Articles

Saddleback College	Applied Psychology 151

	The Science of Love
	Chemistry of Love
	Love Addiction & 'Monogomouse'
	'Monogamouse'
	'Monogamouse' Addicted to Love
	Relax, Here's A Love Drug We Can All Use For Free
	Scientist Are Trying To Dissect the Mystery of Romance
	Oxytocin/The Hormone That Triggers Passion
	Scientists Turn Up The Lights on Secrets of Love
	Autism & Oxytocin
	Mating Game
	Paradox Of Our Times

The Science Of Love (the chemistry of romance)
Life, 22, 2, 38(1)
Feb, 1999
ISSN: 0024-3019

ABSTRACT:
Researchers believe that love at first sight is not just a cliche. A chemical reaction which may lead to romance can be created when one person first looks at another. A mix of natural chemicals and hormones may explain why opposites attract, mismatched couples success and some
couples survive the worst situations.

TEXT:
The couples on the following pages prove what researchers now know: Romance, quite literally, requires a certain chemistry. Love at first sight is no apocryphal cliche. Writer Nuna Alberts reports that researchers now know why one glimpse of the right person can let off a chemical reaction leading to romance. But what happens after what? Why do some relationships succeed while others fizzle? That may be more magic than science. Claudia Glenn Dowling visits with 10 famous couples who have overcome time and trials: depression, the death of a child, cancer, the stress of public life. Through it all, their marriages have survived--even grown stronger. "Need is the thing that holds a marriage together over the long haul," says actor Carroll O'Connor. "If the need stops, the marriage stops."

Thirty-one-year-old Dana Commandatore claims she has never been the kind of woman men immediately notice. But one night last year, while at a singles bar with friends, she couldn't keep the opposite sex away. "Guys were coming up to me and getting very close, and I was like, 'Wow!'"
The New York City office manager, now in a committed relationship with one of the men she met that night, credits her ability to attract him that evening to a costly potion ($60 for a tenth of an ounce) called Falling in Love. Its manufacturer, Philosophy cosmetics, claims the concoction is laced with pheromones, those odorless airborne molecules, synthesized from human chemical secretions, that are purported to boost attractiveness. (And yes, it's available at a department store near you.)

Bunk? Sniff if you will. Many do. But whether one believes Commandatore is hopelessly susceptible or remarkably savvy, one thing is clear: New research in the field of love and attraction shows that
romance--long the domain of poets, philosophers and five-hankie movies--may be ruled as much by molecules as it is by emotion. In fact, scientists now believe that the impulse that drives us to mate, marry and remain monogamous is not a result of mere social convention: It is also a complex mix of naturally occurring chemicals and hormones--Cupid's elixirs, if you will--that helps guide us through life's most important decision. That physiological component, say the researchers, may help explain some of love's mysteries: why opposites attract, why so many seemingly mismatched couples succeed, why we stick together with partners through even the worst of times.

"When you fall in love or in lust, it isn't merely an emotional event," says Theresa Crenshaw, M.D., the Masters and Johnson-trained author of The Alchemy of Love and Lust. "Your body's hormones, each with unique contributions, get involved too."

Free will, of course, can't be discounted. If you like redheads, you like redheads. If you're a sucker for a beautiful voice, the man who croons "Night and Day" to you has an edge. But doctors have long known that even that most primal of impulses, lust--the feeling that propels the lonely out the door in search of love--has a chemical basis. It is testosterone, the hormone that creates basic sexual desire in men and women.

Indeed, what scientists believe they already know about matters of the heart is remarkable. To illustrate their findings, follow the story of Mike, a fictional Everyman, as he falls in love. One night, Mike, single, nervously arrives at a party, gets a drink, then scans the room. Science tells us that, unconsciously, he is already noting the size and symmetry of the facial bones of the women around him (a recent study by University of New Mexico biologists found that symmetrical bone structure is prized more than anything because it suggests a lack of undesirable genetic mutations). He also studies the women's curves, as research shows that men prefer waists to be 60-80 percent the size of hips, an indicator, however crude, of health and fertility. (Women, for their part, seek men with slightly feminized faces--think Leonardo DiCaprio--because they appear warmer, kinder and more trustworthy.) "Judging beauty has a strong evolutionary component," says University of Texas at Austin professor of psychology Devendra Singh. "You're looking at another person and figuring out whether you want your children to carry that person's genes."

At the party, Mike subconsciously follows these clues and makes eye contact with a woman, Sue. She smiles. His midbrain--the part that controls visual and auditory reflexes--releases the eurotransmitter dopamine, a brain chemical that gives him a rush--and the motivation to initiate conversation. As he nears, Mike's pheromones reach Sue's hypothalamus, eliciting a "yes, come closer" look. Why this happens isn't clear, but one study at the University of Bern, in Switzerland, suggests that people use smell as a possible cue for distinguishing genetic similarity in a potential partner--a consideration in preventing possible birth defects.

Mike is now feeling the first flutter of sexual attraction. His hypothalamus--the brain region that triggers the chemicals responsible for emotion--tells his body to send out attraction signals: His pupils dilate; his heart pumps harder so that his face flushes; he sweats slightly, which gives his skin a warm glow; glands in his scalp release oil to create extra shine. By night's end, he gets her phone number. The next day, memories of Sue direct his brain to secrete increasing levels of dopamine, creating feelings of yearning that propel him toward the phone. He calls. She sounds excited. The dopamine released in the base of the forebrain prompts the first strong feelings of pleasure that Mike associates with Sue.

When they meet the next night at a restaurant, his stomach does flip-flops and he starts feeling giddy at the sight of her. He can think of nothing but that face, those eyes, that smile, as his brain pathways become intoxicated with elevated levels of dopamine, norepinephrine (another neurotransmitter) and, particularly, phenylethylamine (PEA). This cocktail of natural chemicals gives Mike a slight buzz, as if he had taken a very low dose of amphetamines (or a large dose of chocolate, another source of PEA). This contributes to the almost irrational feelings of attraction--we've all felt them--that begin dominating his thoughts at work, while he drives, as he goes to sleep. "It's a natural high," says Anthony Walsh, professor of criminology at Boise State University and author of The Science of Love: Understanding Love and Its Effects on Mind and Body. "Your pupils dilate, your heart pumps, you sweat--it's the same reaction you'd have if you were afraid or angry. It's the fight-or-flight mechanism, except you don't want to fight or flee."

