Prompt Cast
The Science of Love: Is True Love Possible?
TLDR This episode explores the science of love, examining the beliefs of true love believers and the skepticism of those who think monogamy is unnatural. The episode discusses the brain activity associated with romantic love, the role of oxytocin in bonding and monogamy, and the debate among researchers about whether humans are naturally polygynous or monogamous.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
The episode explores the science of love and whether true love is possible, examining both the beliefs of true love believers and the skepticism of those who think monogamy is unnatural.
05:24
The science of true love is explored through the story of Matt and Gail, and Dr. Helen Fisher's research on the brain activity of people in love.
09:49
The feeling of romantic love is generated in brain regions linked with wanting, craving, obsession, focus, and motivation, and is associated with the release of dopamine, which is also released during activities such as sex and drug use.
14:18
Larry discovered that the monogamous voles have a higher concentration of oxytocin receptors in a specific area of their brain, while the non-monogamous voles do not have these receptors, suggesting that oxytocin may play a role in bonding and monogamy.
18:35
Oxytocin receptors play a role in driving voles to stay together for life, and humans also have these receptors in their brain, but it's not clear how much they motivate us to couple up due to our big, complicated brains.
23:30
The skeptics argue that humans are not built to spend their entire lives with one true love, and according to the theory of evolution, monogamy would not be a successful trait for survival.
28:57
According to evolutionary biologist Dieter Lukas, only 9% of mammals are monogamous, and while our earliest ancestors were likely polygynous, there is still a debate among researchers as to whether humans are naturally polygynous or monogamous based on factors such as body size differences and the presence of love chemicals like dopamine and oxytocin.
33:35
It is difficult to determine whether humans evolved to be monogamous or not, as there is no clear evidence on either side, and even the most romantic of evolutionary biologists do not believe that monogamy means staying with one partner for life.
38:19
Infidelity is relatively widespread, with 20-25% of married men and 10-15% of married women in the US admitting to having extramarital sex, and while it's possible that married women are more faithful than men, it's also possible that women just don't like to admit to their infidelity.
43:15
True love is a combination of luck and finding each other, and it can last for 60+ years.
