Falling in love is like being ‘high’ on drugs, research suggested in May 2017.
Meeting somebody special gives people the same buzz as cocaine and other illegal substances, a study found.
Findings suggest the feeling of giddiness people experience when falling for somebody triggers certain brain cells.
Previous research implies specific brain cell activation causes a surge in the ‘feel good’ hormone dopamine, which is also released after recreational drug use.
Researchers believe the findings give an insight into how we can influence social interactions, which may one day benefit patients suffering from autism.
The scientists, from Emory University, Atlanta, analysed prairie voles, which, like humans, are one of the few monogamous mammals.
They examined the voles’ corticostriatal circuit, which is in the brain and is involved in how people alter their behaviour to get rewards.
The researchers examined the circuit’s activity in female voles while they were in the same space as males for six hours.
Results, published in Nature, suggest the animals’ brain cells fired up quickly when they began to bond, which was expressed through mating and huddling.
The animals also showed preference towards their partners compared to new males when given the choice the next day.