In the weeks that follow, Mike and Sue's relationship deepens. The first night Mike brings Sue home, he dims the lights and plays a little soft music. The chemical oxytocin floods his body. Twenty years ago, oxytocin was considered a female hormone useful only as a trigger for labor contractions and to induce lactation. In the '80s, research found that it is produced in the hypothalamus by both men and women, helping to create feelings of caring and warmth (thus bonding mother and baby after birth and during nursing). As Sue's oxytocin also surges, the couple begin forming a bond. Scientists now think that oxytocin actually strengthens the brain's receptors that produce emotions. Oxytocin increases further during touching, cuddling and other stages of sexual intimacy. It may also make it easier to evoke pleasant memories of each other while apart. Mike can think of Sue and experience, in his mind, the way she looks, feels and smells, and that will reinforce his connection to her. (Helen Fisher, a Rutgers University anthropologist, is conducting research with magnetic resonance imaging to track which parts of the brain change when someone is in love.)

Next comes the wedding. Honeymoon. Now what? Fast-forward 18 months. At this point, Mike and Sue could be at a crossroads. Science tells us that 18 months to three years after the first moment of infatuation, it's not unusual for feelings of neutrality for one's love partner to set in ("Why don't you take out the trash?" vs. "I dream about you all the time"). For many, there could be a chemical explanation. The mix of dopamine, norepinephrine and PEA is so much like a drug, say scientists, that it takes greater and greater doses to get the same buzz. So after someone has been with one person for a time, his brain stops reacting to the chemicals because it is habituated. "The brain can't maintain the revved-up status," says Walsh. "As happens with any drug, it needs more and more PEA to make the heart go pitter-patter."

Couples with attachments that are shaky for other reasons (money woes, abuse, irreconcilable differences) may part and--because the body's tolerance for PEA soon diminishes--seek someone new with whom to find the thrill of early love. More likely, however, committed couples will moveon to what science suggests is the most rewarding and enduring aspect of love. Though the same addictive rush isn't involved, ongoing physical contact, not just sex, helps produce endorphins, another brain chemical, and continued high doses of oxytocin. Endorphins calm the mind and kill anxiety. Both chemicals are like natural opiates and help stabilize the couple by inducing what famed obstetrician Michel Odent, of London's Primal Health Research Center (whose book, The Scientification of Love, will be published this year), calls "a druglike dependency."

Even in the animal world, neuroscientists had long wondered what kept prairie voles loyal to one mate while their cousins, the montane voles, were promiscuous maters. As it turned out, prairie voles are much more sensitive to the effects of oxytocin. In experiments, when those receptors are blocked, the animals' stay-at-home tendencies decline. "At present, our knowledge of neuroscience is doubling every two and a half years," says Robert Friar, professor of physiology and human sexuality at Michigan's Ferris State University. "That means that in the last two and a half years we have learned more than all prior humans about the workings of the brain." Says the University of California's Fallon: "Certainly the '90s are a blur for people in neuroscience. We all want to be up twenty-four hours a day so we don't miss a thing."

But in the end, will love's mysteries ever unravel in a laboratory? Some, like Fallon, say yes. Others, perhaps most of us lucky enough to have experienced true love, might believe--and wish--otherwise. Even in this advanced age of science, where we can transplant organs, map the human genome and clone our own offspring, we still have not come close to understanding what, exactly, ignites our spark of life, our souls, our very being. Maybe, possibly, that will remain true for the farthest reaches of love.

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Chemistry of Love: Love at first sight may sound cliched but researchers
now know that romance, quite literally, requires a certain chemistry
Nuna Alberts
Ottawa Citizen, FINAL ED, P C3
February 14, 1999

TEXT:
News Researchers now know why one glimpse of the right person can set off a chemical reaction leading to romance. But what happens after that? Why do some relationships succeed while others fizzle? That may be more magic than science. "Need is the thing that holds a marriage together over the long haul," says actor Carol O'Connor. "If the need stops the marriage stops."

Thirty-one year old Dana Commandatore claims she has never been the kind of woman that men immediately notice. But one night last year while at a singles bar with friends, she couldn't keep the opposite sex away. "Guys were coming up to me and getting very close, and I was like, 'Wow!' "The New York City office manager, now in a committed relationship with one of the men she met that night, credits her ability to attract him that evening to a costly potion ($60 for a tenth of an ounce) called Falling in Love. Its manufacturer, Philosophy cosmetics, claims the concoction is laced with pheromones, those odourless airborne molecules, synthesized from human chemical secretions, that are purported to boost attractiveness. (And yes, it's available at department stores near you.)

Bunk? Sniff if you will. Many do, but whether one believes Ms. Commandatore is hopelessly susceptible or remarkably savvy, one thing is clear: New research in the field of love and attraction shows that romance -- long the domain of poets, philosophers and five-hankie movies -- may be ruled as much by molecules as it is by emotion. In fact, scientists now believe that the impulse that drives us to mate, marry and remain monogamous is not a result of mere social convention: It is also a complex mix of naturally occurring chemicals and hormones -- Cupid's elixirs, if you will -- that helps guide us through life's most important decision. That physiological component, say the researchers, may help explain some of love's mysteries: why opposites attract, why so many seemingly mismatched couples succeed, why we stick together with partners through even the worst of times.

"When you fall in love or in lust, it isn't merely an emotional event," says Dr. Theresa Crenshaw, the Masters and Johnson trained author of The Alchemy of Love and Lust. "Your body's hormones, each with unique contributions, got involved too."

Free will, of course, can't be discounted. If you like redheads, you like redheads. If you're a sucker for a beautiful voice, the man who croons Night and Day to you has an edge. But doctors have long known that even the most primal of impulses, lust -- the feeling that propels the lonely out the door in search of love -- has a chemical basis. It is testosterone, the hormone that creates basic sexual desire in men and women.

Researchers are now concentrating on what happens after one walks out the door and into a wide world of romantic opportunity. What physical attributes, outside the obvious, attract? What role do pheromones play? When do other, more potent brain chemicals begin to kick in? The last decade's discoveries in neuroscience let researchers predict -- even, for the first time, control, albeit in a limited way -- what was once thought uncontrollable: love. "We are at the dawn of a new beginning, where people may soon never have to suffer the pain of love's slings and arrows," such as rejection, difficulty in bonding and attachment disorders, says James Fallon, professor of anatomy and eurobiology at the University of California, Irvine, College of Medicine. In 10 years, maybe less, he says, there could be brain chemical nasal sprays to enhance love between a couple. "We're very close. And that's not just happy talk... we're like giddy kids at the possibilities."

