The Scientific Reason The 'Honeymoon Phase' Goes Away
Why does the honeymoon phase at the beginning of a relationship end? Scientists may have found the answer by studying our brains in love.
Famed researcher and neurosurgeon Huey Lewis once wrote about The Power of Love, but what a lot of people don't know is that the song was originally titled The Power of the Caudate Nucleus and the Ventral Tegmental Area. Those are the two areas of the brain that light up when we first fall in love. Scientists know this thanks to digital brain mapping. It's a curious thing.
Scientists have also developed some theories on why that initial intense feeling of love gradually diminishes. It turns out there are actual, measurable reasons for this phenomenon, and many of them have to do with brain chemicals and hormones like dopamine and serotonin. The good news? Sex can jump-start those honeymoon feelings, even after many years. Julian Huguet investigates in today's DNews report.
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Read More:
LiveScience: What Falling in Love Does to the Brain
PopSci: Everlasting Love: Science Proves Initial Passion Is Far From Fleeting
Harvard Medical School: Love and the Brain