Page 19 - Advanced Romance

16 Advanced Romance*
devotion. However, the power of this chemical has other support. A recent experiment showed that the life-long mating of the prairie vole is disrupted when
its vasopressin was suppressed. The voles lose their devotion to one mate and become physical and mental polygamists.13 It seems ludicrous that such a tiny animal can be comparted to humans, but such is the state of sexual experimentation from my reading. We’re only scratching surfaces.
Again, this is not to deny the mental and poetic and spiritual and moral and humor and beauty etc. aspects that inspire peoples’ life-long devotion. They are certainly there also. It’s just that when you feel that overwhelming warmth about your mate, part of the warmth is due to oxytocin and vasopressin.
As to what percentages the chemical vs. other, more spiritual traits dictate, no one has determined that I know of. In my opinion that percentage would vary from person to person depending on how much emphasis they put on physical vs. mental aspects of their preferences. Regardless, there’s still plenty of transcendence to rhapsodize about, and life-long, incredibly warm attachment.
And get this! Fisher also found chemicals associated with breaking up, with divorce. Romantic stress causes cortisol to be secreted in hopes of eliminating the stress. This stress also causes dopamine and norepinephrine to be secreted. And they suppress the feel-good hormone