Indeed, what scientists believe they already know about matters of the heart is remarkable. To illustrate their findings, follow the story of Mike, a fictional Everyman as he falls in love. One night, Mike, single, nervously arrives at a party, gets a drink, then scans the room. Science tells us that, unconsciously, he is already noting the size and symmetry of the facial bones of the women around him (a recent study by University of New Mexico biologists found that symmetrical bone structure is prized more than anything because it suggests a lack of undesirable genetic material). He also studies the women's curves, as research shows that men prefer waists to be 60-80 per cent the size of hips, an indicator, however crude, of health and fertility. (Women for their part, seek men with slightly feminized faces -- think Leonardo DiCaprio -- because they appear warmer, kinder and more trustworthy.) "Judging beauty has a strong evolutionary component," says psychology professor Devendra Singho of the University of Texas at Austin. "You're looking at another person and figuring out whether you want your children to carry that person's genes."

At the party, Mike subconsciously follows these clues and makes eye contact with Sue. She smiles. His midbrain -- the part that controls visual and auditory reflexes -- releases the neurotransmitter
dopamine, a brain chemical that gives him a rush -- and the motivation to initiate conversation. As he nears, Mike's pheromones reach Sue's hypothalamus, eliciting a "yes, come closer" look. Why this happens isn't clear, but one study at the University of Bern, in Switzerland, suggests that people use smell as a possible use for distinguishing genetic similarity in a potential partner -- a consideration in preventing possible birth defects.

Mike is now feeling the first flutter of sexual attraction. His hypothalamus -- the brain region that triggers the chemicals responsible for emotion -- tells his body to send out attraction signals: His pupils dilate; his heart pumps harder so that his face flushes; he sweats slightly, which gives his skin a warm glow; glands in his scalp release oil to create extra shine. By night's end, he gets her phone number. The next day, memories of Sue direct his brain to secrete feelings of yearning that propel him toward the phone. He calls. She sounds excited. The dopamine released in the base of the forebrain prompts the first strong feelings of pleasure that Mike associates with Sue.

When they meet, the next night at a restaurant, his stomach does flip-flops and he starts feeling giddy at the sight of her. He can think of nothing but that face, those eyes, that smile, as his brain
pathways become intoxicated with elevated levels of dopamine, norepinephrine (another neurotransmitter) and particularly phenylethylamine (PEA). This cocktail of natural chemicals gives
Mike a slight buzz, as if he had taken a very low dose of amphetamines (or a large dose of chocolate, another source of PEA). This contributes to the almost irrational feelings of attraction -- we've all felt them -- that begin dominating his thoughts at work, while he drives, as he goes to sleep. "It's a natural high," says Anthony Walsh, professor of criminology at Boise State University and author of The Science of Love: Understanding Love and Its Effects on Mind and Body. "Your pupils dilate, your heart pumps, you sweat -- it's the same reaction you'd have if you were afraid or angry. It's the fight-or-flight mechanics, except you don't want to fight or flee." In the weeks that follow, Mike and Sue's relationships deepens. The first night Mike brings Sue home, he dims the lights and plays a
little soft music. The chemical oxytocin floods his body.

Twenty years ago, oxytocin was considered a female hormone useful only as a trigger for labour contractions and to induce lactation. In the '80s, research found that it is produced in the hypothalamus by both men and women, helping to create feelings of caring and warmth (thus bonding mother and baby after birth and during nursing). As Sue's oxytocin also surges, the couple begin forming a bond. Scientists now think that oxytocin strengthens the brain's receptors that produce emotions. Oxytocin increases further during touching, cuddling and other stages of sexual intimacy. It may also make it easier to evoke pleasant memories of each other while apart. Mike can think of Sue and experience, in his mind, the way she looks, feels and smells, and that will reinforce his connection to her. (Helen Fisher, a Rutgers University anthropologist, is conducting research with magnetic resonance imaging to track which parts of the brain change when someone is in love.)

Next comes the wedding. Honeymoon. Now what? Fast-forward 18 months. At this point, Mike and Sue could be at a crossroads. Science tells us that 18 months to three years after the first
moment of infatuation, it's not unusual for feelings of neutrality for one's love partner to set in ("Why don't you take out the trash?" vs. "I dream about you all the time"). For many, there could be a chemical explanation: The mix of dopamine, norepinephrine, and PEA is so much like a drug, say scientists, that it takes greater and greater doses to get the same buzz. So after someone has been with one person for a time, his brain stops reacting to the chemicals because it is habituated. "The brain can't maintain the revved-up status," says Mr. Walsh. "As happens with any drug, it needs more and more PEA to make the heart go pitter-patter."

Even in the animal world, neuroscientists had long wondered what kept prairie voles loyal to one mate while their cousins, the montane voles, were promiscuous maters. As it turned out, prairie
voles are much more sensitive to oxytocin. In experiments, when those receptors are blocked, the animals' stay-at-home tendencies decline. "At present, our knowledge of neuroscience is doubling
every two and a half years," says Robert Friar, professor of physiology and human sexuality at Michigan's Ferris State University. "That means that in the last two and a half years we have learned more than all prior humans about the workings of the brain." Says the University of California's James Fallon: "Certainly the '90s are a blur for people in neuroscience. We all want to be up 24 hours a day so we don't miss a thing."

But in the end, will love's mysteries ever unravel in a laboratory? Some, like Mr. Fallon, say yes. Others, perhaps most of us lucky enough to have experienced true love, might believe -- and wish --
otherwise. Even in this advanced age of science, where we can transplant organs, map the human genome and clone our own offspring, we still have not come close to understanding what, exactly, ignites our spark of life, our souls, our very being. Maybe, possibly, that will remain true for the farthest reaches of love.

Top of Page

Love Addiction and 'Monogamouse'
Steve Farrar
Windsor Star, FINAL ED, P B1/Front
February 08, 1999

TEXT:
News
London, England - The tiny rodent has been nicknamed "monogamouse."

Scientists have investigated the chemistry of love and managed genetically to engineer a mouse that stays faithful to one mate. The normally feckless rodent became a more loyal lover after receiving a set of genes from a prairie vole, which is renowned for its fidelity.

It suggests that a lifetime of dedication to one partner may be a matter of having the right brain chemistry, which links love with addiction. The scientists have found this is also true for one species of monogamous monkey and for humankind, which might explain why some people irrationally remain in destructive relationships.

Dr. Thomas Insel, who led the research team at Emory University in the U.S., said: "The results so far suggest love is simply a form of addiction that makes some animals form these lifelong pair bonds.' He believes this may be true of all the mammals that pursue lasting relationships -- about three per cent are monogamous while the rest are happy to mate with whoever is available.

