Neurochemistry of Seduction Explained
February 15th, 2007 . by SeducingWomen.info
According to Mark B. Kristal, professor of psychology in the University of Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences, there are several types of chemistry required in romantic relationships:
First, there’s smell, made up of learned or cultural preferences, such as the smell of a dozen long-stemmed red roses.
Next, there are pheromones. “Pheromones are unlearned, and perhaps unsmellable, signals that enter the brain through the olfactory system. They can function in sex, alarm, territoriality, aggression, and fear” Kristal says. While sex attractant pheromones may explain changes in libido, they do not explain why we choose a specific person for a mate. “In humans, specific mates are more probably chosen on the basis of other sensory cues: visual, regular olfactory, auditory and tactile cues,” Kristal said. And these cues, especially smell, strengthen with time. “After a certain amount of bonding, specific mates may be more recognizable to each other by smells rather than by pheromones. Studies show that people can recognize unwashed t-shirts belonging to their mates by the smell.”
Also there is the brain, which produces its own substances that are involved in bonding.
“Two related brain peptides, vasopressin and oxytocin, have been shown to be involved in both the permanent or long-term social bonding that underlies mating,” Kristal notes.
Aphrodisiacs such as some foods, drugs and other substances that claim to increase sexual interest - are a “myth” according to Kristal, who advises that it would be better to “smell good and look successful” in order to attract a potential mate.