Why We Love: The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love - Books: a selection of new and notable books of scientific interest - Book Review

Science News,  March 6, 2004  

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

HELEN FISHER

Anyone who has experienced the ecstasy of love has probably also felt the anguish of being rebuffed or falling out of love. In this book, Fisher turns a scientist's eye on feelings that are usually the realm of poets and musicians. During a 6-year study, she and her colleagues used functional magnetic resonance imaging to record the brain activity of people who had recently fallen in love. The scans revealed that certain areas of the brain are infused with increased blood flow for people in this state. Using these data, Fisher concludes that romantic love is "deeply embedded in the architecture and chemistry of the human brain." She believes that this passion is a primordial human drive as fundamental as hunger for food. She illustrates gender differences in people and offers examples of how this passion crosses over to animals. Other topics include the reasons we pick our mates, how love evolved, and how to sustain that feeling througout marriage. Fisher also explains how her study implicates the causes of divorce and informs our understanding of stalking behavior and crimes of passion. Overall, however, her work is an inspiring and hopeful look at how we love, H, Holt & CO., 2004, 301 p., hardcover, $25,00.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Science Service, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group