Monday, November 01, 2010
Four Types Of Love Identified
WEST VIRGINIA...
Researchers at West Virginia University have identified four distinct types of love that can produce the same euphoric feeling as using cocaine.
The meta-analysis study "The Neuroimgaing Love" compares data from around the world, and identifies passionate, companion, maternal and unconditional love as four distinguishable emotions.
Each type of love stimulates different parts of the brain and elicits unique chemical and hormonal responses, said James W. Lewis, an assistant professor at the WVU School of Medicine Sensory Neuroscience Research Center.
Love is much more complex than a basic level of emotion, and the study's findings raises the question -- does cognition drive a person's sex drive and feelings of love, is it the other way around, or a combination, Lewis said.
The common factor between the four types of identified love is the reward system of the brain that the emotion stimulates -- the same area that certain drugs target.
When a person falls in love, 12 areas of the brain work together to release euphoria-inducing chemicals. The feeling of love also affects a person's intellectual areas of the brain and cognitive functions, such as body image and social awareness, Lewis said.
Researchers at West Virginia University have identified four distinct types of love that can produce the same euphoric feeling as using cocaine.
The meta-analysis study "The Neuroimgaing Love" compares data from around the world, and identifies passionate, companion, maternal and unconditional love as four distinguishable emotions.
Each type of love stimulates different parts of the brain and elicits unique chemical and hormonal responses, said James W. Lewis, an assistant professor at the WVU School of Medicine Sensory Neuroscience Research Center.
Love is much more complex than a basic level of emotion, and the study's findings raises the question -- does cognition drive a person's sex drive and feelings of love, is it the other way around, or a combination, Lewis said.
The common factor between the four types of identified love is the reward system of the brain that the emotion stimulates -- the same area that certain drugs target.
When a person falls in love, 12 areas of the brain work together to release euphoria-inducing chemicals. The feeling of love also affects a person's intellectual areas of the brain and cognitive functions, such as body image and social awareness, Lewis said.
# posted by Homer Owens @ 11:11 AM 
