May 31, 2005
Neurophysiology of Romantic Love
The New York Times featured an article today entitled Watching New Love as It Sears the Brain.
Excerpts from the NYT article are below.
In an analysis of the images appearing today in The Journal of Neurophysiology, researchers in New York and New Jersey argue that romantic love is a biological urge distinct from sexual arousal.It is closer in its neural profile to drives like hunger, thirst or drug craving, the researchers assert, than to emotional states like excitement or affection. As a relationship deepens, the brain scans suggest, the neural activity associated with romantic love alters slightly, and in some cases primes areas deep in the primitive brain that are involved in long-term attachment.
In a series of studies, researchers have found that, among other processes, new love involves psychologically internalizing a lover, absorbing elements of the other person's opinions, hobbies, expressions, character, as well as sharing one's own. "The expansion of the self happens very rapidly, it's one of the most exhilarating experiences there is, and short of threatening our survival it is one thing that most motivates us," said Dr. Aron, of SUNY, a co-author of the study.
For a fascinating related book on the subject of neuroscience and romantic love, I recommend A General Theory of Love , by Thomas Lewis, Fari Amini, and Richard Lannon.
Posted by barney at 10:25 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 17, 2005
Present Life of Mars, but will NASA keep the lights on?
Space.com jumped the gun with an article with the headline: NASA researchers claim evidence of present life on Mars.
The intro is below:
A pair of NASA scientists told a group of space officials at a private meeting here Sunday that they have found strong evidence that life may exist today on Mars, hidden away in caves and sustained by pockets of water.
The scientists, Carol Stoker and Larry Lemke of NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, told the group that they have submitted their findings to the journal Nature for publication in May, and their paper currently is being peer reviewed.
What Stoker and Lemke have found, according to several attendees of the private meeting, is not direct proof of life on Mars, but methane signatures and other signs of possible biological activity remarkably similar to those recently discovered in caves here on Earth.
Continue reading "Present Life of Mars, but will NASA keep the lights on?"
Posted by barney at 10:39 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack