1. Neuroscience (350 words per reply) (APA citations) (in-text citations are a

1. Neuroscience
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Adina Chavez posted Oct 7, 2024 8:18 PM
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There have been many studies on the brain’s impact on love but also what love does to the brain. There are many different types of love, including the love a parent has for their child, and intense passionate romantic love. Fisher et al, (2016) compare the feelings and reactions of intense passionate romantic love to that of an addict. This can be someone who is addicted to a substance or a behavior. Fisher et al (2016) states, “Like all addicts, they focus on their beloved (salience); and they yearn for the beloved (craving). They feel a “rush” of exhilaration when seeing or thinking about him or her (euphoria/intoxication).” (p.2). They even experience tolerance and withdrawal the same way an addict would. When rejected, it is even possible for an individual to act out and potentially cause harm to the lost love, themselves or others around them. Fisher et al, (2016) also point out that just like with drug addiction, not everyone who experiences passionate love reacts the same way. Through the utilization of fMRIs, Fisher et al, (2016) study confirmed that participants while viewing a picture of their lover, showed the reward system was activated. These are the same regions associated with drug addiction. There was also the same brain activity that is experienced by someone who is withdrawing from an addiction. Most individuals have experienced passionate love and can likely relate to the feeling of it being an addiction.
References:
Aron, A., Fisher, H., Mashek, D. J., Strong, G., Li, H., & Brown, L. L. (2005). Reward, motivation, and emotion systems associated with early-stage intense romantic love. Journal of neurophysiology, 94(1), 327-337.

2. Neuroscience
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Cassie Whitfield posted Oct 10, 2024 3:59 PM
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Prior to this week’s discussion, I was under the impression that falling in love with a person comprised of different brain processes compared to being addicted to a substance, but I was wrong. “Although we don’t consciously remember these experiences [of physical and emotional love by caregivers as a baby], they shape the neural infrastructure of our implicit memories, exerting a lifelong influence on us” (Cozolino, 2014, p. 116). Endocrinological factors strongly influence the feeling of love and attachment, particularly oxytocin, vasopressin, and dopamine, all of which are integral to reward processing and romance maintenance (de Boer et al., 2012). Another interesting aspect from a biochemical perspective is the sex differences in attachment and bond formation, with findings demonstrating that females and males might use different neurochemical systems during the process of developing romantic relationships (de Boer et al., 2012).
The insights gathered by neuroimaging has greatly increased our understanding of love, sexual medicine, and therapy for relationship problems. Commons forms of love that have been empirically studied include passionate love, companionate (friendship) love, maternal love, and unconditional love. Meta-analyses of love reveal that while all forms of love engage the brain’s reward-related systems, especially the subcortical dopaminergic pathways, various forms of love are associated with specific cortical networks that also involve higher cognitive functions, including social cognition and self-representation (Ortigue et al., 2010). I also learned from this week’s research about the complex interplay between love, sexual behavior, commitment, and individual wellbeing, all of which stress the importance of considering emotional factors when diagnosing and treating sexual dysfunctions and receiving different treatments.

Cozolino, L. (2014). The neuroscience of human relationships: Attachment and the developing social brain (Kindle Ed.). WW Norton & Company.
de Boer, A., van Buel, E. M., & Ter Horst, G. J. (2012). Love is more than just a kiss: a neurobiological perspective on love and affection. Neuroscience, 201, 114–124. https://doi-org.dml.regis.edu/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2011.11.017

3. Neuroscience
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Adina Chavez posted Oct 7, 2024 8:23 PM
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To love and to be loved is something every human wishes to attain. It is a universal desire and expands over cultures (Aron et al, 2005). It is believed that romantic love evolved 4.4 million years ago and that the purpose of romantic love was to bond a pair of individuals to focus on mating and raising offspring together as survival is more likely when individuals are not alone (Fisher et al, 2016). The feelings and brain processes during the early stages of love do have an impact on emotions but are considered a human drive and are often sought out by most humans. It is believed that our brains are wired to experience passionate love to seek out a mate (Fisher et al, 2006). This experience of love is sought universally among humans regardless of culture. Love is considered a drive because just as humans seek out food, water, and shelter many also seek out companionships and spend much of their lives looking for their soulmate. Fisher et al (2006) states, “These findings suggest that romantic love is a primary motivation system, a fundamental human mating drive (Fisher 2004). Pfaff (1999) defines a drive as a neural state that energizes and directs behaviour to acquire a particular biological need to survive or reproduce” (section 10). Early stages of romantic love impact different areas of the brain than long-term love. Long-term romantic love, according to Fisher et al, (2006), shows activity in anterior cingulate cortex and mid-insular cortex, which was not shown in Fisher’s study of the early stages of passionate love.

Song Lyric: Pain Remains II: After all I’ve done, I’ll disappear by a symphonic deathcore band named Lorna Shore.

4. Neuroscience
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Adina Chavez posted Oct 7, 2024 8:23 PM
Elizabeth Quintero posted Oct 10, 2024 9:04 PM
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Both love and drugs modulate neurochemicals in the brain making us feel ecstasy or misery. Love requires a complete focus and attention which indicates both the reward and motivational system are involved with love. Dopamine activates neural systems seeking out the reward system during romantic emotions. Three specific areas of the brain are associated with the romantic love, ventral tegmental area (VTA), and caudate nucleus, (more specifically the dorsal caudate body, and caudate tail), and cortical areas (Aron, et al; 2005). The VTA plays a significant role in motivation and pleasure and key player to the reward circuitry. The caudate nucleus is associated with visual attention, reward, motivation, motor control, and emotional regulation; and the cortical areas are largely responsible for emotion processing. The VTA contains special dopaminergic cells which are neurons that produce and release neurotransmitter dopamine. During romantic love, the dopaminergic cells in the VTA send signals to multiple other areas of the brain including caudate nucleus (Aron, et al; 2005).
Poem (excerpt):
If I might only grow small enough
To curl up into the hollow of your palm,
Your left palm,
Curl up, lie close and cling,
So that I might know myself always there
– Angelina Weld Grimke (Park; 2024).

Aron, A., Fisher, H., Mashek, D. J., Strong, G., Li, H., & Brown, L. L. (2005). Reward, motivation, and emotion systems associated with early-stage intense romantic love. Journal of Neurophysiology, 94(1), 327-337.

5. Models of Church Planting
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Week 1: Assignment – Discussion Board 1 – Group 1
From your reading of the article, “Movemental Ecclesiology: Recalibrating Church for the Next Frontier,” what was meant by Farah and Hirsch’s view of the “queen” being removed from the game? How does their view support what is happening within the current culture?

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