I hope that you can celebrate the various kinds of love you find in your life...
Falling in Love Only Takes One-Fifth of a Second
A new study conducted by a Syracuse University Professor Stephanie Ortigue found falling in love can elicit the same euphoric feeling as using cocaine, AND also affects intellectual areas of the brain.
Apparently, the answer to the question, "What falls in love? The heart or the brain?" is not easy to answer.
Love Is Complex
Results from Ortigue's team revealed when a person falls in love, 12 different areas of the brain work in tandem! These areas release euphoria-inducing chemicals such as dopamine, oxytocin, adrenaline and vasopression. Turns out "falling in love" is a bit of a chemical cocktail...
The love feeling also affects sophisticated cognitive functions, such as mental representation, metaphors and body image.
Different Kinds of Love
The study also shows different parts of the brain fall for love. For example, unconditional love, such as that between a mother and a child, is sparked by the common and different brain areas, including the middle of the brain. Passionate love is sparked by the reward part of the brain, and also associative cognitive brain areas that have higher-order cognitive functions, such as body image.
Now, this is just a guess, but I'll bet the study would indicate that all humans (not just Latinos, or any other group) have the same chemical reactions when they fall in love. So our "love" is the same on the inside...
Heartbreak Pill?
The findings have major implications for neuroscience and mental health research because when love doesn't work out, it can be a significant cause of emotional stress and depression.
By identifying the parts of the brain stimulated by love, doctors and therapists can better understand the pains of love-sick patients.
Innovative Latina author, Anjanette Delgado, explores this very idea in her book, The Heartbreak Pill.
No matter what side of romance you're on (in love or recovering from love), you'll want to check out this thoughtful, funny novel.
Enjoy Love!
Wherever you are, and whoever you're with, celebrate the fact that we CAN fall in love, that there are many kinds of love available to us, and that our emotions are complex, and can be triggered in less than an instant.
Aurelia Flores wants to offer a learning opportunity to other women who might find themselves in similar shoes. She strongly believes women can learn from other women, no matter where they are in their career or life path.
Aurelia Flores went from single teenage mother in an abusive relationship to Stanford Law School grad and Senior Counsel for a Fortune 500 company and has overcome obstacles and founded Powerful Latinas to get Latina women to learn and share with one another. Powerful-Latinas mission is “helping powerful Latina women stay grounded in their power!” To find out more, go to www.PowerfulLatinas.com.