Music: No need for drugs – get your “feel good” dopamine from music. Scientists have found that the pleasurable experience of listening to music releases this neurotransmitter in the brain, a chemical important for more tangible pleasures associated with “rewards” such as food, drugs and sex. The study revealed that even the anticipation of pleasurable music induces dopamine release. The research was published in the journal Nature Neuroscience. Read More…
Love: When it comes to love, go with your gut – literally. A new study says our choice of mate may be influenced by our intestinal bacteria driving our pheromones to tell us who to be attracted to. The research compared two groups of flies, one that had been fed a diet of starches and one that had been fed a diet of malt sugar, and found that each subgroup preferred partners with similar nutritional background. But when antibiotics were administered, killing gut bacteria, the preferential mating pattern disappeared. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, indicate that intestinal flora plays a direct role in pheromone levels, driving mate selection. Yet another reason to take your probiotics. Read More…