Insel's work has focused on the prairie vole, an American rodent that forms a lifelong bond during its first sexual encounter. From that moment on, the voles stand by one another and raise their young together. The male will aggressively defend his mate from any perceived rival and will choose her above any other available female. "They are so faithful that if you remove their long-term mate, they
will not accept a new one -- 80 per cent of the time they continue to live as widows and widowers," said Insel.

He discovered that two hormones --oxytocin, which plays a role in controlling social behaviour, and vasopressin, which is linked with memory -- were released inside the rodent's brain at the instant the
bond was made. By artificially altering the levels of these hormones, Insel could make the vole fall in love without mating or leave it deaf to its natural calling.

Such hormones are present in most animals, but in the monogamous ones they act on parts of the brain that are linked with cravings and addiction. The love-struck seem, in effect, to be addicted to
their partners. The team refused to discuss details of the "monogamouse" until the research has been published by a scientific journal, but it is thought the mouse was adapted by inserting vole genes into its DNA so that the areas of the brain that interacted with the hormones were switched to addiction -- the mouse could then "fall in love."

Insel said: "We know these same links are found in the human brain although we do not know if there is individual variability between people." He added that he did not believe that a "love potion" for humans could emerge from his research, but thought it could help develop a treatment for autistic children who have difficulty forming normal relationships with their parents.

Dr. David Nias, a clinical psychologist at London University, said that human monogamy had probably evolved as a means of providing a stable home that was vital for survival. But modern Don Juans could still claim to be giving in to natural urges as Nias said most men still felt the desire to be promiscuous.

Monogamous? It may all be in your genes. Roving rodents become faithful after DNA altered
By Steve Farrar Special to the Star (LONDON SUNDAY TIMES)
Toronto Star, P A1
February 08, 1999

TEXT:
LONDON - The tiny rodent has been nicknamed "monogamouse."
Scientists have investigated the chemistry of love and managed genetically to engineer a mouse that stays faithful to one mate.

The normally feckless rodent became a more loyal lover after receiving a set of genes from a prairie vole, which is renowned for its fidelity. It suggests that a lifetime of dedication to one partner may be a matter of having the right brain chemistry, which links love with addiction.

The scientists have found this is also true for one species of monogamous monkey and for mankind, which might explain why some people irrationally remain in destructive relationships. Dr. Thomas Insel, who led the research team at Emory University in Atlanta, said: "The results so far suggest love is simply a form of addiction that makes some animals form these lifelong pair bonds." He believes this may be true of all the mammals that pursue lasting relationships - about 3 per cent are monogamous while the rest are happy to mate with whoever is available.

Insel's work has focused on the prairie vole, a North American rodent that forms a lifelong bond during its first sexual encounter. From that moment on, the voles stand by one another and raise their young together. The male will aggressively defend his mate from any perceived rival and will choose her above any other available female. "They are so faithful that if you remove their long-term mate,
they will not accept a new one - 80 per cent of the time they continue to live as widows and widowers," said Insel.

He discovered that two hormones - oxytocin, which plays a role in controlling social behaviour, and vasopressin, which is linked with memory - were released inside the rodent's brain at the instant the
bond was made. By artificially altering the levels of these hormones in the laboratory, Insel could make the vole fall in love without mating or leave it deaf to its natural calling.

Copyright Toronto Star 1999

COMPANY NAMES (Dialog Generated): Emory University
DESCRIPTORS: animal research genetics

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'Monogamouse' Addicted to Love
STEVE FARRAR
Montreal Gazette, FINAL ED, P A1 / FRONT
February 07, 1999
DOCUMENT TYPE: NEWSPAPER JOURNAL CODE: GAZ LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
RECORD TYPE: FULLTEXT SECTION HEADING: News
Word Count: 599

TEXT:
LONDON - Scientists have investigated the chemistry of love and managed genetically to engineer a mouse that stays faithful to one mate - a "monogamouse." The normally feckless rodent became a more loyal lover after receiving a set of genes from a prairie vole, which is renowned for its fidelity.

The experiment suggests that a lifetime of dedication to one partner may be a matter of having the right brain chemistry, which links love with addiction. The scientists have found this is also true for one species of monogamous monkey. As for humankind, it might explain why some people remain in destructive relationships.

Dr. Thomas Insel, who led the research team at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga., said: "The results so far suggest love is simply a form of addiction that makes some animals form these lifelong pair
bonds." He believes this might be true of all the mammals that pursue lasting relationships.

About 3 per cent of mammals are monogamous, while the rest are happy to mate with whomever is available. Insel's work has focused on the prairie vole, an American rodent that forms a life-long bond during its first sexual encounter. From that moment on, the voles stand by one another and raise their young together. The male will aggressively defend his mate from any perceived rival and will choose her above any other available female. "They are so faithful that if you remove their long-term mate, they will not accept a new one. "Eighty per cent of the time they continue to live as widows and widowers," said Insel.

He discovered that two hormones - oxytocin, which plays a role in controlling social behaviour, and vasopressin, which is linked with memory - were released inside the rodent's brain during its first
sexual encounter - the instant the bond is made. By artificially altering the levels of these hormones, Insel could make the vole fall in love without mating - or leave it deaf to its natural calling. Such hormones are present in most animals, but in the monogamous ones they act on parts of the brain that are linked with cravings and addiction. The love-struck seem, in effect, to be addicted to their partners.

The American team declined to discuss details of the "monogamouse" until the research has been published by a scientific journal. But it is thought the mouse was adapted by inserting vole genes
into its DNA so that the areas of the brain that interacted with the hormones were switched to addiction - the mouse could then "fall in love." Insel said: "We know these same links are found in the human brain, although we do not know if there is individual variability between people." He said he did not believe that a "love potion" for humans could emerge from his research. But he added that it could help develop a treatment for autistic children who have difficulty forming normal relationships with their parents.

David Nias, a clinical psychologist at London University, said that human monogamy probably evolved as a means of providing a stable home that was vital for survival. But modern Don Juans could still claim to be giving in to natural urges, as Nias said most men feel the desire to be promiscuous.

Social pressures and experiences a person grows up with can also make a huge difference to an individual's sexual behaviour, according to Janet Ribstein, a Cambridge psychiatrist and author of a book dealing with relationships. Biology is only part of the story. "Human beings have the capacity to be both monogamous and adulterous," she said. "There is a great attachment that is made at the beginning of a relationship, but warring with that is the observed need in some people for sexual variety."

Relax, Here's a Love Drug We Can All Use for Free
Jane Feinmann
Mail on Sunday
Sunday, February 14, 1999

TEXT:
They call it mental Viagra. But unlike the much publicised GBP 6 pill for impotent men, it costs nothing. New research has found a way that men and women can improve their sex lives with a chemical, but without resorting to expensive drugs. The key is learning how to increase the production of a naturally occurring hormone called oxytocin. It was once believed to be of use only to women as a mechanical trigger to help with contractions during labour. Then it was discovered that oxytocin has a far wider repertoire. Levels of the hormone rise dramatically in both sexes when making love. Along with endorphins, a group of opiate-like brain chemicals, it creates sexual pleasure as well as an addiction known as falling in love. Some male impotence was found to be caused because the men did not naturally produce enough of the hormone. It was thought they could not be helped because a synthetic oxytocin cannot be produced and sold like Viagra. Then last year, in a series of psychological tests, scientists found that men and women could be successfully trained into making more oxytocin through simple changes of lifestyle and attitude.

Michel Odent, the French obstetrician who pioneered water births, is the author of The Scientification Of Love, to be published in Britain later this year. He says the key to a better sex life is understanding those conditions which inhibit the production of oxytocin and those that help it to flourish. 'Stress is a major turnoff,' he says. 'People who are full of adrenaline or another of the stress hormones make poor lovers, and the same applies to giving birth and breast-feeding. 'Women who are frightened or anxious tend to have very slow labours and have difficulty feeding their babies because the stress hormones make it impossible for the body to release oxytocin.' Another passion killer is an inability to switch off logical thought and rationalisation.

Oxytocin flourishes in the primitive or limbic part of the brain. Logical, rational thought is a process carried out in the neo-cortex, the educated or civilised part of the brain which is great for doing accounts but no use when you want to make love. Mr Odent says: 'It is the neo-cortex that is the origin of specifically human difficulties including low sex drive. Good bursts of oxytocin are needed to get an erection. 'People who develop an approach to life that allows the limbic, non-rational part of the brain to come to the fore will have a higher oxytocin flow and better sex lives. For instance, men who take pleasure in family, friends, food and relaxation are unlikely to need Viagra.' In essence, that means to help get the hormone flowing you need to find ways of reducing stress and enjoying life more.

An oxytocin-friendly environment is obviously a vital factor. Bright lights, cold draughts, loud voices and high-tech machinery arouse the neo-cortex and get the adrenaline going exactly the opposite of what's required. So when you want to raise your oxytocin levels, whether you're making love or even breast-feeding, resort to some tried and trusted methods.

Dim the lights, turn up the heating and put on some soft music . . . you may find it works wonders.

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WEEK OF LOVE / THE PHYSIOLOGY OF LOVE / SCIENTISTS ARE TRYING TO DISSECT THE MYSTERY OF ROMANCE
Kristina Brenneman
Patriot Ledger Quincy, MA
Tuesday, February 9, 1999

TEXT:
Falling in love literally had Jeff Kinney spinning. When he met Julie Cullinane, a dark blonde who looks like Ally McBeal, his head spun around so fast, he said, "I must have gotten whiplash." Everytime he goes to pick her up, the tall, boyish-looking 27-year-old with the rakish smile feels a rush of adrenaline. His heart starts thumping and his face feels flushed. His blood pressure flies
skyward when she calls him at work. It's clear that a strange blend of chemicals and hormones is
producing the growing buzz of romantic love. "I knew it was something special right when I saw her," Kinney said. "There was this unquestionable attraction. I went home and told my friend, `We've been going to all the wrong places.' " Cullinane, 30, has a mutual glow of developing love. After their first date, she recalled, "I felt so positive and laughed so much I said, `I could marry this guy.' "

In the past decade, researchers have discovered which chemicals and hormones are triggered when we're attracted to someone. They now know that for both men and women it's a combination of testosterone - a hormone that triggers our sex drive -- and neurotransmitters in the brain that boost our heart rate, blood pressure and sweat production -- essentially the "love buzz" we feel around someone we've singled out as a potential mate.

"There are physical changes when we have these feelings, both emotional as well as physical. That's why it's such an intense experience," said Elizabeth Englander, a psychology professor at
Bridgewater State College. "People think of feelings only in their heads. But what you feel is part of your physical biology as well as subjective."

More recently, using magnetic resonance imaging machines, or MRIs, researchers are beginning to delve into what parts of the brain change when someone falls in love. And if they can find out, there
may be a whole set of pills in the medicine cabinet to control its down side.

"Americans love love," said Helen Fisher, the Rutgers University anthropology professor who is studying visible love with MRIs. "We regard it as an elixir, an important part of living. But it also has
a dark side. About 25 percent of murders are by spouses and ex-lovers, and an untold amount of clinical depression is associated with romantic rejection." Apart from the unknown chemical component of love, researchers say there is a personal "future partner" road map we all develop as we grow up. It may steer some of us toward brunettes; or toward a man with our father's sense of humor and what we regard as honorable behavior; or even to someone who likes the same country western music we do. Each of us forms in our mind a list of traits we want in a mate, Fisher said.

Nancy Cooney of Quincy said she wasn't looking for a particular physical type when she met Brian Burdette. She wanted someone quiet and old-fashioned who would open the door for her and focus on her when she talks. "That's like my dad is," she explained. "He doesn't say he loves you every second. He's the strong, silent type." Nancy had qualities Brian was looking for, too: someone he could talk to, a sense of humor and an absence of "silly head games" that some people play while dating, he said. The two met in 1990 in the Brown Derby, a run-down bar with brown shag carpeting in Montpelier, Vt. They started talking and Cooney said she knew right away, "This is the guy I was going to marry." The couple will walk down the aisle May 13, the same day her
parents married 32 years ago. As these couples found, immediate attraction to a man or woman
sets off a chain of events that can lead to full-fledged love.

Still, we can be knocked off track all too easily, some scientists say. A study published last January in "Psychological Science" found that attractiveness often led people to ignore other, less desirable,
characteristics. Essentially "people are blinded by beauty," said S. Michael Kalick, a professor at the University of Massachusetts who helped conduct the study. High cheekbones were found attractive in both sexes. Kalick said the study also found that women like "feminized" men, or men like
Leonardo DiCaprio who appears to combine warmth, kindness and trustworthiness with good genes.
"We're sort of born to be attracted to the same characteristics that would help us reproduce," Englander said.

But even as scientists learn more, maybe even enough someday to develop a love potion of the pheromones and brain chemistry that make us attractive to the opposite sex, it wouldn't necessarily work against our own map, Fisher said. "A lot of cultures in the world have love potions, love songs," she said. "People have worn perfume forever and a guy may say, `I'll take her on a date.' But smell is a small component of love."

Each of the three stages we experience: lust, romantic or obsessive love, and attachment, are onnected to different brain circuitry and chemicals. Lust -- what gets us out the door looking for a partner -- is the release of testosterone, the hormone that controls sexual desire in men and women.
Romantic love releases norepinephrine and dopamine, chemicals that send our heart racing, attune us to our senses and give us a rush. Scientists say it's partly the dopamine that makes us crave being
with that special someone. As we're falling in love, the brain produces higher levels of these two substances and of serotonin, a hormone that can have a calming effect on people but whose role in
romance is still not fully understood. The third stage of love -- attachment -- brings increases in
oxytocin, a chemical produced in the hypothalamus that creates feelings of caring and warmth (see related story). "We are wired for all three of these emotion systems," Fisher said. "We all want to feel all these three for the same person at the same time. That's the reason we love weddings so much. People who walk down the marriage aisle are in love, attached and have a high sex drive for each other."

In the age of on-line communication, where falling in love via computer can lack the cuddling and touching that sets off the hot flashes of desire, there is a new element to the picture -- our
imagination. "What people often do is construct a fantasy around the information they do have," Englander said. "When they actually meet the person then the fantasy can be accurate, or often is not. Emotional arousal is the same in E-mail as in person. What's different is what you're reacting to." Two years ago, Fisher put an ad in the Rutgers University newspaper asking, "Have you just fallen madly in love?" In her study, Fisher is using MRIs on the participating couples to find out what parts of the brain respond when we fall madly in love. She won't reveal her findings before they are complete, but does say they will be applied the same way serotonin boosters are used to
alleviate depression. "We may find some chemical compounds or biological means to reduce
the anxiety and despair of romantic rejection, which almost everyone feels," she said.

But not everyone wants to solve the mystery of love, good or bad. "I'd rather it remained a mystery," said Cullinane, who began dating Kinney two months ago. "Then you'd look at people differently
or become formulaic if you did find out. Then it's less likely to work. It's true what they say: You have to be happy with your own life and ready for it." But Fisher doesn't think the findings would throw a dart into Cupid's chest. "People fear if they know something about love it won't be
exciting for them," she said. "In my opinion, it's more exciting." ILLUSTRATION: Statue of a woman with the following points highlighted: Eyes sparkle; Face flushes; Heart pounds, blood pressure
rises; Palms sweat; Stomach fills with butterflies; Knees weaken;
Feet walk on air; Toes tingle.

(Copyright 1999)

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WEEK OF LOVE / THE PHYSIOLOGY OF LOVE / OXYTOCIN / THE HORMONE THAT TRIGGERS PASSION
Jane Feinmann
Patriot Ledger Quincy, MA
Tuesday, February 9, 1999

TEXT:
Dim the lights, turn up the heating, play a little soft music and add a trickling fountain -- it's the restaurateur's cliche of romantic ambiance. Yet these tricks of the trade really might be stimulating that loving feeling since, according to new research, all of them are guaranteed to flood our bodies with a little-known chemical called oxytocin, or the "hormone of love."

Twenty years ago, oxytocin was considered a female hormone useful only as a mechanical trigger for labor contractions. Since then researchers have found that the hormone, which is produced in the
hypothalamus -- the brain region most intimately connected with thought and emotion -- and released most obviously during sex and birth, is involved in the feelings of caring and warmth sparked by
all sorts of interactions.

Oxytocin peaks are reserved for the key moments in our lives as mammals -- reaching orgasm, giving birth and breast-feeding, but it's also released at lower levels with every loving touch or positive or
altruistic feeling for another human being, whether that's exchanging smiles with a stranger, sharing food, hugging your kids or even your dog.

The discovery of this natural love potion and of how its levels fluctuate means that what used to be the preserve of poets can now be studied by scientists. And if we can't yet call it up on demand,
we're at least beginning to understand the conditions in which it -- and the feelings it produces -- flourish. That's the view of obstetrician Michel Odent, whose new book, "The Scientification of Love," is due to be published this year. Oxytocin's power was first recognized in 1979 when virgin male rats whose brains were injected with the hormone began to display maternal behavior. Since then, several hundred research studies have been carried out, shedding light on the hormone's role in the early stages of sexual passion and in the process of bonding beyond birth.

Oxytocin doesn't work alone. It's released with other hormones depending on what's happening. At birth, it's activated alongside prolactin to create bonding between mother and child; during orgasm,
it works with the opiate-like brain chemicals, endorphins, to create sexual pleasure -- and the addiction known as being in love. But, as is well known, the course of true love does not always run
smooth, and some people are unable to release oxytocin as easily as others. Doctors in New York are currently investigating a theory that abnormal social development in conditions such as autism may occur when the capacity to release this hormone doesn't work properly. Suicides, self-abusers, drug addicts, perhaps even workaholics, who are unable to love themselves or those close to them, may also suffer a similar hormonal dysfunction. Even in people with normal oxytocin activity, the presence of stress hormones such as adrenalin makes it temporarily impossible to release oxytocin, which may be why in times of confrontation it's harder to make love than war. Being overly rational or logical -- in other words letting the "educated" part of the brain, the neo-cortex, predominate over the more primitive part of the brain where oxytocin flourishes -- is another major inhibition. Bottling it as a love drug is still a way off. To have an impact, oxytocin has to get into the brain. When it's injected intravenously, as is done to trigger labor artificially, it doesn't have any effect on the emotions.

In the meantime, however, getting into the oxytocin "habit" holds more promise. For new research has come up with the tantalizing suggestion that once you've experienced high levels of oxytocin, it
may get easier to repeat the experience. The research, from Sweden, found that women who give birth vaginally and go on to breast-feed produce oxytocin in a more rhythmic way during breast-feeding than women who have emergency caesareans and so do not reach high levels of oxytocin. Scientists think such peak oxytocin experiences as childbirth may "teach" the brain to let fire with equally high levels when set off by subsequent triggers such as sexual activity. It could also mean that men who take pleasure in family, friends, food and relaxation are less likely to join the one in three members of their sex currently said to be in need of Viagra, according to Odent.

