Science of Sex

Time for a relationship?

Once you've chosen your mate - and fallen in love - will you stay together? It makes evolutionary sense for couples to stay together after they've had children to help raise them. It's the body's natural love potion that sticks a couple together like glue. It comes into play when a couple has sex and a chemical called oxytocin is released. This hormone and neurotransmitter produced in the brain acts as a sexual arousal hormone that signals orgasm and prompts cuddling between lovers before, during, and after intercourse. One theory is that the more sex a couple has with each other, the more oxytocin is released and the deeper their bond becomes. As soon as you have sex with someone you are playing with fire: even if you didn't really fancy them at first you may find that you are creating an unbreakable bond.

There is one last important drug in the pharmacy of love: vasopressin. Also released during sex, it plays a critical role in the long-term commitment stage. Research into the mating habits of prairie voles, who are among the three percent of mammals that mate for life, revealed that vasopressin is released when they mate. The same thing happens in humans, and it stimulates the 'reward' part of our brain, creating a type of addiction. Just like lust and romantic love, forming a lasting loving relationship is a matter of chemistry.

The chemicals that flood our brain and our very physiology all serve one purpose: the continuation of our species. Once we have children, these chemicals alter to encourage us to stay together and raise them. Sex, lust and love, are the result of an intoxicating hormonal mix designed to encourage human reproduction. And this chemical cocktail really does make the world go round.

For more info:

Video: What's Sexy? [FirstScience presents]
What is 'sexiness' from a scientific point of view and what makes 'sexy' sexy? We reveal just how manipulative nature can be.

The Science of Attraction
http://www.students.emory.edu/HYBRIDVIGOR/issue1/attraction.htm

The Rules of Attraction in the Game of Love
http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20060213/sc_space/therulesofattractioninthegameoflove

TV documentary about ambiguous sexuality and sports
http://www.firstscience.com/home/firstscience.tv/sex-games_7.html