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Love and Attachment: The Psychobiology of Social Bonding

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2014

Dan J. Stein  and
Bavanisha Vythilingum
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Abstract

Basic animal studies and human imaging studies have contributed to our understanding of the psychobiology of love and attachment. There are overlaps and distinctions in the neuronal circuitry of maternal love, romantic love, and long-term attachment. In these circuits, important molecules, which have been demonstrated to play a role in the psychobiology of social bonding include dopamine, serotonin, opioids, oxytocin, and vasopressin. Particular genetic and environmental variations contribute to social-bonding phenotypes, consistent with an evolutionary perspective on the value of these behaviors. Advances in the psychobiology of social bonds have led to hypotheses about the pharmacotherapy of disorders of attachment.

Type
Pearls in Clinical Neuroscience
Information
CNS Spectrums , Volume 14 , Issue 5 , May 2009 , pp. 239 - 242
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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