The Love Molecule?

Posted on December 2, 2005

Italian scientists at Pavia University have discovered a molecule called nerve growth factor (NGF) that is found is much higer levels in people who have fallen "madly in love" according to a Reuters news story. The level of the molecule in the blood returns to normal levels after a year. ScienceDirect provides a good summary of the research that was published.

NGF level was significantly higher (p<0.001) in the subjects in love [mean (SEM): 227 (14) pg/ml] than in either the subjects with a long-lasting relationship [123 (10) pg/ml] or the subjects with no relationship [149 (12) pg/ml]. Notably, there was also a significant positive correlation between levels of NGF and the intensity of romantic love as assessed with the passionate love scale (r=0.34; p=0.007). No differences in the concentrations of other NTs were detected. In 39 subjects in love who-after 12-24 months-maintained the same relationship but were no longer in the same mental state to which they had referred during the initial evaluation, plasma NGF levels decreased and became indistinguishable from those of the control groups.

The summary indicates that the research found that the higher the NGF levels were in the blood the more romantic or passionate the subject felt. It sounds like there is some correlation between romantic love and NGF levels in the blood but what it all means and how NGF gets stirred up is unclear. It would be too early to call NGF the "love molecule" or the "infatuation molecule" but NGF does increase during periods of "romantic love" and fades away afterwards.

HEALTH