{"id":7084,"date":"2014-10-19T16:48:34","date_gmt":"2014-10-19T20:48:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/?p=7084"},"modified":"2014-10-22T12:37:44","modified_gmt":"2014-10-22T16:37:44","slug":"those-kids-and-their-crazy-hormones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/2014\/10\/19\/those-kids-and-their-crazy-hormones\/","title":{"rendered":"Those Kids and Their Crazy Hormones"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nImagine you\u2019re on your first date and you and your partner are hitting it off big time. It\u2019s probably his\/her witty comments or good sense of humor, his\/her intelligence or impeccably beautiful smile that makes you feel extremely attracted to your date. As time goes on, you look deeply into each other\u2019s eyes and giggle. You wonder, \u201cam I falling in love?\u201d The answer is: probably not (you\u2019re only on your first date here, come on). You may not be falling in love, but you are feeling a stronger and closer bond being formed; and you\u2019re feeling this way with some help from the hormones norepinephrine, dopamine, and oxytocin.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s right, kids– everything your parents told you about your crazy hormones when you had \u201cThe Talk\u201d is true. Your hormones really are going crazy, and they really are helping you feel the way you do. When in love, areas in the brain that are known for their dopamine and norepinephrine production light up.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Norepinephrine, synthesized from dopamine, is released primarily as a stress hormone to affect concentration. Furthermore, norepinephrine aids in the fight-or-flight response, increasing heart rate, blood flow to the skeletal system, and causing the release of glucose. Dopamine acts as both a hormone and neurotransmitter in the brain, often associated with pleasure, excitement, and reward-motivated behavior. These hormones that related with focus, pleasure, and vigor are what allow you and your date to look deeply into each other\u2019s eyes, giggle, and talk for hours on end.<\/p>\n

Oxytocin, dubbed the \u201clove hormone\u201d is a hormone that is notorious for playing a role in bonding and amplifying social feelings. Oxytocin is released in different situations: nursing an infant, engaging in sexual activity, and even cuddling! This is turn heightens our social feelings, ultimately allowing trust-building and empathy to come into play. Without hormones, we wouldn\u2019t be able to form the close social bonds that are so essential to relationships. So when you\u2019re in a trusting and committed relationship, don\u2019t forget the little guys: your crazy hormones.<\/p>\n

-Kavya Raghunathan<\/p>\n

Sources:
\nDopamine- A Sample Neurotransmitter<\/a>– University of Texas
\nNorepinephrine<\/a>
\nYour Brain in Love<\/a>– Brain HQ<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Imagine you\u2019re on your first date and you and your partner are hitting it off big time. It\u2019s probably his\/her witty comments or good sense of humor, his\/her intelligence or impeccably beautiful smile that makes you feel extremely attracted to your date. As time goes on, you look deeply into each other\u2019s eyes and giggle. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9490,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[655,1331,889],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7084"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9490"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7084"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7084\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7097,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7084\/revisions\/7097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}