By Lubna Abdel-Aziz Helplessly we respond to love and all its mysteries. Entrapped and enraptured, we do not stop to reason why or how or when or where -- and that is love's wisdom. In this chaotic world of ours, should we not simply be grateful that there is still love! Neither the march of time, nor the progress of technology, nor the slings and arrows of fortunes and misfortunes, have been able to damage this bewildering phenomenon. This unique and complex human experience continues to baffle the human mind. While artists, scientists and philosophers may have fathomed all else, romance has remained as elusive and inexplicable as "the beauty of a rainbow." Science however is not leaving it alone. Our uniquely human behaviour must be dissected and deciphered. What are those neuro- chemical impulses that cause us to fall in love? Should not this "perfect, paralysing, bliss" be untouchable, shrouded in its own mystery, be is spiritual, emotional, physical, or chemical? Oh no! Scientists will not leave well alone. They have already explained the chemical process of falling in love. Neuroscientist Larry Sherman of the Oregon National Research Primate Center compares falling in love to a journey through the brain. The initial attraction lights up the orbital frontal area "like a Christmas Tree." The eyes lock and you see someone across the room and ... voila! You see stars and you hear the angels sing. "Now if another chemical kicks in" continues Sherman, "you will want to stick to that person." That chemical is oxytocin, which has been termed the "cuddling" chemical. Linked to milk production in mothers, oxytocin plays an important part in love. This was concluded after extensive studies on the prairie vole which mates for life. Prairie voles have oxytocin receptors in different parts of the brain which when blocked, prevent the formation of pair-bonding in females. Professor Gareth Long of the University of Edinburgh admits that it is not known why a single exposure to oxytocin can produce "such profound and prolonged changes in behaviour," but he is working on it. "Understanding the process is essential in understanding how drugs can influence mood and behaviour, good and bad." This sexual arousal hormone can be triggered by a touch, a smell, a voice, or even a memory. In males it is "vasopressin," called the "monogamy chemical" which is associated with mating preference and paternal care. That is not to say that man is monogamous. Only 3% of all mammals form lasting monogamous bonds -- humans not included. Hundreds of thousands of studies are conducted about love, but love itself remains magical, majestic, and mysterious. Its multi-faceted nature poses too many challenges to scientists and others, and its true nature remains indefinable. Identifying a specific formula for love seems beyond the bounds of possibility. Would that it always remain so! Still, they continue to poke and probe into its biological, genetic, emotional, physical, evolutionary and environmental characteristics. What is love? How did it evolve? Steven Pinker's Evolutionary Theory of Love, views romantic love as a "human universal that has evolved to promote survival and reproduction among humans." This may be partially true, but incomplete. How can it explain love among couples beyond their reproductive years, or among the gay community? This human universal emotion has long been associated with high levels of dopamine and norepinephrine, which are natural stimulants to the brain. Serotonin levels also seem to drop, When this formula is complete we fall madly in love. In her book Why We Love, anthropologist Helen Fisher concludes that romantic passion is "hardwired into our brains by millions of years of evolution. It is a drive as powerful as hunger." Call it what you will, but please don't try to treat it, control it, change it or stop it. Leave it alone, whole, untouched, mysterious, and enchanting as it is already. What a nightmare it would be, if an antidote love- pill is developed to pop twice a day for 4 days and that special infliction on man would disappear. We need love in today's world, more than ever. With the erosion of precious virtues such as truth, honesty, loyalty, and courage, may we please preserve and protect romantic love -- this sweet madness that is all consuming, all giving, all defying? Throughout history man has tried to nurture rather than cure this affliction. Aphrodisiacs and love potions may have no scientific basis, but have been popular for over 5000 years. Foods, drinks, odours, sounds, and colours have all played a role in enticing lovers. Men have always presented their loved ones with flowers, perfumes, chocolate, music, champagne. While proving their effectiveness is difficult, there are some explanations. The colour red stimulates a faster heart beat and makes men feel more amorous. In five psychological studies conducted by the University of Rochester, the same woman wearing red was more attractive to males than in grey, blue, or green. The colour of love, passion, blood, fire, and fury is emotionally intense as it permeates our world. "These days we see nothing but red," inspiring us with passion and romance instead of anger and rage. Ancient Greeks associated the red rose with the blood of Aphrodite, beloved of Adonis. If we juggle the word rose, we get EROS, the Greek God of love, identical to the Roman Cupid. Such strong emotions have lingered through the ages. Chocolates contain phenylalanine and serotonin, and they certainly taste good. Perfumes contain the essences of flowers mixed with musk -- a chemical similar to a male hormone. Whether they are effective or not, our perception of them is what matters. Our need to maintain that all consuming experience, induces us to try everything. This giddy, elated sense of euphoria, we must maintain at all costs. That sweet addiction to another human, that delicious torture, this ecstasy, this heaven, this hell, this fear, this obsession this jealousy, this rage, this anguish, this despair, make it mine! Let us protect the one emotion that makes us human. We must not induce it, reduce, guide or end it. Without love, should we not then seek another name for our specie! Many waters cannot quench love Neither can the floods drown it -- The Song of Solomon; The Holy Bible