A key factor in encouraging that loving feeling is creating an oxytocin-friendly environment -- in other words, that warm, romantic ambiance. In the '70s and '80s, Odent passionately opposed what he called "electronic" childbirth and was influential in revolutionizing birth throughout the world through the introduction of dim lighting, birthing pools, warmth and security into labor wards. At the time,
he based his campaign on simple observation of what seemed to make women more comfortable.
Now it's clear, he says, that bright lights and hi-tech machinery are as much anathema to birth as they are to romance, because they arouse the logical neo-cortex and stress hormones, and prevent
oxytocin from flowing. Which is why women who feel stressed are far more likely to require obstetric intervention.

Of course adrenalin and neo-cortical activity have their place. But when you want that loving feeling, take a tip from your local restaurant -- turn down the lights, put on the sweet music.Oh, and remember to smile at strangers.

(Copyright 1999)

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Scientists Turn Up the Lights On Secrets of Love
JANE FEINMANN
Chicago Sun-Times
Sunday, January 17, 1999

TEXT:
Dim the lights, light the fire, play a little soft music and add a trickling fountain - they're more than just the restaurateur's cliche of romantic ambience. These tricks of the trade really might be stimulating that loving feeling since, according to new research, all of them are guaranteed to flood our bodies with a little-known chemical called oxytocin, or the "hormone of love."

Twenty years ago, oxytocin was considered a female hormone useful only as a mechanical trigger for labor contractions. Since then, researchers have found that the hormone, which is produced in
the hypothalamus is involved in the feelings of caring and warmth sparked by all sorts of interactions.
Oxytocin's power was first recognized in 1979 when virgin male rats whose brains were injected with the hormone began to display maternal behavior. Several hundred research studies have shed light
on the hormone's role in the early stages of sexual passion and in the process of bonding beyond birth.

Some people are unable to release oxytocin as easily as others. Doctors in New York are investigating a theory that abnormal social development in conditions such as autism might occur when the capacity to release this hormone doesn't work properly. Being overly rational or logical - in other words letting the "educated" part of the brain, the neo-cortex, dominate the more primitive part of the brain where oxytocin flourishes - is another major inhibition.

That could mean that men who take pleasure in family, friends, food and relaxation are less likely to be in need of Viagra, according to obstetrician Michel Odent, whose new book, The Scientification of Love, is due to be published this year. Men who develop an approach to life that allows the less
rational parts of the brain - where the hormone thrives - frequently to come to the fore, might enjoy better sex lives, he said.

Odent said he hopes the current drive to bring together and interpret the disparate research on oxytocin might begin to show how humans can, in the words of philosopher Teilhard de Chardin, "harness the energy of love."

Scripps Howard News Service
(Copyright 1999)

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AUTISM & OXYTOCIN
Copyright 1996 Newsweek Inc.
Newsweek, May 13, 1996
SECTION: Vol. 127 ; No. 20 ; Pg. 70; ISSN: 0028-9604

HEADLINE: Life in a parallel world; a bold new approach to the mystery of autism.

BYLINE: Begley, Sharon ; Springen, Karen

BODY:
ADAM ELDER, 8, SPENDS AN HOUR A day tearing paper and cereal boxes into confetti. Words must be wrested from him like an impacted molar; it is a small miracle when his mother gets him to say "cheetos." His sister, Lily, 6, lives in a parallel universe, too, whose impassable borders are defined by autism. She flaps her hands and covers her ears obsessively. She is so afraid of open eyes that she doesn't look at people. She even blacks out the eyes of the figures in her coloring books.

The cause of autism remains largely unknown, and a cure isn't even on the horizon. But a few scientists are taking a wholly new approach to the syndrome. They are defining autism as a "spectrum" disease. At one end is the child crouched in a corner; at the other is, for example, Mark
Romoser, 31, a research assistant at Yale University who has also managed to hold corporate jobs--as long as they don't require interacting with customers. If autism can present such a range of symptoms and severity, suggests the new model, then it strikes not 2 to 5 people per 10,000, but 15 per 10,000, says Dr. Eric Hollander of Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, who is presenting a sort of unified field theory of autism this week at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association.

The new approach doesn't just redefine the incidence of autism. It also suggests that there are three core components of the syndrome, each with its own cause in the brain and, possibly, its own cure. Autistic children--four times more boys than girls--have huge difficulty communicating and cannot read emotions on faces. They shrink from people. They often behave compulsively; if it is not Adam's paper-tearing, then it is Dustin Hoffman's meticulous arranging of pens in the movie "Rain Man."
Although about 80 percent of children with autism are mentally retarded, about 5 percent are "autistic savants," with unusual abilities that involve rote memory or visual skills. Child psychiatrist Fred Volkmar of Yale knows one autistic boy who has an IQ of about 60 but can recite the daily
lottery numbers for the past several years. Think of the components of autism--social phobia, compulsive behavior, trouble communicating and, rarely, savantism--as the colors on a child's paint palette. Different mixes of red, blue and yellow produce a rainbow of hues. Similarly, different combinations of autism's components produce the array of conditions known by the umbrella term autism.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder, for instance, is linked to low levels of the brain chemical serotonin. Prozac, which increases the amount of serotonin sloshing around brain circuits, seems to reduce the compulsivity of autism. The social phobia of autism may be linked to the brain chemical oxytocin.
This molecule, best known for inducing labor and lactation, also promotes maternal and other bonds and so has come to be known as the sociability molecule. When Hollander administered oxytocin to five autistic patients, it made them four times more talkative and, according to the patients, twice as "happy."

What causes the abnormalities in brain chemistry? Scientists suspect a subtle interplay of the DNA we inherit and the experiences we have. The case for "autism genes" is circumstantial, says Dr. Edwin Cook of the University of Chicago: if one identical twin is autistic, there is a 90 percent chance that the other twin will be, too. But there must be more to autism than genetics. Almost no autistics have children--most can't even manage a date--so any genes that directly caused autism would disappear
from the population. Unless, that is, they remained quiescent, not causing any disease until triggered by some event such as brain damage. "Without the brain damage," Hollander suggests, "you get a disorder marked by great social phobias, or else these odd' family members who have special skills
such as being human calculators." But with brain damage, "you get autism."

Finding the cause of that brain damage represents the next frontier for autism research. One suspect is a virus that disturbs the migration of neurons in the fetal brain. Ellen Feifarek of Towson, Md., whose 10-year-old son is autistic, has long wondered whether the viral infection she got in her 10th week of pregnancy could have anything to do with Scott's condition. "One searches one's heart of hearts all the time," she says. A more controversial theory focuses on pitocin, a hormone given to
women to speed up their labor. Pitocin is the manmade analogue of oxytocin. "Most of the mothers of patients we see have had pitocin-induced labor," says Hollander. He suspects that pitocin somehow messes up the newborn's oxytocin system, producing the social phobias of autism. This idea is very preliminary, but it's an improvement on the theory hatched when autism was
first identified 53 years ago. Then, scientists blamed it on unloving mothers.

