How the Brain Makes Love Happen
Love is one of the most common and strongest feelings in the human experience. It’s an emotion that makes us yearn for another person, make sacrifices for them, and sometimes even do things we don’t want to do — all in the name of caring for someone else.
Despite its intense feelings, though, love doesn’t always last. It’s also one of the most difficult to define, with many people having different ideas about what love is and how it should be felt.
For centuries, people believed that love arose from the heart. But research now shows that the brain is involved. In fact, love triggers a surge in activity in certain areas of the brain that are part of our reward system and our reptilian brain.
This is the same part of the brain that makes us hungry or thirsty, and it’s also where we experience euphoria after taking drugs. So it’s not surprising that scientists have discovered that the brain is actually wired to make love happen, with a lot of its activity stemming from our primitive survival systems.
A study by neuroscientists at Stony Brook University in New York found that MRI scans of people who were madly in love showed an increase in activity in parts of the brain responsible for craving, motivation, and reward recognition. This was in contrast to people who were not in love, who showed little or no activity in these parts of the brain.
What does this mean for us?
Scientists have discovered that we can actually develop three main love styles. The first is erotic, which has a lot to do with physical attraction and sexual intimacy. The second is storge, which has less to do with physical attraction and is more mature. The third is pragma, which involves making sensible relationship decisions.
When you’re in a storge love relationship, you trust that your partner wants to be with you and is happy to spend time with you. This is a more mature form of love than erotic or impulsive.
In a pragma love relationship, you understand your partner and can accept their flaws. You also have an understanding of your own limitations and know that you will both end up waking up on morning breath, no matter what you do.
So, when you’re writing about love, whether it’s a romantic relationship or a friendship, think about what it means to you and what you want from that relationship. Do you want it to be strong, or do you simply want it to be happy?
What do you hope it will mean for your future?
You can use your essay to discuss the different types of love, how they impact you, and what it means to you. You can also look at how the theme of love has been used in literature, as well as other kinds of art.
No matter which type of essay you choose, love is a powerful topic that can be explored in many ways. With the right topic and approach, you can write a beautiful essay that will have your reader thinking long after it’s finished.