The science of falling in love - Shannon Odell
Let’s Begin…
Love is often described as heartwarming, heart-wrenching, or even heartbreaking— and your brain is responsible for all these feelings. The journey from first spark to the last tear is guided by a symphony of neurochemicals and brain systems. Shannon Odell explores what happens in your brain when you fall in love, how it responds to a relationship, and how it reacts to a breakup.
Additional Resources for you to Explore
Getting Dumped
Check out this video about heartbreak to learn about what our brain does when we feel rejected. This essay is adapted from the book, The Little Book of Heartbreak and shares where the pain from getting dumped comes from and what it’s good for.
Interestingly, some people are affected by breakups more than others. Read this article to find out why. (Hint: part of it has to do with whether or not people believe that personality is fixed or constantly changing.)
More About Love
To explore why we crave love so much, and why we are even willing to go to extremes for it, check out Helen Fisher’s TEDTalk as she tells the story of her research on love, the brain, and the individuals she and her team studied. Or you might be interested in what The Anatomy of Love blog has to say about where love can be found in the brain and the body.
This fascinating, three-minute NPR clip is about the faithfulness of prairie voles (a mouse-like rodent), and about what we can learn about bonds, love and affection by studying animals.
Watch the video and finish the Think section to complete the lesson.
About The Science of Adolescence
The adolescent brain is spectacular! Between roughly the ages of 10 and 25, key connections are forming within the brain, between ideas, and between people. Understanding how this “connecting brain” works can help us facilitate positive development and make healthier decisions, enabling us to take advantage of the remarkable potential of these formative years.
Meet The Creators
- Video created by TED-Ed
- Lesson Plan created by TED Ed
