Love as sensory stimulation: Physiological consequences of its deprivationand expression

For the present purpose, love is defined as one's having stimulation that o ne desires. The nature of the stimulation can range on a continuum from the most abstract cognitive, to the most direct sensory, forms. Thus, this def inition of love encompasses having an emotional bond with a person for whom one yearns, as well as having sensory stimulation that one desires. We add ress some of the physiological and perceptual consequences both of having, and of not having love. We propose a neural mechanism by which deprivation of love may generate endogenous, compensatory sensory stimulation that mani fests itself as psychosomatic illness. In addition, we propose a neuroendoc rine mechanism underlying sexual response and orgasm. The latter includes v aginocervical sensory pathways to the brain that can produce analgesia, rel ease oxytocin, and/or bypass the spinal cord via the vagus nerve. We presen t evidence of the existence of non-genital orgasms, which suggests that gen ital orgasm is a special case of a more pervasive orgasmic process. Through recent studies, the mechanisms and manifestations of love and its deprivat ion are becoming better understood. The better is our understanding of love , the greater is our respect for the significance and potency of its role i n mental and physical health. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights res erved.