Monday, February 19, 2007 Dumaguing: Crazy in love? By Dr. Victor Dumaguing To Your Health
VALENTINES was just a few days back and am sure, only those with Alzheimer's disease cannot recall the warm memories that Love day brought onto their otherwise ordinary life.
Indeed, for most of us, those loving memories are fresh, in their finest detail and in colors yet. And at the back of our minds, we do remember, with a shy smile, the extraordinary things we did and we still do, just because of love.
Some are unusual, to put in mildly, some are strange and some are weird or just plain silly. Oh well, who cares? At some point in our lives, most of us face a major mental crisis and that "health crisis" is called love!
Science is beginning to pay more attention to the chemical storm that romantic love can trigger in our brains. Recent brain scans show that being in love is strikingly similar to serious health problems like drug addiction and compulsive-obsessive disorders.
Don't get me wrong. This does not mean that love is bad for health. All doctors and psychologist agree that love and lasting relationships are important determinants to long-term optimum health and well-being. At the other extreme, the breakdown of a relationship or marriage can exact an enormous toll on both mental and physical well-being. True, love hurts, and love can make us crazy -- at least in the short term -- our awareness of this gives us clues about how to improve our relationships, boost our marital health, and rekindle the romantic flame that brought us together in the first place.
"The brain system involved in romantic love is powerful," says Helen Fischer, a Rutgers University anthropologist. "Everything that is going on in the brain, everything that happens with romantic love has a chemical basis."
Dr. Fischer has studied love by looking at people's brain using magnetic resonance imaging machines. The subjects or volunteers include those who were in loving relationship and those who had just suffered rejection and were nursing a broken heart. While in the scanner, they were shown "neutral pictures of someone they knew but for whom they don't have intense feelings." Then they were shown pictures of their beloved.
Compared to the neutral photos, a lover's picture triggers the dopamine system in the brain the same reward system associated with pleasure and addiction. But the brain images of the subjects who were scorned in love also gave clues as to why breakdown of a marriage or a relationship can trigger serious health problems.
Those with failed affairs still showed the same activity of the dopamine system when shown pictures of their previous love or ex-flame -- showing they still maintained as intense and strong feelings with their past loved one. They also showed activity in other parts of the brain associated with risk-taking, anger and rage and obsessive-compulsive behavior. And most notably, they showed activity in the part of the brain associated with physical pain.
The dramatic changes evident on the brain scans may help explain bizarre behavior that is often associated with love. Of course, we have Romeo and Juliet to relate with. Recently, the high-profile behavior of astronaut Lisa Nowak seems to reinforce this observation.
Imagine this space scientist, driving all the way form Houston, Texas to Orlando, Florida, just to confront the woman she thought was a rival for the love of fellow astronaut Oefelein. She wore diapers just to she would not waste previous minutes just going to the bathroom so that she would not miss her target. Sure enough, Ms. Nowak was accused of spraying pepper dust on her rival.
Using brain scans to study emotional changes is still a new science. However, it cannot be denied that when a person is in love, he feels intense passion, he's willing to take risks, he's in some physical and mental pain, he's obsessively thinking about the beloved, he's struggling to control his rage. In short, a person in love may not be using his full range of cognitive abilities. It's possible that part of his rational mind shuts down. As the saying goes, the heart has reasons, which only the heart understands. Apparently, in love, the brain or the mind seems to agree.
Because romantic love is so closely linked with the dopamine reward system, anything we can do to trigger that system can boost our loving relationship. Novelty or something new, with a sense anticipated excitement and adventure can boost dopamine release. Vacation to a new place is exciting. You don't have to go far, though. Trying or checking out a new restaurant in your place may add spice to the romance. A little foolish and even naughty behavior may ignite an ember into fires of love. Sexual activity with a person you love and who loves you in return -- without leaving feelings of guilt -- leads to spikes in nor-epinephrine, oxytocin and vasopressin -- other chemical neurotransmitters also association with love and attachment.
So you're in love? Then, keep the frames of love burning! Go ahead, do all those funny silly things. After all, you have love as an excuse.
