Your brain on sex, love, and rejection with biological anthropologist Helen Fisher. What happens in the brain of someone who gets dumped? One answer is increased activity in the nucleus accumbens, which is the same brain region that becomes active when you become addicted to cocaine, cigarettes, or gambling. Romantic love, in other words, is an addiction. That’s one key takeaway from the research of anthropologist Helen Fisher, who argues that we should learn to respect the intense feelings of people who get romantically rejected. According to Fisher, a better understanding of how the brain processes love and romantic desire can help us find the right partner and sustain a meaningful, healthy relationship.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapters;-

0:00 Charles Darwin’s ‘game of love’

0:58 Sexual attraction in a partnership

1:49 The 3 brain systems

3:20 Romantic love

4:32 Romantic rejection

5:51 Long-term love & sex drive

Listen To This Next:

Adam Grant's #1 phrase to unlock potential

The science of super longevity

Beat anxiety with the most addictive experience on Earth

-----------------

About Helen Fisher: Helen E. Fisher, Ph.D. biological anthropologist, is a Senior Research Fellow at The Kinsey Institute at Indiana University, and a Member of the Center For Human Evolutionary Studies in the Department of Anthropology at Rutgers University. She has written six books on the evolution, biology, and psychology of human sexuality, monogamy, adultery and divorce, gender differences in the brain, the neural chemistry of romantic love and attachment, human biologically-based personality styles, why we fall in love with one person rather than another, hooking up, friends with benefits, living together and other current trends, and the future of relationships — what she calls: slow love. About Big Think | Smarter Faster™ ► Big Think The leading source of expert-driven, educational content. With thousands of videos, featuring experts ranging from Bill Clinton to Bill Nye, Big Think helps you get smarter, faster by exploring the big ideas and core skills that define knowledge in the 21st century.

---------------

Go Deeper with Big Think:

►Become a Big Think Member

Get exclusive access to full interviews, early access to new releases, Big Think merch and more

►Get Big Think+ for Business

Guide, inspire and accelerate leaders at all levels of your company with the biggest minds in business

---------------

Discover Big Think | Smarter Faster™

Your top destination for expert-driven, educational content. Featuring thousands of episodes and insights from renowned figures like Bill Clinton to Bill Nye, Big Think accelerates your learning by delving into the pivotal concepts and essential skills shaping knowledge in the 21st century...

Unlock Knowledge, Faster....

With Insights from the World's Leading Minds

Remember to Follow the Podcast and Enable Notifications

If you found this episode valuable, Share It

Leave a 5-Star Review!!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices