The Neurobiology of Love

Love is a universal experience found in all human cultures. Across the entirety of human culture, our single greatest commonality is the brain. What happens in the brains of people in love? In this talk, I discuss the three basic types of love (Lust, Romantic Attraction, and Attachment) and their unique brain pathways and neurochemistry. I'll also show how love is highly effective at reducing stress and enhancing overall health and survival. Last, I will apply these concepts in a closing discussion about the differences between the brains of men and women in love and how being in love may result in neurogenesis, or the birth of new neurons.

Dr. Sarah Strand is an Associate Lecturer in the Psychology Department at California State University, Sacramento. She earned her Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Prior to teaching at CSUS, Dr. Strand worked with non-human primates at the California National Primate Research Center at the University of California Davis, investigating therapies for spinal cord injury and Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Strand created her course "Psychology of Religion" for CSUS after speaking for 10 years to community groups around Northern California and Nevada. During the Fall 2022 semester, Dr. Strand was invited to Finland and Sweden to teach her course.