University of Canberra

众所周知，浪漫的爱情会改变大脑，释放所谓的爱情激素——催产素（oxytocin），这正是我们坠入爱河时所感受到的愉悦感。 近日，来自澳大利亚国立大学、堪培拉大学和南澳大利亚大学的研究人员在 Behavioral Sciences 期刊发表了题为：Romantic Love and Behavioral Activation System Sensitivity to a Loved One 的研究论文。 众所周知，浪漫的爱情会改变大脑，释放所谓的爱情激素——催产素（oxytocin），这正是我们坠入爱河时所感受到的愉悦感。 这项研究进行了世界首个调查人类大脑行为激活系统（BAS）与浪漫爱情之间联系的研究，测量了大脑是如何在第一次浪漫的冲动中将我们所爱之人推上神坛的。 在这项研究中，研究团队调查了1556名处于恋爱中的年轻人。调查问题集中在对爱人的情感反应、行为以及他们对爱人的关注程度。事实证明，当我们坠入爱河时，我们的大脑会做出不同的反应，使得我们情感的对象成为我们生活的中心。这项研究表明爱情与行为和情感的变化有关。 具体来说，在研究1中，行为激活系统-对爱人的敏感性（BAS-SLO）量表在1556名正处于浪漫爱情中的年轻人中得到验证。在研究2中，使用分层线性回归在812名经历浪漫爱情不到两年的年轻人中确定了BAS-SLO量表与浪漫爱情强度的关联。BAS-SLO量表解释了浪漫爱情强度变异的8.89%。在进一步验证和测试的情况下，BAS-SLO量表可能在未来的神经成像和心理学研究中发挥作用。综合来看，这两项研究表明，大脑的行为激活系统（BAS）对所爱之人的敏感度是一种真实存在的现象，并且浪漫爱情的状态可能与BAS对所爱之人的敏感度有关。这对于理解浪漫爱情的机制和演化历史具有重要意义。 众所周知，催产素在浪漫爱情中的重要作用，当我们与所爱之人互动时，催产素会在我们的神经系统和血液中循环。然而，爱上一个人之所以显得特别重要，是因为催产素和多巴胺结合，多巴胺是我们的大脑在浪漫爱情中释放的一种化学物质。从本质上讲，爱情激活了大脑中与积极情绪相关的通路。 研究团队表示，我们实际上对爱情的演变知之甚少，因此，每一个告诉我们浪漫爱情演变的发现都是刚刚开始的研究拼图中的重要一块。接下来，研究团队将进一步调查男性和女性在恋爱方式上的差异，并将开展一项全球调查，确定四种不同类型的浪漫恋人。

Love is blind, the saying goes, and thanks to a new study we are now a step closer to understanding why. Researchers have measured how a part of the brain is responsible for putting our loved one on a pedestal in that first flush of romance. Love is blind, the saying goes, and thanks to a world-first Australian study, we are now a step closer to understanding why. It is well known that romantic love changes the brain, releasing the so-called love hormone oxytocin, responsible for the euphoria we feel when falling in love. Now, researchers from the ANU, University of Canberra and University of South Australia have measured how a part of the brain is responsible for putting our loved one on a pedestal in that first flush of romance. In the world's first study investigating the link between the human brain's behavioural activation system (BAS) and romantic love, researchers surveyed 1556 young adults who identified as being "in love." The survey questions focused on the emotional reaction to their partner, their behaviour around them, and the focus they placed on their loved one above all else. It turns out that when we are in love, our brain reacts differently. It makes the object of our affections the centre of our lives. ANU lead researcher and PhD student Adam Bode says the study -- recently published in the journal Behavioural Sciences - sheds light on the mechanisms that cause romantic love. "We actually know very little about the evolution of romantic love," Bode says. As a result, every finding that tells us about romantic love's evolution is an important piece of the puzzle that's just been started." "It is thought that romantic love first emerged some five million years ago after we split from our ancestors, the great apes. We know the ancient Greeks philosophized about it a lot, recognising it both as an amazing as well as traumatic experience. The oldest poem ever to be recovered was in fact a love poem dated to around 2000 BC." University of Canberra academic and UniSA Adjunct Associate Professor, Dr Phil Kavanagh, says the study shows that romantic love is linked to changes in behaviour as well as emotion. "We know the role that oxytocin plays in romantic love, because we get waves of it circulating throughout our nervous system and blood stream when we interact with loved ones," Dr Kavanagh says. "The way that loved ones take on special importance, however, is due to oxytocin combining with dopamine, a chemical that our brain releases during romantic love. Essentially, love activates pathways in the brain associated with positive feelings." The next stage of the research involves investigating the differences between men and women in their approach to love, and a worldwide survey identifying four different types of romantic lovers.

Primus CF steering wheel. Photo credit: Cobra International, Schmitt Marine Cobra International (Chonburi, Thailand) has announced its latest marine industry collaboration with Schmitt Marine (Lancaster, Pa., U.S.). A provider of performance steering wheel systems, Schmitt Marine has joined forces with Cobra and engineering firm Talon Technology (Springfield, Mo., U.S.) to create the new Primus CF wheel. Looking to offer carbon fiber as a top-of-the-range option for premium vessel owners, Schmitt Marine aims to combine the style of its classic steel wheel designs with a new, strong and lightweight carbon fiber composite construction. Working together with engineer Geoff Germon, CEO of Talon Technology Pty. Ltd. and adjunct professor of design at the University of Canberra (Australia), Cobra concentrated on creating a production methodology for the Primus CF that could seamlessly transfer parts from tool to polyurethane (PU) clear coating with minimum process steps and materials. As a result, the wheel’s carbon fiber prepreg skins, featuring UV-resistant black Santoprene rubber grip patches, have been combined with a toughened epoxy glass fiber core to create a luxury-grade carbon fiber steering wheel that has been optimized to meet all NMMA and CE testing regulations for U.S. and European end markets. “Talon and Cobra have shown how easy it is to switch to composites,” Jed Schober, product development specialist, Schmitt Marine, says. “They have created an innovative design and production process that improves performance at a smart price point. Thanks to Cobra’s commitment to product quality and on-time delivery, we’re creating a stronger and lighter future for our customers.”