About three years ago, there was a good amount of buzz on the internet regarding research on oxytocin and its effects in the brain. Oxytocin, for those who aren't medically inclined, is a hormone in your body that does a bunch of stuff. It helps with memory, is critical for women in childbirth (many women are administered oxytocin/pitocin to help along labor and women produce it naturally before and after childbirth), and it also has been hailed as the "cuddle/bonding" hormone.
It is closely linked with vasopressin, another nifty hormone, that controls how much water you retain. Oxytocin and vasopressin together make for a super-bonding hormone cocktail... and both are released by both males and females during orgasm.
Another scientist recently published a paper theorizing that a love drug might not be far off in the future. Given that oxytocin, vasopressin, dopamine (another "feel good" hormone) and norephineprine are already made and used medically, all it would take was an enterprising drug company and FDA approval to get a "love drug" at your local pharmacy.
The reaction he got to this was surprisingly negative by some, positive by others.
It seems love, and falling in love, is a magical process that most humans would rather science not research. The idea that love could be "synthesized" via chemical means is blasphemous to some, merely annoying to others. It is interesting that people would have such a strong reaction to this and signifies that love is more important to us than we might think.
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