The chemistry of love

Love is merely a madness, Shakespeare famously wrote. With musicians, artists and writers obsessed with the notion of love, it is not hard to understand why researchers are trying to use science to explain it. And what’s chemistry got to do with it? We even use the word to describe this intangible feeling necessary to initiate and maintain romantic connections – this ‘spark’ felt between two people. The emotions we feel when we fall in love, develop attachments, build relationships and even break up are all linked to brain chemistry. Several neuropsychologists have investigated the brain during the different stages of love and have found explicit links between brain chemicals and human behaviour.