The+Stages

 Love can be categorized into three stages: lust, attraction , and attachment. http://www.xemanh.net/images/romance/romantic18.jpg **Lust:** **Attraction:** > >>>> **Attachment:** >>>  Enjoy the video below ;D  media type="youtube" key="8jMhrUN4pDM" height="344" width="425" Prev. Home Next 
 * Fueled by estrogen and testosterone (testosterone in men, estrogen in women)
 * During this time, we feel completely love struck, and we have trouble thinking of anything but the person we have fallen in love with.
 * Three main neurotransmitters involved in this stage of love
 * Adrenaline
 * During this stage your stress response is activated which in turn increases your blood levels of adrenaline.
 * Effects:
 * You feel exhilarated
 * Your mouth gets dry
 * <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Your heart rate speeds up
 * <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">You may start to sweat
 * <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Dopamine
 * <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">When triggered by intense pleasure, dopamine starts a rewards system in the brain.
 * <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">This rewards system makes you want to be with your partner more often.
 * <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Effects of release of dopamine
 * <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">More energy
 * <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Less need for sleep
 * <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Less need for food
 * <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Fixed attention
 * <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">High delight
 * <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Seratonin
 * <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Changes the way you think
 * <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">
 * <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">This stage of love keeps couples together for long enough to sustain children
 * <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Two hormones are involved in this stage of love
 * <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Oxtyocin
 * <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Released by both men and women after sex
 * <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Increases trust
 * <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Causes mother rats to become attached to their pups
 * <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Vasopressin
 * <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Important in maintaining long term relationships
 * <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Prairie voles were given a chemical to decrease their levels of vasopressin,and as a result eventually left their partner. Go to our Current Research page for more information on this.