never could faded? A possible imbalance between neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine cause a disorder known

What is love? Some people say love is chemistry, it triggers your brain by releasing chemicals, like, pheromones, dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, oxytocin, and vasopressin. It can create a romantic story or a bond with someone. Martin Luther King Jr. believes “Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.” The one person you disliked is the same friend you run to gossip with. Love is universal because of the different types of love such as agape, philautia, and many ideas people have about love.

It feels comforting that someone is with you and that person makes you feel relieved and unstressed. The person in turn will reciprocate their good feelings towards others. Scientists have proven that love activates some parts in our nervous system responsible for feelings of happiness and peace and is affected in the same area of the brain as drugs like cocaine and nicotine which can cause a feeling of euphoria and cause one to neglect everything else. For example, Romeo and Juliet were happy with their love for each other but chose to forget that they belonged to feuding families who may not approve of their relationship.

In both short stories, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love (WWTAL), by Carver, and What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank (WWTAAF), by Englander, the way drugs and alcohol are incorporated there are similarities between all the characters. The mood and atmosphere fluctuate as the demeanor of the characters change, going from sober to being under the influence. As for symbolism, the status of the weather worked in parallel with how the alcohol affected the characters. By encompassing these two elements together, a theme builds. Drugs are acceptable and common for everyone to use, but they can lead to negative outcomes. Looking at both Carvers’ and Englanders’ use of realism, these couples go through similar circumstances

These key components of love assist me to better understand more about the layers of love. I’ve experienced the stages of love, even at my young age; therefore, the articles explaining my reactions when I am in love makes sense now. Lust is the first stage of love which is a sexual desire driven by testosterone and estrogen. I personally think that lust comes from pure physical attraction from someone such as a person's face. The second stage of love is attraction which is something I relate to the most; I become completely love-struck and can only focus on my partner. The three main neurotransmitters in attraction are adrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin. During adrenaline, Fisher explains that our adrenaline triggers our stress response; consequently, we start to sweat, blood and heart rate increases, and more. This is extremely common for me since I get very nervous when I first meet someone I find attractive. Fisher discovered that new in love couples have high level of dopamine; this neurotransmitter takes over your entire attention, motivation, and produces intense pleasure upon one. Thus, I’m able to stay up all night just thinking about my

As dictionaries have been adding new words and revising definitions yearly, we have seen a transition in the definition of love. Today, a commonly accepted definition of love is “an amorous episode” (Webster). This concept of love began with its portrayal in Hollywood media, causing the history and true meaning of the word to become lost. While love used to be defined as the “strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties,” or “affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests” (Webster), the most recent definition is most similar to what it seems Hollywood is portraying as infatuation. This can be defined as “an extravagantly foolish or unreasoning passion” (Oxford). What movies often portray as “love”

Based on the TED talk The Brain in Love, Helen Fisher explains that everyone will experience the effects of love at some point in their life, and that effects are all reflected in the brain. Especially romantic love, which is a deep emotional connection of obsession, where you often lose your sense and can’t stop thinking of another individual, can have very strong reactions in the brain when on it or when you feel rejection or have been dumped.

The world we know of today has mixed emotions of love and hatred. There are some days where the love stands out, while some days people are filled with anger and hatred. The set of short stories I read, “What We Do For Love,” aspected the days of love and kindness in a way I wouldn’t haven’t been able to. This category was able to say that having a loving and nurturing community makes life easier than a community with disagreements and hatred.

Love is also defined in the dictionary as "strong affection," "warm attachment," and "unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for others" (439). All of these definitions are completely correct, but the dictionary does not explain how it feels to love someone. The reason that an explanation for this feeling is not found in the dictionary may be because love is so different for each individual person. In my experience, "strong affection" does not even begin to cover the sensation and emotions a person feels when he or she is in love. Love is compared to "the extraordinary sun / splashing its light / into astonished trees" in Denise Levertov's "Love Poem" (2-4). Like the sun, love is great and bright and fills a person with extreme joy. Love is greater than anything else a person could ever experience. A lover can even be better than a summer's day, as the speaker in Shakespeare's poem suggests. He compares his lover to a summer's day by saying that she is "more

All relationships change the brain — but the most important ones are the intimate bonds that cultivate or ruin us, that shape one’s memories, emotions and personality. Love carries multiple definitions but in one’s own words, love is a deep emotion of affection and attachment toward others. It’s been a significant theme for artists for thousands of years, being a source of inspiration for poetry, music, literature, paintings, and many other fine arts. Due to the biological and evolutionary perspective on love, different parts of the brain activate love and trigger neurotransmitters, which causes the variety of behaviors and feelings that one experiences.

Love is also the feeling someone has for a job perhaps, for a lobby of the hotel you serve in that always smells just so and has plants hanging from the wall giving the illusion you had just stepped out of a dreary gray, salt-encrusted winter into a touch of the exotic. Or for a hobby, for the grip of a ball, the tension in a muscle, the throw, watching it spin just so to the exact right spot. For rolling a die and dreaming up daring adventures against ancient dragons, or of that risk of gaining or losing it all. For the whoosh of air in free fall from 10,000 feet, or the watery embrace of sea exploring. For healing a sick child, for holding a kite string as it plays upon a wind we've no control over. For