1. Love & Joy Presentation by Eliza Jessup

3. There are many kinds of love: familial, platonic, religious and romantic.

4. Love inspires poetry, music, art, and literature and is one of the most sought-after feelings.

5. Love provides physical as well as psychological benefits.

6. Healthy brain development requires lots of love and affection throughout the entire lifespan, but especially during infancy and childhood.Image: AkiyoshiKitaoka

7. 3 Kinds of Love There are three kinds of love: lust, attraction, and attachment, and each has their own biological purpose (Sweeney 220). Lust (associated with hormones estrogen and androgen) encourages mating. Attraction focuses lust on a single person, conserving energy. It is believed to be associated with serotonin. Attachment keeps parents together, providing plenty of care for offspring.

9. Dopamine: Neurotransmitter released in brain’s reward system that causes feelings of joy.

10. Norepinephrine: Causes blushing and quickened heartbeats. Combines with dopamine to cause elation, craving, focused attention and higher energy.

11. Serotonin: Low levels of serotonin can cause feelings of obsession.(Sweeney 221)

13. Phenylethylamine: Releases dopamine in limbic system. Found in the brain, and in chocolate!

14. Sex pheromones: Chemical messengers that go between males and females, inducing mating.

15. Oxytocin: Hormone that contributes to trust and bonding. (Chemical structure pictured below).(Sweeney 221)

17. Maternal affection helps infants learn how to cope with stress. Cortisol floods a baby’s brain when they are stressed; overexposure may impair his or her ability to regulate cortisol levels. Expressing love to an infant by caring for them teaches them to regulate stress (Gerhardt).

18. Love deactivates centers of the brain associated with anxiety and sadness (Sweeney).

23. Improved cardiovascular function (Tugade, Fredrickson, & Barrett).

24. Increased life span: “According to a Dutch study of elderly patients, upbeat mental states reduced an individual’s risk of death 50% over the study’s nine-year duration” (Lemonick & Cray).

26. When people are happier, they tend to take better care of themselves (Lemonick & Cray).

28. Annotated Bibliography Gerhardt, Sue. Why Love Matters. 2004. Brunner-Routledge. Discusses the vital importance of love and affection during early childhood. Langton, M. “The Health Benefits of Love”. 2007. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/443851/the_health_benefits_of_love.html?cat=5. Explains many health benefits of love. Lemonick, Michael D. & Cray, Dan. “The Biology of JOY”. Time Magazine; 1/17/2005; Vol. 165 Issue 3. Explores the biology of joy and physiological effects. Sweeney, Michael S. Brain: The Complete Mind. 2009. National Geographic. Includes the basic neural chemistry of positive emotions such as love and joy. Tugade, Michele M.; Fredrickson, Barbara L.; Barret, Lisa Feldman. “Psychological Resilience and Positive Emotional Granularity: Examining the Benefits of Positive Emotions on Coping and Health”. J Pers; 2004 December. Talks about the benefits of positive emotions. IMAGES: Image of brain on slide 9: http://library.thinkquest.org/04oct/01639/en/health/popup/nucleus.html Dopamine image on slide 9: http://www.madewithmolecules.com/blog/?p=86 “This is your brain on joy” image on slide 8: Cover of book, This is Your Brain on Joy by Dr. Earl Henslin.