Love and Marriage 101: What are falling in love pills?

August 25, 1:33 AMLove and Marriage ExaminerRita Watson

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   AP Photo/ Suzanne Summers also has a pill routine

Unlike the little blue pill for potency in men, "falling in love" pills are based on a research concept from Emory University.

In looking into love addictions, I came across a link about a possible love and anti-love pill, which may not necessarily be a pill but perhaps a love spray.

The research, which may sound silly at first, can have important implications for love and marriage.  An experiment with married couples in therapy is being tried in Australia.

Here is the actual essay from Nature published this year, "Being Human: Love: Neuroscience reveals all"  by Dr. Larry J. Young, a nuero-scientist at Emory University, in the department of psychiatry and behavioral psychiatry.

He says: "The view of love as an emergent property of a cocktail of ancient neuropeptides and neurotransmitters raises important issues for society. For one thing, drugs that manipulate brain systems at whim to enhance or diminish our love for another may not be far away.

"Experiments have shown that a nasal squirt of oxytocin enhances trust and tunes people into others' emotions. Internet entrepreneurs are already marketing products such as Enhanced Liquid Trust, a cologne-like mixture of oxytocin and pheromones 'designed to boost the dating and relationship area of your life.'

"Although such products are unlikely to do anything other than boost users' confidence, studies are under way in Australia to determine whether an oxytocin spray might aid traditional marital therapy."

This is good news actually.  However, I confess I would be really unhappy if we come to a time in love when popping one means "love is on" and two means "love is off."

Nature.com/nature

Suzanne Sommers says, however, that her regimen of 60 pills a day is also helping to keep her marriage a happy and sexy one. Fox News

Love and Marriage 101: What is love addiction? 

And another recent story: Maybe friendship marriages work best

 Copyright 2009 Rita Watson