Second Draft

UNIVERSIDAD PEDAGOGICA EXPERIMENTAL LIBERTADOR

INSTITUTO PEDAGÓGICO “RAFAEL ALBERTO ESCOBAR LARA”

MARACAY. EDO ARAGUA

Reading and writing 1

Sec. 801

Second Draft (Developmental Paragraph)

Love has been known by writers, singers and songwriters (Shakespeare, Lord Byron, The Beatles and others), as the most beautiful feeling of all. Flushed cheeks, clammy hands and a racing heart beat are some of the outward signs of being in love. But it is inside the body where definite chemical changes are being produced as signs that indicate internal variations. According to recent studies about this feeling, scientists have found that it is a succession of chemical reactions produced by hormones that are released by the hypothalamus into the brain. One of the best known researchers in this area is Helen fisher of Rutgers University in New Jersey, who in the year 2004 published a study titled “The Three Chemical stages of Falling in Love”. In this study the author portrays love as the product of the interaction of several hormones in the brain; therefore love, more than a felling is a biochemical reaction due to the specific effect some hormones have in the brain.

One of the first hormones involved is dopamine, which has been commonly associated with the pleasure system of the brain, providing feelings of enjoyment and reinforcement to motivate a person to perform certain activities. It is also an important part of the biological drive to choose a mate, because love as a fact is a primitive drive like hunger and the biology of love helps account for how people focus on one particular person. This view of love is based on observations of passionate behavior across cultures and most recently findings by scientists studying the human brain. In this same line Helen Fisher did some research using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines to peer into the brain of colleges students in the early stages of love, and obtained the first direct evidence that the mechanisms of love activates particular areas of the brain with a high concentration of dopamine and this hormone is closely tied to states of euphoria, craving an addiction. At the same time dopamine in this stage is associated with another agent norepinephrine, and this two hormones can have effects like heightened attention and short term memory, hyperactivity and sleeplessness. When people are first in love, couples show the signs of surging dopamine and norepinephrine; increased energy, less need for sleep or food, focused attention in the smallest details of the novel relationship.

On the other hand, people in love have been known to have low levels of serotonin, which is one of love’s most important chemicals and has also been associated with chemical imbalances such as depression, anxiety and insanity. This explains why people in love are usually depressed. These effects resemble drug effects on the brain, therefore they are bound to lose the kick and fade quickly in the first three years or so. Then the cravings, the depression and the anxiety go away and the brain activity goes back to normal.

Now when it comes to the part of commitment and long lasting love there are two important hormones that are released by the nervous system that play a role in social attachments. These hormones are oxytocin and vasopressin. The first one is released by the hypothalamus gland by both sexes during orgasm and it is thought that promotes bonding when adults are intimate. Ergo the theory that the more sex a couple has, the deeper their bond becomes. Vasopressin has a similar effect, it cements the bond between the two people, creates devotions towards the partner and the instinct to protect one another from new suitors (jealousy).

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