Cupid has nothing to do with it. Scientists understand how emotions arise and why breakups are so painful

Romantic relationships and the pain of separation have been described in many novels and shown in many films. Scientists have been trying to unravel the mystery of these emotions and how they arise in humans for centuries. Researchers now believe they have discovered the biological signature of desire that underlies strong relationships. What’s more, scientists believe this may explain why separation is so painful, Live Science writes.

Note that the research was done on amorous rodents, but scientists believe these signs of desire are also present in humans.

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For the study, scientists focused on examining the brains of prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster), a type of rodent that forms monogamous relationships. It is known that when voles move away from their partners and reunite, their brains release dopamine. Scientists discovered that this occurs in a key part of the brain’s reward center, also known as the nucleus accumbens. Observations show that during a meeting with a partner, more dopamine is produced in the brain of field mice than when meeting with unfamiliar field mice.

According to study co-author Zoe Donaldson, an assistant professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology at the University of Colorado Boulder, she and her team discovered that a vole actually leaves a mark on its partner’s brain. But observations also show that after a long separation, the partner, unfortunately, does not cause the same “chemical spark”.

Therefore, scientists believe that “love” occurs as a result of the release of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens. This prolonged chemical stress is thought to encourage voles to maintain monogamous relationships over long periods of time. The study’s authors also believe their findings likely apply to humans, but more research will be needed to confirm this.

In the study, researchers separated pairs of field mice and then had them perform physical tasks, such as climbing over a fence or pressing a lever, to return to their partner. The scientists also conducted control tests in which voles had to perform the same tasks to reach rodents they had never seen before.

As voles performed tasks, scientists measured how much dopamine was released in their nucleus accumbens. The results showed that more dopamine was released when voles tried to reach friends rather than strangers.

In a third experiment, scientists separated rodent pairs for 4 weeks and found that this time was enough for their “brain connections” to fade, and that voles in the wild were likely to find a new partner during this time. Interestingly, the rodents recognized the “ex-lover,” but there was almost no dopamine reaction following this.

This shows that the brain has a built-in defense mechanism that allows it to move forward and avoid long-term emotional pain, the study authors said.

Previously Focus He wrote that scientists named the era when it was better to be alone and not get into a relationship.