This is what happens to your body when you fall in love with someone else, experts say

Despite the popular belief that the heart is the fundamental part of the process of craze different research has shown that the brain also plays a key role .

This feeling tends to involve both physical reactions and psychological when you are with or thinking about the person in question.

This is one of the reasons why the researcher in this field from the Kinsey Institute of Indiana University, Helen Fischer describes it as “one of the most intense and addictive human experiences.” according to the rescue Infobae .

To deepen our knowledge of this phenomenon, a team led by experts from Aalto University in Finland developed a map that reflects in which parts of the body different types of love are felt and with what intensities .

The results, published in the academic journal Philosophical psychology in 2023, they revealed that the main effects are felt in the head and chest .

Among the predominant reactions, they realized that there were changes in breathing, heart rate and facial expressions .

However, all of them and their triggers are not visible to the naked eye .

In fact, Harvard University psychiatrist Richard Schwartz stated that one of the first effects of the falling in love process is the increase in cortisol .

In an article available on Medicine School From the aforementioned house of studies it is explained that “when we fall in love, Chemicals associated with the reward circuit flood our brains, producing a series of physical and emotional responses. : racing hearts, sweaty palms, red cheeks, feelings of passion and anxiety.

“Levels of the stress hormone cortisol increase during the initial phase of romantic love, preparing our bodies to deal with the ‘crisis.’ “As cortisol levels increase, serotonin levels decrease.” .

In this sense, the decrease in levels of this last neurotransmitter can precipitate the “intrusive and extremely disturbing thoughts, hopes and terrors of first love” » said Schwarz.

At the same time, psychiatrist Jacqueline Olds explained that being in love It also releases high levels of dopamine, a substance that “starts the reward system” and contributes to feelings of pleasure. of intense magnitude.

Concerning this last point, Fischer published a study in the Journal of Neuropsychology in 2005, for which she and the team of researchers They analyzed the brains of around a hundred people with an MRI machine .

Lovers, those who have recently been rejected, and those who have experienced this feeling in a long-term relationship have seen that There was activity in a small area of ​​the brain known as the ventral tegmental area .

In an interview with Infobae, the specialist explained that This “generates dopamine and sends it to different regions, which gives you joy, euphoria, focus, motivation and the desire for romantic love.”

According to an article available in Natural neuroscience , Dopamine regulates motivation and euphoria, while serotonin plays a key role in feeling well-being and regulating mood. in addition to other cognitive functions.

On another side, The release of oxytocin that triggers love can help intensify emotional attraction, trust and feelings of attachment. in individuals.

These are just a few the main chemical components that regulate activity .

And as for why many feel “butterflies in the stomach” when they find themselves in this situation, the neurologist and academic from the University of San Sebastián, Giesela Hornung, explained to Qué Pasa de La Tercera that “This phenomenon would be generated by the activation of the autonomic nervous system, which causes physical changes in the body” .