Science unlocks secrets of our deepest Love

[Guest guest]

Dear all,

 

on this Easter day, let's talk of LOVE

 

Enjoy

with Love

nicole

 

 

From The Sunday TimesApril 12, 2009

 

Science unlocks secrets of our deepest love

The mystery of what drives us to offer unconditional love is being

unravelledJonathan Leake

THE secrets of unconditional love, one of the most mysterious emotions, are

being uncovered by scientists tracing the unique brain activity it creates.

 

They have found that the emotion, experienced as a desire to care for another

person without any thought of reward, emerges from a complex interplay between

seven separate areas of the brain.

 

Such brain activity has only limited overlap with the cerebral impulses seen in

romantic or sexual love, suggesting it should be seen as an entirely separate

emotion.

 

Professor Mario Beauregard, of Montreal University's centre for research into

neurophysiology and cognition, who led the study, said: " Unconditional love,

extended to others without exception, is considered to be one of the highest

expressions of spirituality. " However, nothing has been known regarding its

neural underpinnings until now. "

 

Scientists are interested in unconditional love as evolutionary theory suggests

we should feel such emotions only for people who help us pass our genes to

future generations, such as spouses and children.

 

Our fascination with the many forms of love is reflected by Hollywood, with

films such as War of the Worlds, where Tom Cruise's character risks his life to

save his estranged daughter. The unconditional love he displays contrasts with

the obsessive sexual emotions in films such as Basic Instinct or the romantic

love portrayed by Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman in the epic Australia.

 

In the real world, however, unconditional love is often experienced towards

people with whom there is no connection. The question is: why? To carry out the

study, Beauregard recruited subjects with a proven ability to feel strong

unconditional love: low-paid assistants looking after people with learning

difficulties. Beauregard asked them to evoke feelings of unconditional love and

hold them in their minds while they had a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan.

 

Of the seven brain areas that became active, three were similar to those of

romantic love. The others were different, suggesting a separate kind of love.

 

Beauregard's discoveries showed that some of the areas activated when

experiencing unconditional love were also involved in releasing dopamine. This

chemical is deeply involved in sensing pleasure, with rising levels strongly

linked to feelings of reward and even euphoria.

 

In a research paper in an academic journal, he said: " The rewarding nature of

unconditional love facilitates the creation of strong emotional links. Such

robust bonds may critically contribute to the survival of the human species. "

 

Additional reporting: John Harlow