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MATING GAME

HEADLINE: The mating game; hormones and animal sexual activities; includes related articles on animal maternal love and an school experiment on mate selection

BYLINE: Stiefel, Chana

BODY:
It's Saturday night. You style your hair, spray on deodorant, and gurgle mouthwash. You tear through your closet for your best jeans, then perform the curious ritual of checking yourself over and over in the mirror. What's it all about? Romance, of course.

On Saturday nights the world over (and every other day of the week, for that matter), Romeos and Juliets of the animal kingdom--from ants to zebras--are also preening and "dating." Now biologists are discovering how brain chemistry affects animal mating styles, and are piecing together the many meanings of animal courtship rituals. Their consensus: AnimAls and humans who "fall in love" share more traits in common than ever believed.

For starters, new research shows that some mammals release hormones (chemicals that affect body functions) like those of humans falling in love. Also, many animals "flirt" just like teens--they dance, sing, dress up, offer gifts, spray chemical perfumes and, yes, even fight over each other. To top it off, biologists are finding that the "show-off" antics many male animals perform to nab mates serve a vital purpose: The female gets to judge just how suitable her admirer is before making any commitment--and mating with him.

Scientists now think the capacity for love is programmed into animal biochemistry--especially hormones. Animals and plants produce hormones in very small amounts, which have powerful effects on their organs and systems. Humans, for example, produce 30 hormones in various body organs,
called endocrine glands, as well as in the brain and kidneys. Without hormones our bodies wouldn't grow or mature sexually. Hormones actually cause our hearts to speed up under stress, and help the body convert food into energy. When it comes to the role of hormones in choosing mates, scientists have recently zeroed in on the brain.

ROMANCE!
Take the prairie vole, a fluffy rodent that sticks with the same mate for life. When single voles meet, the female's brain releases a heightened dose of the hormone oxytocin, explains Sue Carter, a zoologist at the University of Maryland. Scientists have known since 1906 that oxytocin stimulates
human female contractions during child birth. Now they think the hormone also acts as eurotransmitter, or chemical messenger in the brain's nerve cells, that can guide behavior and seal emotional ties. When oxytocin courses through the female vole's brain, she bonds with the male.
Deprived of the hormone (in the lab), she ignores him!

Similarly, the male vole's brain releases vasopressin, a hormone that prompts him to bond with his mate and guard her and their young from predators. "You can't imagine how much time these animals spend together," Carter says. "They spend over half their time sitting quietly touching each other. The release of hormones seals the bond." If that isn't romance, what is?

HOW TO GET A DATE
Species of all kinds also exhibit what scientists call social behavior--they interact with each other in a wide variety of courtship rituals.

Sea horse pairs start each day by wrapping their tails around each other and performing a tango around a blade of grass. Some scientists believe that sea horses remain forever faithful to their mates. They've tried to persuade male and female sea horses to "cheat" in a tank full of sea horse
"singles." But "married" sea horses seem to only have eyes for each other.
(Perhaps most amazing is that male sea horses get pregnant and give birth!)

The next generation of sea horses will repeat their parents' romantic rituals. Scientists say that courtship behavior is often passed down from generation to generation. For creatures like sea horses, who spend no time with their parents after birth, courtship behavior is pure genetics, the result of "dance steps" passed down from one generation to another. Genes are chemical instructions in animal cells received from mom and dad. Of course, some young mammals pick up "dating" tricks by simply imitating their parents.

Courtship strategies evolve over long periods of time, usually based on what "works" for each species to survive, says Penny Kalk, a mammalogist at the Bronx Zoo in New York. These genetically inherited traits are known as adaptations. Evolution helps explain how cats of all kinds--from kittens to Siberian tigers--have adapted the same mating rituals. In a courtship
dance, "the female runs, rolls, and lifts her rear up in the air," Kalk says. Apparently this "dance" evolved among biological ancestors of female felines to attract "cool cats."

Other animal courtship adaptations abound. You may surprise your date with
flowers or candy. Male bowerbirds in Australia and New Guinea have inherited the know-how to build lavish bowers--walled chambers made of twigs, decorated with blue feathers, yellow flowers, and leaves. A choosy female "can come in close, check out the male, and make sure she's making
the right decision," says Gerald Borgia, a zoology professor at the University of Maryland.

STINGING LOVE
Talk about "electric" love! Stingrays are flat fish with whiplike tails that have adapted a sensory system known as electroreception. A weak electric current flows from tissues in a ray's mouth, gills, and other body parts. Seawater acts like a three-dimensional wire, conducting the current
through the surf. During mating season, females pile up in groups up to 50 rays high, forming "condominiums" in the sand. When females give off electric signals, males use their own electrical receptors to hone in on them. The males then circle the condos and try to pull out females for
mating.

If you find the scent of cologne alluring, you're not alone. Since the female gypsy moth can't fly, she manufactures her own natural "perfume" to attract a far-away male. She releases chemicals called pheromones from a gland on her abdomen. The pheromones waft into the air, carrying a specific
scented signal that lures only male gypsy moths. The male's antennae, each one covered with 15,000 pheromone-sensitive hairs, can detect a single molecule of the scent from as far as seven miles away!

DATING DANGERS
Sometimes the contest for mates gets downright nasty. Male elephant seals are cow-size mating machines that often claim a harem of 50 females. Once landing on a beach to mate, males test each other's strength to fight over females. Males let out loud warning cries to keep rivals away. If their
alarm fails, watch out! Males slam their chests against rivals and rip at their necks with long canine teeth, resulting in a bloody bout. The loser flees--without the girl.

The mating game can also be deadly. At the sight of a female, a male praying mantis freezes in place. He gradually but cautiously moves toward her. Then he jumps on her and begins to mate. During mating, the female may twist around, bite off the male's head and eat it!

Why do animals--including humans--go through such trouble to find their mates? Biologists say that the strongest drive in any creature is the desire to preserve one's genes for eternity. "The bottom line is getting your genes passed on to the next generation," explains zoologist Borgia Animals feel the need to pass on genes in the form of offspring, even if it means getting dumped, bruised, or beheaded. The species that try hardest have the best chance of survival. So dating and mating are a natural part of life on Earth.

Happy Valentine's Day!