Authors: Audrey Wells
Mentors: Fredric Govedich
Insitution: Southern Utah University
This project is an interdisciplinary meta-analysis of literature across neuroscience, psychology, biochemistry, and biological anthropology. I am interested in comparing the neural physiology of love relationships to that of recreational drug use. I have cross referenced studies on the areas of activation and neurotransmitter level changes for each of these experiences. Both of these activities, specifically when comparing drugs to the infatuation stage of a relationship, show a dramatic increase in the reward complex within the center of the human brain, as well as an increase in risky behavior and obsession with the object of attraction/addiction. I then continued in an analysis of the termination from either positive stimuli, namely, rejection from a lover, and recreational drug withdrawal. I have found that within the motivational sectors of the brain, activation when viewing your rejector, as well as the heightened dopamine produced, show comparable similarities to those who are experiencing an active physiology drug withdrawal.