My Chemical Romance

Unexplainable matters of the heart such as falling in love and creating chemistry in a relationship have proved to be baffling topics for modern scientists. Currently, there is an increased effort to perform research experiments that study how our brain and bodies work together to concoct such feelings. Researchers have found that “oxytocin, a chemical that fosters the bond between mothers and children, probably helps fuel romantic love as well” (Brownlee 295). In addition, “brain chemicals that blunt pain and induce feelings of euphoria may also make people feel good in the company of lovers” (Brownlee 295). Have we been wrong all these years to suppose that falling in love is just a natural occurrence? We’ve seen movies and read books of men and women going to a witch or wizard in the hopes of obtaining a “love potion” that is specifically targeted for their object of affection. According to the information above, if we are able to bottle such chemicals as oxytocin, we could also produce the same results as any love potion.

Another chemical that can help explain attraction between two people is dopamine. At the State University of New York, researchers asked a group of young adults who had recently fallen in love to have their brains scanned as they were shown pictures of their significant others. What they found was that “the brain areas that lighted up were precisely those known to be rich in [the] powerful ‘feel-good’ chemical, dopamine. Dopamine is the key chemical in the brain's reward system, a network of cells that is associated with pleasure” (Foreman). When shown photos of members of the opposite sex that the researchers had randomly selected, the brain areas containing dopamine failed to show any response. Interestingly enough, this chemical is also known to be linked with feelings of addiction. This finding could possibly explain why seeing a picture of the participants’ loved one made their brain area light up—not only does that person bring joy to their lives, but s/he is also their own personal drug that they can’t help but be obsessed with.

People will go to great lengths to find their ideal match. Some have their most trusted friends set them up on blind dates, while others prefer to submit their profiles to online dating sites such as Match.com and eHarmony, hoping to encounter someone with similar interests. But just how far are they willing to go? For $2,000 and a swab of your spit, a Florida matchmaking company claims they will be able to find that one special person who you will have perfect physical chemistry with. Their unique technology “uses your DNA to find others with a natural odor you'll love, with whom you'd have healthier children, a more satisfying sex life and more" (Pesce). This “chemistry” they are advertising is “based on the biological need to breed with people who have very different immune system genes, which makes robust, healthy babies” (Pesce). If you can roll out the cash, forget about having to put yourself through one horrifying first date after another—just send out your DNA for testing, sit back, and wait for the results!

Since our days in grade school, we’ve been able to observe the fact that boys and girls are different. Rosie Boycott, a British journalist, writes, “In the 1970s, I saw feminist girlfriends bringing up children and religiously give the girl a truck to play with, and try to get the boy to like the color pink. It never worked. Little girls and boys had very different ideas about what they wanted to play with and what colors they liked” (McCarthy). Studies attribute this to the claim that “men and women show differences in behavior because their brains are physically distinct organs” (McCarthy). This contrast in views based on gender also plays a role in relationship ideals. A chemical called vasopressin could explain why forbidden sex is appealing to more men than women by examining prairie voles. If the rodent is producing stress hormones, it impedes with the oxytocin entering the brain, “keeping a female vole from bonding, and perhaps preventing most women from finding danger sexually exciting. Vasopressin, in contrast, appears to work better in the presence of certain stress hormones, possibly making danger an aphrodisiac for many males” (Brownlee 297). But can the study of voles truly explain human behavior? Voles don’t have human capabilities such as emotions, customs, family expectations, and religions to worry about. In addition, what about contradicting information in that human women can also be turned on by elicit behavior? These questions remain unanswered if we only seek insight through the sciences. While science can’t provide all of the answers to our burning romantic questions, we are certainly getting closer with every passing day.

Works Cited

Megan’s “Crema de la Cosecha”

Hi Megan! It’s nice to be in your group, especially since you are a fellow Speech and Hearing Sciences major. I worked with lots of students at ASU from all over the country and it always fascinates me when they decide to come to Tempe and suffer through the heat, but I’m glad you’re adjusting :) Here are my picks for you:

A Slough Time: I’ve suffered from acne since I was about 10 years old so I could really relate to this post. Your voice really stood out as you told your story of your “tube of horrors!” You added very colorful language that made this post very enjoyable to read. You are quite the storyteller! By choosing a topic that I’m sure we as girls have come across at some point, and using irony to enhance your message, you were really able to draw your audience in and have them sympathize with your condition. The only thing that didn’t really seem to fit at first was your title. I didn’t really know what a slough was so I had to look it up in the dictionary, and even then I’m not sure it was the best word to choose, but I can see where you were going with it. I sure do hope that your skin condition didn’t take too long to clear up!

Consumption of Consumption: Eat This: You come up with the BEST titles! For some reason, I get this image of you shoving your shopping bags at Twitchell or someone else’s face and saying “Eat this!” I chose this post because you were able to write in a more academic tone but still keep your own voice. Your last paragraph showed a lot of concern about materialism and it was definitely the strongest point of your post. Apart from a few spelling and grammatical errors, I really enjoyed reading your views on materialism !

Are You There God? It’s Me, Megan: First off, the think that captured my attention immediately was your title and the picture you chose to include with your post. The photo shows just how far the universe seems to expand, and you seem to be calling out to God hoping that even though He is so far away, you hope that he can hear you. It also reminded me of the Verizon Wireless commercials because if you believe in God, then you also believe that no matter where you are, you’ll always have “service.” In other words, he’ll always be able to hear you. You seem to have a background in Christianity because the voice you used showed passion for the belief that without a God, people would not be good. You brought up really excellent points about what choosing to live by the wayside will do to believers in Christ and God, supporting your argument that the consequences will encourage people to do the right thing. I really enjoyed this post Megan!

