by Richard Hemingway

Created on: March 19, 2009   Last Updated: March 20, 2009

Love is very difficult to reduce to modulating chemicals and neural activity; when we have a very difficult time as it is to even definite what love is. Love is what propels a man up the mountainside on a fidget day. This I believe is a lot more complex than the interactions of Oxytocin and Vasopressin. They play there role, but one can not pinpoint it to their release and interactions with neural activity.

There is however two studies that I am aware of that can give us a better understanding of Love. Phillip Shaver did a study on attachment. Before I give the results; I'll write about another study by Mike Meaney. This way the results will overlap and make more sense. He found that baby rats that were put under stress, but were not nurtured by their mother cuddled and licked had a difficult time coping with stress when they were older. This lack of nurture reduced the number of glucocorticoid receptors. They had very high anxiety levels and had a difficult time coping with unfamiliar surroundings and stress. The rats that were nurtured had lower stress levels and were able to cope. The other study was by Phillip Shaver. He found that something similar happens in humans. Humans that are loved are more likely to form secure relationships and able to cope with stress better than those who were not loved and had somewhat dysfunctional relationships growing up. I think it is possible that people do not expose themselves to high amounts of stress and climb up the mountainside because they know that they are love; I think it is because they learned how to love. Love is prepared to suffer; and suffer still more. That brings me to my next point.

Did you ever wonder why we have: tears of joy? or why people go to horror movies to scare themselves? or why we feel inspired after witnessing a tragedy? or why a person takes pleasure in inflicting pain on someone else? Part of the reason is that neurons that fire together; wire together. I was unfortunate enough to read about the story of Bob Flanagan. (I don't recommend you do the same; it's sick). The name of his documentary is "Sick." I read though his story feeling very repulsed. I won't subject you to the gory details. Yes, it's that sick. He was a super-sadomasochist. That's all I'll say about his behavior. What does this have to do with love? Hold your horses, >Rome wasn't built in a day. The question was; how could anyone get pleasure out of doing these things to themselves. A huge part of the reason was that he was physically sick when he was young. While he was physically sick, in isolation, he played out sexual fantasies. The neuron associated with that of pain, fired with the neurons associated with that of sexual pleasure. They fired together; they wired together. Instead of having two networks of neurons that are loosely connected, for the most part, he had one network of neurons. So, when he felt pain, it would induced sexual pleasure. Love is most closely associated with pain and suffering. People will only suffer for what they love. They fire together; they wire together. Love and pain are closely linked in the brain. Love is the best understanding and the ultimate source of fuel for the "why" in suffering.

We could say; love is this, love is that. Love is a candle light dinner; love is rocking the baby to sleep; love is forgiving the neighbor. Love is what Maximilian Kolbe did. He gave his life for a stranger. I can't think of any greater love than that.

Learn more about this author, Richard Hemingway.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.