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Did you know when you're in love it's like smoking marijuana? Well, maybe not exactly.  But the highs are similar, according to a new report . Newswise.com says that the hormone oxytocin, which has been associated with interpersonal bonding, may enhance the pleasure of social interactions by stimulating production of marijuana-like neurotransmitters in the brain, according to a University of California, Irvine study. The research provides the first link between oxytocin – dubbed the “love hormone” – and anandamide, which has been called the “bliss molecule” for its role in activating cannabinoid receptors in brain cells to heighten motivation and happiness.  Not to get too technical but the researchers discovered that social contact increased production of anandamide ( messenger molecule which plays a role in pain, depression, appetite, memory, and fertility) in  the nucleus of the brain, which triggered cannabinoid receptors there to reinforce the pleas...

It sounds like it should be a song.  "Love Hormone Number 9."  But no, it's not music by the Clovers (the Clovers ?) but an actual part of our body that may go missing when we're kids that can cause us to become addicts. Sounds a little too out-there for me but studies have found, " Addictive behavior such as drug and alcohol abuse could be associated with poor development of the so-called "'ove hormone' system in our bodies during early childhood. The discovery came from  research into oxytocin, known as the "love hormone" or "bonding drug" because of its important role in enhancing social interactions, maternal behavior and partnership, the Web site reports. "We know that newborn babies already have levels of oxytocin in their bodies, and this helps to create the all-important bond between a mother and her child," newswise quotes  Dr Femke Buisman-Pijlman from the University of Adelaide's  School of Medical ...