Deirdre’s “Crème de la Récolte”

Deirdre! My tennis buddy of the bunch! It’s great to be in your group again. As I was re-reading through your intro today, I remembered that I had read an article called “Causing a Racquet” a while back in which you were interviewed about the tennis team and your Halloween activities. I think it’s so cool that you get to do what you love at the collegiate level. I hope your season goes well! My topic three picks from your blog are as follows:

Want a Fun Day? Simply Pay $4.75 via E-Z Pass: Like Ashley, I picked this post for you because of the voice you used. You are a great storyteller! When I first started reading, I wondered if I had read the prompt wrong because what you wrote didn’t initially seem to have anything to do with what we were supposed to write about. As I continued reading, it all made sense and I decided to read it multiple times to appreciate how you laid out the story of your dad by giving a history of the bridge and switching between two viewpoints. The account you described seems like something a screenwriter would be writing for a movie! You gave very vivid details that helped me picture everything that was taking place. This is definitely my favorite post!

Don’t Cheat Yourself: With this post, I thought you choose great quotes from the text to support your claims. At first, two of your quotes made me optimistic that couples can indeed be faithful to one another, and the next part of the quote would contradict itself and gives a reason as to why that doesn’t happen. I thought it was interesting that you would choose those sentences to cite, especially because from the sound of it, you feel that if couples knew each other better, high rates of infidelity would start to decline. Your concluding paragraph really pulled at my heart strings because I think we all want to believe the best in people, so we WANT to hold on to the hope that if we take the right measures, people will stop cheating on each other, even though we know this is probably not the case. Again, you showed a side to you that none of us would ever get to know had you not written this!

Read My Mind: For starters, great title! It went really well with the whole theme of how humans have thoughts and memories, but we’re not really sure where they come from. Since scientists are just now starting to find answers to these questions, it’s like they’re “reading our minds.” Your introductory paragraph caught my attention right away because there will be times when I’m walking around campus and I’ll have a thought and I wonder where that thought came from. Our brains are a complex system and I’m sure everyone has had a similar experience. You did a great job of including your own thoughts and mixing in quotes from the text. I also loved your conclusion because you asked your audience a question and then gave your own answer. What really stood out to me was that you didn’t try to give any kind of academic answer about where YOU thought that our thoughts and ideas come from. You responded that you yourself don’t know and it showed a lot of vulnerability because as humans, we can’t know everything.

Good look with deciding what to write about! I can’t wait to read it!

Ashley’s “Cream of the Crop”

It’s nice to be able to work with you again Ashley! I remember thinking to myself when I was in your group for Unit 2 that you definitely had a talent for writing with an academic tone, so I am grateful for the chance that I’ve had to read over all of your blog posts. You’re “All About Me!!!!- Finally I Can Say That” post really cracked me up! I could tell that you live a fast-paced life and I loved the tone you used. I am guilty of being the “procrastinator” of the group, so I just busted out laughing when I read that! Here are the top three posts I chose from your blog:

The BEST Way to Meet Your Classmates: It’s funny that you chose this post as one of my greatest hits because for those same reasons, I chose it as YOURS! Although I have not seen any of the girls in this class in person, I feel a greater connection to you all than I do with any of the 187 students in my social work lecture. I don’t have to wear nice clothes or do my hair to impress any of you, because you’re getting to know the real me through my writing. None of us have to worry about making friends or if we will be well-liked because it doesn’t matter. It’s taken me all semester and reading this post to realize that. I know it wasn’t your intention, but you’ve made me change my view about knowing people without actually meeting them. For example, through your blog posts, I can tell that if you and I were to hang out, there would never be a dull moment between us because you are so full of life and energetic! While there may be some things I wouldn’t know about you directly, meeting you online has allowed me to scratch the surface. You should DEFINITELY consider developing this particular topic into an essay. It is number one on my list!

Breastmilk Just for Babies? Not Anymore: I remember being in your group when you wrote this, and it is still one of the most memorable posts I’ve read for two reasons: One, the topic immediately captured my interest. A female Viagra? Who would’ve thought THAT was possible? Two, you were able to switch your voice from a playful and sarcastic attitude to a scholarly tone naturally. In the first paragraph you included a citation from the book that would make your post seem highly academic but the words around it were playing up to the fact that with the invention of this new Viagra, there would supposedly be no more problems on Earth. Using more than one tone in a piece of writing is not an easy thing to do, but you were able to convey your message to your reader even more strongly because you possess that trait. Great job!

Government: Creating a Protection from One’s Own Self: As I read this post, I was a bit surprised that you leaned more towards the side of the spectrum that believes the government should have most of the control, since a lot of the class was split pretty much equally down the middle. When you mentioned that most of your family members work for the government, my initial thought was that you felt that way because you’ve grown up with people who think that way probably your whole life. However, you made excellent points as to why the government guards us so highly—people are reckless and they sometimes need to be kept on check not only to protect themselves but those around them. I could tell that you were passionate about this particular topic because it came through in your writing. It made me re-think my views on this matter. You are great at getting your audience to see your point-of-view. Good luck picking a topic for your essay! You have lots of awesome posts to choose from!