ACHY, BREAKY HEART? WHERE THE EMOTIONS OF LOVE REALLY MAKE THEIR HOME.Byline: Evan Henerson Staff Writer The next time a would-be Cassanova tells you that his heart aches for you, call him a liar. Or at least correct him. That person has it wrong. News flash, folks: The heart doesn't ache, and it has nothing to do with the tender feelings of love, heartache or heartbreak. While you're going through your private ecstasy or torment, the heart is just sitting there pumping away, doing what it does to keep you alive. If you're love struck, it's your brain you should blame ... or thank. ``The reason that we have a heart-shaped valentine is that, for centuries, people thought the heart was the seat of the soul,'' says Dr. Kimford Meador, professor of neurology at the Medical College of Georgia In 1828, it was chartered by the state of Georgia as the Medical Academy of Georgia, with plans to offer a single course of lectures leading to a bachelor's degree. It opened the following year on October 1st at the Augusta hospital. in Augusta. ``It took some keen observers to figure out that the brain has a lot to do with emotions. ``If we had recognized it sooner, maybe we would have had a brain-shaped valentine.'' So, what's really going on upstairs? Researchers aren't completely certain, but they offer a couple of possible explanations as to how the brain kicks your emotions into gear. Neurobiologists will direct you to the limbic system limbic system n. A group of deep brain structures, common to all mammals and including the hippocampus, amygdala, gyrus fornicatus, and connecting structures, associated with olfaction, emotion, motivation, behavior, and various autonomic functions. , a golf ball-shaped mass in the center of the brain that includes portions of the lobes of the cerebral cortex cerebral cortex Layer of gray matter that constitutes the outer layer of the cerebrum and is responsible for integrating sensory impulses and for higher intellectual functions. , the thalamus thalamus (thăl`əməs), mass of nerve cells centrally located in the brain just below the cerebrum and resembling a large egg in size and shape. and the hypothalamus hypothalamus (hī'pəthăl`əməs), an important supervisory center in the brain, rich in ganglia, nerve fibers, and synaptic connections. It is composed of several sections called nuclei, each of which controls a specific function. . It's this portion of the brain, doctors say, that is responsible for memory as well as emotions. Neurotransmitters - biochemicals that send nerve impulses from one region of the brain to another - cause a person to feel a given emotion. A stimulus - like an unexpected bouquet of roses or a ``Dear John'' letter - sends biochemicals like endorphins endorphins (ĕndôr`fĭnz), neurotransmitters found in the brain that have pain-relieving properties similar to morphine. There are three major types of endorphins: beta endorpins, found primarily in the pituitary gland; and enkephalins and and dopamine dopamine (dōp`əmēn), one of the intermediate substances in the biosynthesis of epinephrine and norepinephrine. See catecholamine. dopamine One of the catecholamines, widely distributed in the central nervous system. (for happiness) in certain sequences to the brain's frontal cortex. Those impulses will trigger the autonomic nervous system autonomic nervous system: see nervous system. autonomic nervous system Part of the nervous system that is not under conscious control and that regulates the internal organs. It includes the sympathetic, parasympathetic, and enteric nervous systems. , which takes care of accompanying reactions like a quickened heart rate and sweating. Acting like a light switch being flipped on, these neurotransmitters cause a person to feel emotions such as anger, fear, euphoria and longing - the type of longing we might otherwise call heartache. Even though the brain is the work station, the entire process takes place without the person realizing it's happening. So when we cry, we do so automatically, without thinking about it before the tears are on our cheeks. ``The neurotransmitters drive us to feel the puppy love and the pain of loss,'' says Dr. Cheryl Craft, a neurobiologist neurobiologist a specialist in neurobiology. at USC's Keck School of Medicine, who adds, ``We don't understand exactly what happens, and I'd be lying if I said we did.'' Emotions are governed, Craft says, by the sequences and combinations of the neurotransmitters working both with each other and with the autonomic nervous system. It's the same process whether the emotion is embarrassment, anger or fear. Not all manifestations of emotion are the same. The tears Ben Affleck sheds after being dumped by Gwyneth Paltrow, for example, will have a different composition than the tears he'll produce while slicing onions for an Affleckburger. Lab analysis will prove that, Craft says. When you start talking about ``love,'' matters get more complicated. Animals, after all, have a limbic system. They feel pain, loss and anger. The hormones estrogen and testosterone have been linked to the human sex drive. But love? Those feelings that can turn us into a heart-pounding, thought-obsessed, flower-buying composer of sonnets? Is that entirely chemical? The answer, Meador contends, is an emphatic no. ``We can't at this point say what are the physiological straits related to love,'' says Meador. ``It's a pretty complex set of behaviors, and I don't think complex emotions are limited to the limbic system.'' So before you start scissoring In computer graphics, the deleting of any parts of an image which fall outside of a window that has been sized and laid over the original image. Also called "clipping." a cerebellum cerebellum (sĕr'əbĕl`əm), portion of the brain that coordinates movements of voluntary (skeletal) muscles. It contains about half of the brain's neurons, but these particular nerve cells are so small that the cerebellum accounts for out of pink construction paper, keep an open mind. Researchers haven't figured out the workings of every single pathway in the brain. In many ways, the biology of love - like the feeling itself - remains unexplained. Which in some ways is a good thing, according to Craft. ``Let's do keep a little mystery in it.'' CAPTION(S): drawing, photo Photo: no caption (Jim Carrey in the movie Mask) Drawing: (cover -- color) The mystery of love Getting to the heart of the matter - our brains |
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