A General Theory of Love

non-empirical foundations of Freudianism and behaviorism as explanations for emotions...emergence of neuroscience and the theory of the triune brain...reptilian, limbic, neocortical...neural signalling and networking, chemical and electrical...limbic brain as the center of emotion, play and communion...neocortical brain and the power of abstration...danger of pancognitivist fallacy. neural architecture and circuits for emotions, expressions, feelings, moods,thoughts... limbic brain and the coordination of physiology and the environment...the limbic brain stands at the convergence of these two information streams--physiological processes and environmental events...limbic outputs to the neocortical and reptilian brains (53-54). The ability of the limbic brain to read the emotional relevance of situations and events...intuiting the rules of social interchange... limbic fluency...the ability to read the expressiveness of others and respond accordingly (asperger's syndrome and tone-deafness to social and emotional subleties) while having emotions is under limbic control, speaking of them is a neocortical activity...neocortex as the center of abstraction, language, symbol, problem-solving...Wernicke's area and Broca's area--regions of the neocortical brain governing the recognition and production of the emotional content of speech...crucial in determining the meaning of statements...aprosodia=the inability to discern the emotional meaning of speech. infants and babies have an intrinsic appetite for the expressiveness of faces...babies seek synchrony and mutually responsive interactions, especially with the mother...the limbic brain specializes in detecting the internal state of other mammals. limbic resonance=a symphony of mutual exchange and internal adaptation whereby two mammals become attuned to each other's inner states (63)...the door to communal connection...limbic states can leap between minds, such that feelings are contagious, while concepts and notions are not. J. Bowlby--attachment theory=human infants are born with a brain system that promotes safety by establishing an instinctive behavioral bond with the mother...M. Ainsworth: 3 forms of infant bond: secure, insecure-avoidance, insecure-ambivalent...based on limbic resonance between mother and child. protest/despair and their manifestations in behavior and physiology...crucial importance of an attuned mother. a relationship is a physiologicl process. limbic regulation=mutual synchronization with an attachment figure that regulates and stabilizes neurophysiological processes such as heart rate, body temperature, blood pressure, levels of neurotransmitters, immune function, hormones, salts, metabolism, sleep rhythms, etc. for adults, stability means finding people who regulate you well and staying near them; for children, attachment and limbic regulation are crucial in neural development itself...the mammalian nervous system cannot self-assemble (isolation syndrome) how does attachment sculpt a person...memory=the process whereby the brain undergoes structural change from experience. identity exists only because some neural pathways endure...combines with the plasticity of the mind, which indicates that neuronal connections can change. the brain's twin storage systems: explicit memory/implicit memory exposure to a style of relatedness imprints a person with its grammar and syntax that is largely implicit

This book is, unlike many other books in this topic, scientifically narrated. The main message is quite clear. However, I found it difficult to read in the middle of the book about when authors go to deeper detail. Also, do not expect this book for romantic love. It is more about love in perspective of evolution and family love.

Provocative, intelligent, beautiful book.