銘記，詠唱

這是正經無比的學術研究，
然而也是非常適合情人節的一篇研究。

敬祝各位永浴愛河。



本文引用自此


Alteration of the platelet serotonin transporter in romantic love
D. MARAZZITI a1 c1 , H. S. AKISKAL a1 , A. ROSSI a1 and G. B. CASSANO a1
a1 Dipartmento di Psichiatria, Neurobiologia, Farmacologia e Biotecnologie, University of Pisa, Italy;

and University of California at San Diego, CA, USA

Abstract

Background. The evolutionary consequences of love are so important that there must be some long-established biological process regulating it. Recent findings suggest that the serotonin (5-HT) transporter might be linked to both neuroticism and sexual behaviour as well as to obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). The similarities between an overvalued idea, such as that typical of subjects in the early phase of a love relationship, and obsession, prompted us to explore the possibility that the two conditions might share alterations at the level of the 5-HT transporter.

Methods. Twenty subjects who had recently (within the previous 6 months) fallen in love, 20 unmedicated OCD patients and 20 normal controls, were included in the study. The 5-HT transporter was evaluated with the specific binding of ³H-paroxetine (³H-Par) to platelet membranes.

Results. The results showed that the density of ³H-Par binding sites was significantly lower in subjects who had recently fallen in love and in OCD patients than in controls.

Discussion. The main finding of the present study is that subjects who were in the early romantic phase of a love relationship were not different from OCD patients in terms of the density of the platelet 5-HT transporter, which proved to be significantly lower than in the normal controls. This would suggest common neurochemical changes involving the 5-HT system, linked to psychological dimensions shared by the two conditions, perhaps at an ideational level.

Correspondence:
^c1 Address for correspondence: Dr Donatella Marazziti, Dipartmento di Psichiatria, Neurobiologia, Farmacologia e Biotecnologie, University of Pisa, via Roma 67, 56100 Pisa, Italy.